Climate of United Arab Emirates
Where is the country of United Arab Emirates located? The United Arab Emirates is a country that consists of seven emirates and is located on the northeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, on the Persian Gulf. Due to its progressive attitude towards foreign tourists and the realization that tourism is a good way to maintain a high standard of living when the oil supply is depleted, the United Arab Emirates has developed into a popular holiday destination.
The United Arab Emirates has a warm desert climate. This arid climate type is referred to as a BWh climate within the Köppen-Geiger climate system. The weather in the Emirates is quite one-sided: from warm (winter) to very warm (spring and autumn) to extremely hot (summer), with a fairly small chance of precipitation, high relative humidity and lots of sun. Even the seawater is warmer than thirty degrees in the summer months.
Air conditioning
The only way to make the Emirates livable is through air conditioning. Especially in the summer months people live from air conditioning to air conditioning and going outside during the day is almost impossible. In July and August, daytime temperatures in the sun can easily reach temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (the official maximum temperatures are measured in the shade, so lower). The high humidity associated with this ensures that it becomes extremely stuffy and your body can hardly get rid of the heat.
cloudy sun
The high relative humidity is often also visible. During the sunset, many shades of red, purple and orange can be seen in the sky due to the moist air. Also during the day there is regularly a less clear blue sky than you would expect and the sun is cloudy, so you can be very surprised by the solar power. During such days, it often happens that tourists have to be treated for sunburns on their skin.
Rain
Although precipitation is still quite rare in the Emirates, due to climate change, it is more common today that rain falls on several days in a row. However, the annual amounts are still very low and the chance that your holiday to the Emirates will be spoiled by rain is still quite small. The greatest chance of heavy precipitation is around the seasonal changes. In the Emirates there are really only 2 seasons: summer and winter. The transition between these two periods is often accompanied by several days of more unstable weather. Strong winds, cloudy skies and sometimes heavy rain combined with thunderstorms can disrupt the weather considerably.
Snow
The chance of snow in the United Arab Emirates is so small that it is not reported anywhere. Still, it is possible, but it only occurs a few times a century. It is so rare that there is no word for snow in the local dialect. To see the white powder, the population has to go to covered ski slopes.
At the end of January 2009, a layer of no less than 20 centimeters of snow fell on the 1737 meter high mountain Al-Jees, about 25 kilometers northeast of the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. On Friday, January 23, 2009, a record temperature of minus 3 degrees was measured in this area and the temperature did not rise above freezing the next day either. Crown Prince Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi personally went to look at this very exceptional situation for this region.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).
| Maximum temperature | Minimum temperature | Hours of sunshine per day | Days of rainfall per month | Water temperature | |
| January | 24℃ | 14℃ | 8 | 2 | 23℃ |
| February | 25℃ | 15℃ | 8 | 3 | 23℃ |
| March | 28℃ | 17℃ | 8 | 3 | 24℃ |
| April | 33℃ | 20℃ | 10 | 2 | 25℃ |
| May | 37℃ | 23℃ | 11 | 0 | 29℃ |
| June | 39℃ | 26℃ | 11 | 0 | 31℃ |
| July | 41℃ | 29℃ | 10 | 0 | 32℃ |
| August | 42℃ | 30℃ | 10 | 0 | 33℃ |
| September | 39℃ | 26℃ | 10 | 0 | 32℃ |
| October | 35℃ | 23℃ | 10 | 0 | 31℃ |
| November | 31℃ | 18℃ | 9 | 0 | 28℃ |
| December | 26℃ | 15℃ | 8 | 2 | 25℃ |
Best time to visit the United Arab Emirates
Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to the United Arab Emirates? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. Thanks to its location on the Arabian Peninsula, the United Arab Emirates is one of the warmest countries in the world. Here there is a warm desert climate where the summers are downright hot and the winter months are seen as the most pleasant period. Until the moment that tourism started to take on serious proportions, it seemed as if the emirates fell into a kind of summer sleep at the start of summer, only to wake up for winter. A vibrant city like Dubai at the end of the last century was a place that was only visited by business travelers who couldn’t avoid traveling to this hot sandbox in the summer months. Those times are over. Although it is not the best time to travel to the Emirates in the summer, you see it happening more and more.
When to travel to the Emirates?
The best time to travel to the United Arab Emirates is from mid or late October to April. October and April are transition months where it can be quite hot, but there are also plenty of days that are generally considered pleasant. It depends a bit on what your destination is. At the beach or swimming pool it can be easily bearable at 35 degrees. It is then for many people warmer than they would like to be active.
During this period the maximum temperatures are on average between 22 and 35 degrees Celsius, with the exception of the mountain areas where it can get cooler in winter. It is therefore an excellent winter sun destination. The sun security is high and the chance of rain quite small.
Traveling to the Emirates in Summer
It is hot in the United Arab Emirates from May to the beginning of October. Very hot, even. The temperatures are generally experienced as unpleasant, especially when the relative humidity increases. However, this does not stop people from traveling to the Emirates during this period or making a stopover on their way to other travel destinations. Thanks to the large-scale use of air conditioning, it is easy to keep up indoors. During the day it is still doable in May and June, but in July, August and September you should try not to be too active outside. We simply mean walking. Traveling to the Emirates in the summer has one big advantage: it is a lot cheaper to stay there.
Islamic holidays
The United Arab Emirates is an Islamic country. This automatically means that Islamic holidays and commemorations are celebrated here. During holidays and commemorations, daily life sometimes comes to a standstill or otherwise has a major impact on how you experience the United Arab Emirates at those moments. Think especially of Ramadan, the Sugar Feast and the Feast of Sacrifice. Extra days can be added to make it a long weekend.
Before you book a trip to the United Arab Emirates, we advise you to check whether there are major holidays during that period. Because a year according to the Islamic calendar consists of more than 354 days and not more than 365 days, the dates of the religious holidays are staggered.
