Dubai lies on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf at approximately 25.20°N, 55.27°E, near the Tropic of Cancer. It has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) with just two real seasons — a long, scorching summer and a short, mild winter. Its coastal position means the Gulf feeds high humidity into the air, so summer here feels heavier and stickier than in drier inland deserts, even though inland Gulf cities can be a touch hotter.

Summer runs from roughly late April to early October and is genuinely extreme. Daytime highs regularly exceed 40°C and can reach 48–49°C at the peak in July and August, while nights offer little relief, often staying above 30°C. Gulf humidity frequently climbs above 80–90% on summer mornings, and the sea itself can warm past 33°C, so the combination of heat and moisture is oppressive. Daily life through these months is built around air conditioning.

Winter, from December to February, is Dubai's glorious season and the reason it draws so many visitors. Daytime highs are a pleasant 24–27°C with comfortable nights around 15–18°C, occasionally cooler inland. Skies are mostly clear and sunny, making it ideal for beaches, desert trips and outdoor life. Dense fog can occasionally form on winter and early-spring mornings when moist Gulf air meets the cooler land, sometimes disrupting flights before it clears.

Dubai is one of the driest major cities in the world, averaging only around 100–150 mm of rain a year, almost all of it falling between December and March. Summers are essentially rainless. When rain does come it tends to arrive as brief, intense downpours that the city's drainage was never built for — the record-breaking storm of April 2024 dropped more than 250 mm in a single day and caused widespread flooding. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

The Shamal, a northwesterly wind off the Gulf, is a recurring feature, especially in spring and early summer, when it lifts desert sand and dust that can reduce visibility for days. The UAE also runs an active cloud-seeding programme to coax extra rain from passing clouds. Terrain matters locally too: the inland desert is drier and cooler at night than the humid coast.

To follow any single measurement in Dubai more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.