Nicosia (Lefkosia), the capital of Cyprus, sits inland in the centre of the island on the Mesaoria plain, ringed by mountains and cut off from the sea breezes that cool the coast, at approximately 35.19°N, 33.38°E. Its inland position gives it a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with a strongly continental edge — very hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters — and the hottest summers of any city on the island.

Summer, from June to September, is long, very hot and dry, with July and August the hottest months — average highs around 37°C and heatwaves that can exceed 40°C — the inland plain, sheltered from the sea, baking under relentless sun. Nights are warm, humidity is low, and rain is essentially absent for months, making the height of summer the most intense time of year in the landlocked capital.

Winter, from December to February, is mild and the wettest season, with January the coolest month — average highs around 15–16°C and cool nights near 5–7°C, occasionally dropping to frost on the clearest nights. Most of the year's rain falls in these months, brought by Mediterranean weather systems, along with cooler, greyer spells, while snow is confined to the Troodos mountains to the southwest.

Nicosia is dry, receiving only around 330–360 mm of rain a year, almost all of it in the winter months from November to March, while the long summer is essentially rainless; its inland, mountain-sheltered position makes it drier than much of the island. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Nicosia's inland setting on the Mesaoria plain, ringed by mountains and denied the cooling sea breezes that temper the Cypriot coast, gives it the hottest, most intense summers on the island, with midsummer temperatures regularly climbing past 40°C. The sharp contrast between the baking, rainless summer and the mild, wetter winter is classic Mediterranean, sharpened here by the continental character of the enclosed central plain.

To follow any single measurement in Nicosia 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.