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Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, sits high on the edge of the Eritrean highlands in the centre of the country, at around 2,325 metres above sea level overlooking the Red Sea coastal plain, at approximately 15.34°N, 38.93°E. Its considerable altitude tempers its tropical latitude to give a mild, sunny highland climate (Köppen BSk/Cwb) — spring-like year-round — with a short summer rainy season and a long dry season.
There is no hot summer: the altitude keeps temperatures mild all year, with daytime highs generally around 22–25°C and cool nights. The rainy season, from around late June to early September, brings the year's rain in heavy afternoon thunderstorms, with cloud and cooler days, greening the highlands, while the pre-rain months of April and May are the warmest and sunniest.
There is no true winter, but the long dry season from October to May brings warm, sunny, brilliantly clear days and notably cold nights, which can drop close to freezing on the highest, clearest nights in December and January. The dry, sunny, cool-nighted stretch has the largest day-to-night temperature swings of the year and is very pleasant by day.
Asmara receives on the order of 500–550 mm of rain a year, overwhelmingly concentrated in the short summer rainy season from late June to early September, when heavy afternoon thunderstorms are frequent, while the rest of the year is dry and sunny. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Asmara's great altitude gives it one of the most agreeable climates in the Horn of Africa — mild, dry and sunny year-round, in dramatic contrast to the searing heat of the Red Sea coast and Danakil lowlands just a short descent away. The sharp division between a brief, thundery summer wet season and a long, brilliantly clear dry season, with a wide day-to-night temperature range, defines the highland year.
To follow any single measurement in Asmara 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.