Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, sits on the flat Mesopotamian plain on the banks of the Tigris in the centre of the country, far from any moderating sea, at approximately 33.31°N, 44.36°E. It has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) with two dominant seasons — a long, intensely hot, bone-dry summer and a short, mild, modestly wet winter — with brief spring and autumn transitions. Rain is scarce and sunshine is abundant, nearly 3,900 hours a year.

Summer, from May to October, is long, cloudless and extremely hot, with July and August the hottest months — average highs around 44°C and peaks that can approach or exceed 50°C, making Baghdad one of the hottest capitals on Earth. Nights offer only limited relief, seldom falling below about 24°C. The saving grace is very low humidity, often under 10%, so the heat is dry, though the same dry, windy conditions frequently whip up dust storms off the surrounding desert. No rain falls from June through September.

Winter, from December to February, is mild by day but cold at night, with January the coolest month — average highs around 16°C and lows near 4°C. Frost occurs a few times most winters, and on rare occasions the temperature dips below freezing; light snow fell across the city for the first time in living memory in January 2008. This is the only time of year with meaningful rain and the most comfortable season overall.

Baghdad is very dry, receiving only around 150 mm of rain a year, virtually all of it between November and April, with January typically the wettest month; from June to September it is essentially rainless. The rain that does fall can occasionally be heavy enough to cause flash flooding on the flat plain. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

The defining hazards of Baghdad's climate are its extreme summer heat and its dust storms: the hot, dry northwesterly winds that sweep across Mesopotamia in summer regularly raise walls of dust that can blot out the sun and disrupt daily life. Spring snowmelt in the mountains of Turkey and Iran feeds the Tigris, historically raising the risk of river flooding just as the long, scorching summer begins.

To follow any single measurement in Baghdad 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.