Medina (Al Madinah), the second-holiest city in Islam, sits in a valley among volcanic hills in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, at around 600 metres above sea level and approximately 24.47°N, 39.61°E. Its inland, elevated position gives it a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — with extremely hot summers and mild winters — milder than the humid Red Sea coast.

Summer, from May to September, is extremely hot and dry, with July and August the hottest — highs regularly reaching 42–44°C — under a fierce sun, though the low humidity and the altitude make the heat dry and the nights cool markedly compared with coastal Jeddah. Rain is essentially absent for months, and dust-laden winds sweep the valley.

Winter, from December to February, is mild and pleasant, with January the coolest month — highs around 24–25°C and cool nights near 11–13°C, occasionally dropping close to 5°C on the clearest nights. This is when what little rain the city receives falls, and the mild, dry, sunny days make it comfortably the best time of year.

Medina is very dry, receiving only around 50–60 mm of rain a year, falling in occasional, sometimes intense bursts mainly between November and April, while the long summer is entirely rainless. Sudden downpours can cause flash flooding in the surrounding wadis. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Medina's inland valley setting, ringed by ancient volcanic lava fields, gives it a drier, less humid heat than Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, with noticeably cooler nights year-round. Its rare rains arrive as violent downpours that can send flash floods racing down the surrounding wadis.

To follow any single measurement in Medina 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.