Weather and Climate in Cairo
This page brings together the live picture for Cairo right now — temperature, feels-like, wind and air quality — with an hour-by-hour outlook for the day and a full seven-day forecast. Below the dashboard you will find a detailed, locally grounded guide to how the seasons actually behave across Greater Cairo, from the relentless July sun to the crisp, clear nights of January.
Cairo has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh). The defining feature is the length and reliability of the dry season: rain is so scarce that the city averages only around 25 millimetres a year, nearly all of it in a handful of brief winter showers. For months at a stretch the forecast is simply sunshine.
The Nile moderates the city only slightly; far more important is the desert that surrounds it on every side, which keeps humidity low and the day-to-night temperature swing wide. Typical highs fall from about 36 °C in July to roughly 19 °C in January, while clear winter nights can drop close to single digits on the city’s desert fringes.
Because Cairo is one of the densest cities on Earth, its weather is also felt through air quality: still, hot days and winter inversions can trap dust and haze over the basin. The dashboard above pairs the live air-quality index with temperature and wind so you can read the whole picture, not just the thermometer.
Summer
Summer is long and uncompromising. From late May into September, daytime highs sit in the mid-to-high thirties and rain disappears entirely. The heat is dry rather than humid, which makes it fiercer in direct sun but more bearable in the shade than on the coast, and the nights cool off noticeably — often into the low twenties. Cairenes adapt by shifting life outdoors to the evening, when the streets, cafés and the riverside corniche come alive after dark.
Winter
Winter is short, mild and the most comfortable season in the capital. Daytime highs settle pleasantly into the high teens, afternoons are sunny and dry, and the occasional passing depression brings a brief shower — sometimes the only rain for weeks. Nights turn genuinely cool, dipping toward single digits in the open, and a morning haze can hang over the basin before the sun clears it.
Spring & Autumn
Spring is dominated by the Khamsin: hot, sand-laden winds that surge up from the Western Desert between March and May, hazing the sky, coating the city in fine dust and spiking the temperature for a day or more before the air clears. Autumn is the gentler shoulder — the summer heat fades through October into a run of warm, clear, settled days that many consider the nicest weather of the year.
Rain Probability
Rainfall in Cairo is among the lowest of any major world capital. The wet window, such as it is, runs from December to February, and even then rain falls only in scattered, short-lived showers. Across the long summer, measurable rain is essentially unheard of. The hourly and seven-day panels above show the live probability of rain so you can spot the rare winter system on its way.
When rain does arrive it tends to be brief but can be locally heavy, and because the city’s drainage is built for a desert climate, even a modest downpour can flood underpasses and low streets quickly. During the cool months, a glance at the precipitation-probability figures above is the easiest way to tell whether one of those uncommon wet days is coming.
Wind and Humidity
Wind is central to Cairo’s weather character. The hot, dusty Khamsin is the signature wind of spring, sweeping in from the desert and driving the haziest, lowest-visibility days of the year; the live wind speed, gusts and direction in the dashboard above are especially worth watching when one is building. For much of the rest of the year a gentle northerly breeze prevails, drawing slightly cooler air down from the Mediterranean.
Humidity in Cairo is generally low, which keeps the summer heat dry rather than muggy, rising only modestly around the winter rains. Even so, the feels-like temperature can diverge from the air temperature — pushed up by strong sun and dust in summer and down by wind chill on a raw winter night — which is why the dashboard tracks feels-like, dew point and gusts alongside the headline reading.
Planning around the weather
Planning around Cairo’s weather is largely about managing heat, sun and dust. Through the long summer, lightweight breathable clothing, sun protection and constant hydration are essential, and outdoor sightseeing is best timed for early morning or the cool of the evening. Keep an eye on the wind and air-quality readings when the Khamsin is blowing, as the dust can affect anyone with respiratory sensitivity.
The winter months need little more than a warm layer for cool evenings and remain mild and sunny by most standards — ideal for exploring the city on foot. If you have the choice, the cool season and the calm stretches of autumn are the best times to visit. Whatever the month, the live conditions and seven-day forecast on this page refresh automatically, giving you an up-to-date view of the capital before you plan your day.