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21°25′0″N 39°49′0″E / 21.41667°N 39.81667°E / 21.41667; 39.81667
Mecca features a hot desert climate. Mecca retains its hot temperature in winter, which can range from 18 °C (64 °F) at night to 30 °C (86 °F) in the day. Summer temperatures are extremely hot, often being over 40 °C (104 °F) during the day, dropping to 30 °C (86 °F) at night.[1] Rain usually falls in Mecca in small amounts between November and January. The rainfall, as scant as it is, also presents the threat of flooding and has been a danger since the earliest times. According to Al-Kurdī, there had been 89 historic floods by 1965, including several in the period. In the last century the most severe one occurred in 1941. Since then, dams have been constructed to ameliorate the problem.
| Climate data for Makkah | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.8 (100.0) |
38.3 (100.9) |
42.4 (108.3) |
44.7 (112.5) |
49.4 (120.9) |
51.8 (125.2) |
51.0 (123.8) |
49.7 (121.5) |
49.4 (120.9) |
47.0 (116.6) |
41.2 (106.2) |
39.4 (102.9) |
51.8 (125.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9) |
31.7 (89.1) |
34.9 (94.8) |
38.7 (101.7) |
42.0 (107.6) |
43.8 (110.8) |
43.0 (109.4) |
42.8 (109.0) |
42.8 (109.0) |
40.1 (104.2) |
35.2 (95.4) |
32.0 (89.6) |
38.1 (100.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.0 (75.2) |
24.7 (76.5) |
27.3 (81.1) |
31.0 (87.8) |
34.3 (93.7) |
35.8 (96.4) |
35.9 (96.6) |
35.7 (96.3) |
35.0 (95.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
28.4 (83.1) |
25.6 (78.1) |
30.8 (87.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) |
19.1 (66.4) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.5 (76.1) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.6 (83.5) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.5 (85.1) |
28.9 (84.0) |
25.9 (78.6) |
23.0 (73.4) |
20.3 (68.5) |
24.7 (76.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.0 (51.8) |
10.0 (50.0) |
13.0 (55.4) |
15.6 (60.1) |
20.3 (68.5) |
22.0 (71.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
22.0 (71.6) |
18.0 (64.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
12.4 (54.3) |
10.0 (50.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 20.8 (0.82) |
3.0 (0.12) |
5.5 (0.22) |
10.3 (0.41) |
1.2 (0.05) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.4 (0.06) |
5.0 (0.20) |
5.4 (0.21) |
14.5 (0.57) |
22.6 (0.89) |
22.1 (0.87) |
111.8 (4.42) |
| Average precipitation days | 4.0 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 22.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 58 | 54 | 48 | 43 | 36 | 33 | 34 | 39 | 45 | 50 | 58 | 59 | 46 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 8.4 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 9.7 | 8.8 | 8.0 | 9.3 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 76 | 80 | 76 | 72 | 75 | 82 | 78 | 74 | 78 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 77 |
| Source 1: Jeddah Regional Climate Center[2] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (sun, 1986–2000)[3] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Mecca | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily daylight hours | 11.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 12.1 |
| Average Ultraviolet index | 7 | 9 | 11+ | 11+ | 11+ | 11+ | 11+ | 11+ | 11+ | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9.8 |
| Source: Weather Atlas [4] | |||||||||||||
Mecca is at an elevation of 277 m above sea level, and approximately 80 km inland from the Red Sea.[1] Flash floods are common during winter season even though the amount of precipitation is low. Since Mecca is located in a desert, dust storms are common in the city.
Since Mecca is located in a low-lying region, it is threatened by seasonal flash floods despite the low amount of annual precipitation. There are less than 110 millimetres (4.3 in) of rainfall during the year, mainly falling in the winter months. Temperatures are high throughout the year and in summer it may reach 45 °C (113 °F).[8] The following are extreme weather events in Mecca and the surrounding area.