Climate averages 1991–2020
Riyadh weather
in January.
A mild, very dry month: the coolest and the joint 9th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a mild month in Riyadh: daytime highs average 19.8°C and nights cool to about 7.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 11 mm of rain on roughly 2 days, which makes January a very dry month (the joint 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 47 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Al Kharj (86 km away). In January its highs average 20.9°C, 1.1°C warmer than Riyadh, with 8.3 mm of rain.
Among the 35 cities listed in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh ranks 16th of 35 for the warmest January highs and joint 10th of 35 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 35 cities is 20.9°C; Riyadh is 1.1°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 3.3°C to 23.1°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 11 mm to 5.4 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Riyadh climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 19.8°C7.4°C | 7.4°C | 11 | 2.0 | 10.811 h |
| February | 23.1°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 5.4 | 1.5 | 11.311 h |
| March | 27.3°C13.7°C | 13.7°C | 11 | 1.9 | 12.012 h |
| April | 33.1°C19.0°C | 19.0°C | 14 | 2.7 | 12.713 h |
| May | 38.6°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 1.9 | 0.6 | 13.313 h |
| June | 41.6°C26.0°C | 26.0°C | 0 | 0.0 | 13.614 h |
| July | 42.6°C27.3°C | 27.3°C | 0 | 0.0 | 13.514 h |
| August | 42.5°C27.2°C | 27.2°C | 0 | 0.0 | 13.013 h |
| September | 39.4°C24.2°C | 24.2°C | 0 | 0.0 | 12.312 h |
| October | 33.9°C19.8°C | 19.8°C | 0.9 | 0.2 | 11.612 h |
| November | 26.3°C13.9°C | 13.9°C | 11 | 2.1 | 11.011 h |
| December | 21.3°C8.9°C | 8.9°C | 9.1 | 1.7 | 10.611 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Al Kharj in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 86 kmHigh 20.9°C · Low 7.9°C · 8.3 mm rain
- Ad Dawādimī in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 236 kmHigh 19.3°C · Low 7.5°C · 14 mm rain
- Az Zulfī in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 262 kmHigh 18.5°C · Low 6.9°C · 18 mm rain
- Al Hufūf in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 298 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 8.9°C · 13 mm rain
- Unaizah in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 315 kmHigh 18.7°C · Low 6.3°C · 14 mm rain
- Buraydah in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 330 kmHigh 19.0°C · Low 6.4°C · 14 mm rain
- Ar Rass in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 350 kmHigh 19.3°C · Low 6.3°C · 13 mm rain
- Al Jubayl in JanuarySaudi Arabia · 389 kmHigh 19.4°C · Low 11.7°C · 22 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Riyadh) is explained once on the Riyadh year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.