Climate averages 1991–2020
Abu Dhabi weather
in May.
A very hot, very dry month: the 5th warmest and the 3rd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a very hot month in Abu Dhabi: daytime highs average 36.6°C and nights cool to about 25.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Rain is very rare: less than 1 mm falls in a typical May (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 19 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Musaffah (13 km away). In May its highs average 38.3°C, 1.7°C warmer than Abu Dhabi, with almost no rain (under 1 mm).
Among the 13 cities listed in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi ranks 13th of 13 for the warmest May highs and joint 4th of 13 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 13 cities is 38.5°C; Abu Dhabi is 1.9°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 1.8°C to 38.3°C, and monthly rainfall stays under 1 mm.
The annual picture
May 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
Abu Dhabi climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23.2°C15.3°C | 15.3°C | 9.1 | 1.6 | 10.811 h |
| February | 24.7°C16.0°C | 16.0°C | 9.0 | 1.3 | 11.311 h |
| March | 27.7°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 13 | 1.6 | 12.012 h |
| April | 32.3°C21.5°C | 21.5°C | 3.9 | 0.5 | 12.713 h |
| May, selected | 36.6°C25.3°C | 25.3°C | 0.3 | 0.1 | 13.313 h |
| June | 38.3°C27.4°C | 27.4°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 13.614 h |
| July | 39.5°C29.6°C | 29.6°C | 1.2 | 0.0 | 13.513 h |
| August | 40.4°C30.2°C | 30.2°C | 0.5 | 0.1 | 13.013 h |
| September | 38.3°C27.8°C | 27.8°C | 0.2 | 0.0 | 12.312 h |
| October | 34.8°C24.7°C | 24.7°C | 0.6 | 0.1 | 11.612 h |
| November | 29.8°C21.2°C | 21.2°C | 2.8 | 0.7 | 11.011 h |
| December | 25.4°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 4.9 | 1.0 | 10.711 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
May in nearby cities
- Musaffah in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 13 kmHigh 38.3°C · Low 25.0°C · 0.5 mm rain
- Mohammed Bin Zayed City in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 20 kmHigh 41.0°C · Low 24.1°C · 0.5 mm rain
- Khalifah A City in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 21 kmHigh 39.2°C · Low 24.8°C · 0.3 mm rain
- Jebel Ali in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 94 kmHigh 38.0°C · Low 24.3°C · 0.1 mm rain
- Dubai in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 115 kmHigh 39.4°C · Low 24.0°C · 0.4 mm rain
- Warīsān in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 129 kmHigh 39.2°C · Low 24.2°C · 0.5 mm rain
- Al Ain City in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 141 kmHigh 40.5°C · Low 25.1°C · 0.5 mm rain
- Sharjah in MayUnited Arab Emirates · 142 kmHigh 37.6°C · Low 24.7°C · 0.5 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 Abu Dhabi) is explained once on the Abu Dhabi year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Khalifah A City lies in the same rainfall cell, so its rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.