Iraq Weather

Iraq climate

Iraq's climate is dominated by extreme heat and aridity, with the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys forming a fertile corridor through otherwise harsh desert terrain. Summer temperatures in Baghdad and Basra routinely exceed 50°C, making southern Iraq one of the hottest inhabited regions on Earth. The western and southwestern deserts receive less than 100mm of rainfall annually, while the Kurdish mountains in the north see snow and significantly cooler conditions.

Dust storms are a defining feature of Iraqi weather, occurring with increasing frequency as desertification expands. Massive walls of dust called haboobs can engulf entire cities, reducing visibility to near zero and grounding air traffic for hours. The shamal wind blows persistently from the northwest during summer, carrying fine dust that degrades air quality across the country for days at a time.

The Kurdish region in northern Iraq, including cities like Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, enjoys a more moderate climate with cold, snowy winters and warm but bearable summers around 35°C. Baghdad experiences a classic hot desert climate with virtually no rain from May through October and mild, occasionally rainy winters. Basra in the far south combines extreme heat with humidity from the Shatt al-Arab waterway and the nearby Persian Gulf, creating dangerously uncomfortable summer conditions.