Egyptian Climate
Although the Egyptian climate has to be described as hot and dry most of the year, there are basically
two seasons - a relatively cool temperate season including the winter that lasts from November to March
(the best touring season, and also the peak Nile cruise season) and a hot season from April to October.
Along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast there are white sand beaches, some developed as tourist resorts,
but many still pristine and isolated. In spring and summer, many tourists come to snorkel and dive
near the coral reefs in the Red Sea which has fewer extremes and is nice year-round.
October is a good month if you want to visit the rest of the country off-season, when prices and
tourist crowds are low.
During the other off-season months, it is simply too hot to be enjoyable, though the average humidity
stays in the 7%-20% range. In the spring (especially late March to early April), sand and dust storms
called khamsin blow in and can reduce visibility (even in Cairo) to less than 30 m. Generally
temperatures are about 6'C hotter in Aswan than in Cairo.
Revised: 8th October 2004
©2004
Other Resources