Weather and Climate in Basra
On this page you will find Basra’s live conditions — temperature, the all-important feels-like figure, humidity, wind and air quality — together with an hourly outlook for the day and a seven-day forecast. The guide beneath the dashboard explains how the city’s heat-and-humidity combination plays out across the seasons, and what it means in practice.
Basra has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh), but its proximity to the Gulf sets it apart. Summers here rank among the hottest on Earth for an inhabited city, and the maritime moisture means the apparent temperature frequently climbs well above the actual air temperature. Annual rainfall is low — on the order of 120 millimetres — and falls almost entirely between late autumn and early spring.
The interplay of heat and humidity is the key to understanding Basra. In the interior of Iraq the summer is brutally hot but dry; in Basra it is hot and humid, which the body tolerates far less easily. Typical highs swing from around 46 °C in July to about 18 °C in January, with nights staying notably warm through the long summer.
Summer
Summer in Basra is extreme. Daytime highs regularly reach the mid-40s and, on the worst days, brush 50 °C — and because humidity drifts in from the Gulf and the marshes, the feels-like temperature can be punishing even when the thermometer eases. Still, muggy afternoons are the hardest part: the air feels heavy, and relief comes only after dark, when the nights nonetheless remain warm. Midsummer is also Basra’s dustiest stretch, with the shamal carrying haze across the south.
Winter
Winter is short, mild and the most comfortable season of the year. Daytime highs sit in the high teens, nights are cool but rarely near freezing thanks to the moderating water, and the city receives most of its modest rainfall in a handful of systems between late autumn and early spring. Mornings near the waterways and marshes can begin damp and misty before the sun burns through.
Spring & Autumn
Spring and autumn are narrow but lovely windows. Spring is fleeting — a brief run of warm, pleasant days before the summer humidity builds in earnest — while autumn lingers warm well into October before easing toward the agreeable conditions of the cool season. These shoulder months are by far the best time to be in Basra.
Rain Probability
Rain in Basra is scarce and tightly seasonal, confined to roughly November through March. The summer is effectively rainless. The hourly and seven-day panels above show the live probability of rain, which outside the cool season will usually read close to zero.
Because the annual total is small and concentrated, the winter systems that do arrive carry weight; occasional heavier downpours can briefly pond water on the flat southern ground. During the cool season, the precipitation-probability figures above are the quickest way to see whether a front is on the way.
Wind and Humidity
Wind and humidity matter more in Basra than almost anywhere else in Iraq. The northwesterly shamal brings dry, dusty air in summer, but the city’s overall character is humid: moisture from the Gulf and the marshlands keeps relative humidity high, and that is what makes the heat so taxing. The live wind, gusts and direction in the dashboard update through the day.
The gap between air temperature and feels-like temperature is the single most important reading in a Basra summer. A 45 °C afternoon with high humidity is far more dangerous than the same temperature in the dry interior, which is why the dashboard above foregrounds feels-like and dew point alongside the headline figure — watch them closely in the hot months.
Planning around the weather
In Basra, plan around humidity as much as heat. Through summer, schedule activity for the early morning or evening, prioritise hydration and shade, and treat the feels-like reading — not just the air temperature — as your guide to how hard the day will be. When the shamal raises dust, keep an eye on the air-quality figure as well.
The cool season needs little more than a light layer for the evenings, and spring and autumn are the ideal times to visit. Whatever the month, the live conditions and seven-day forecast on this page refresh automatically, so you always have a current view of Basra’s weather before heading out.