Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Al Ḩawījah Iraq

In Al Ḩawījah, the summers are sweltering, arid, and clear and the winters are cool, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 44°F to 110°F and is rarely below 37°F or above 116°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best times of year to visit Al Ḩawījah for hot-weather activities are for the entire month of May and from early September to mid October.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 28 to September 19, with an average daily high temperature above 101°F. The hottest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is July, with an average high of 110°F and low of 86°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.5 months, from November 26 to March 10, with an average daily high temperature below 71°F. The coldest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is January, with an average low of 45°F and high of 61°F.

In Al Ḩawījah, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Al Ḩawījah begins around May 19 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around October 11.

The clearest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around May 19.

The cloudiest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 38% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Al Ḩawījah varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.8 months, from October 19 to May 11, with a greater than 9% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Al Ḩawījah is February, with an average of 4.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.2 months, from May 11 to October 19. The month with the fewest wet days in Al Ḩawījah is August, with an average of 0.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Al Ḩawījah is February, with an average of 4.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 17% on February 12.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Al Ḩawījah experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from October 22 to May 5, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Al Ḩawījah is February, with an average rainfall of 0.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from May 5 to October 22. The month with the least rain in Al Ḩawījah is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Al Ḩawījah varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 46 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 33 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:49 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 25 minutes later at 7:14 AM on January 8. The earliest sunset is at 4:52 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 32 minutes later at 7:23 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Al Ḩawījah during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Al Ḩawījah, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Al Ḩawījah experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from May 12 to September 6, with average wind speeds of more than 8.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.2 months, from September 6 to May 12. The calmest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.6 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Al Ḩawījah varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 7.3 months, from March 8 to October 18, with a peak percentage of 63% on July 4. The wind is most often from the east for 4.7 months, from October 18 to March 8, with a peak percentage of 35% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Al Ḩawījah throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Al Ḩawījah for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid March to early May and from early October to late November, with a peak score in the first week of November.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Al Ḩawījah for hot-weather activities are for the entire month of May and from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Al Ḩawījah are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from May 12 to August 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is June, with an average of 8.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 1 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Al Ḩawījah is December, with an average of 2.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Al Ḩawījah are 35.326 deg latitude, 43.773 deg longitude, and 630 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Al Ḩawījah is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 79 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 623 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (272 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,526 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Al Ḩawījah is covered by cropland (72%) and artificial surfaces (22%), within 10 miles by cropland (91%), and within 50 miles by cropland (50%) and bare soil (21%).