Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Zakhim Yemen

In Zakhim, the summers are short, warm, arid, and overcast and the winters are cold, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 37°F to 78°F and is rarely below 32°F or above 81°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Zakhim for warm-weather activities are from mid March to late June and from mid August to mid October.

The warm season lasts for 2.1 months, from May 18 to July 21, with an average daily high temperature above 76°F. The hottest month of the year in Zakhim is June, with an average high of 78°F and low of 53°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.3 months, from November 1 to February 10, with an average daily high temperature below 69°F. The coldest month of the year in Zakhim is December, with an average low of 38°F and high of 66°F.

In Zakhim, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Zakhim begins around September 16 and lasts for 7.4 months, ending around April 27.

The clearest month of the year in Zakhim is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 79% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 27 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around September 16.

The cloudiest month of the year in Zakhim is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% of the time.

Zakhim does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 1% to 8%, with an average value of 3%.

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 Zakhim is August, with an average of 2.0 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 8% on July 31.

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. Zakhim experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Zakhim. The month with the most rain in Zakhim is August, with an average rainfall of 0.4 inches.

The month with the least rain in Zakhim is November, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Zakhim varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 17 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 58 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:31 AM on June 1, and the latest sunrise is 58 minutes later at 6:30 AM on January 23. The earliest sunset is at 5:29 PM on November 20, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 5 minutes later at 6:34 PM on July 8.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Zakhim 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 Zakhim, 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 Zakhim experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from September 18 to November 15, with average wind speeds of more than 5.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Zakhim is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 10 months, from November 15 to September 18. The calmest month of the year in Zakhim is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 2.4 months, from February 5 to April 17, with a peak percentage of 45% on March 28. The wind is most often from the east for 1.6 months, from April 17 to June 6 and for 4.8 months, from September 12 to February 5, with a peak percentage of 49% on May 17. The wind is most often from the north for 3.2 months, from June 6 to September 12, with a peak percentage of 52% on July 15.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zakhim 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 Zakhim for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid March to late June and from mid August to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Zakhim for hot-weather activities is from mid May to early July, with a peak score in the second week of June.

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).

The growing season in Zakhim typically lasts for 11 months (345 days), from around January 13 to around December 22, rarely starting after February 22, or ending before November 24.

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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Zakhim should appear around January 18, only rarely appearing before January 15 or after January 22.

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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from February 22 to June 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Zakhim is May, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.2 months, from July 11 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 6.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Zakhim is July, with an average of 6.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Zakhim are 14.295 deg latitude, 44.685 deg longitude, and 8,625 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Zakhim contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,624 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 8,662 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,415 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,635 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Zakhim is covered by bare soil (60%) and sparse vegetation (40%), within 10 miles by bare soil (55%) and sparse vegetation (37%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (67%) and sparse vegetation (19%).