Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Al Ḩayy Iraq

In Al Ḩayy, the summers are long, sweltering, arid, windy, and clear and the winters are cool, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 45°F to 115°F and is rarely below 37°F or above 120°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 4.0 months, from May 23 to September 24, with an average daily high temperature above 105°F. The hottest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is July, with an average high of 114°F and low of 88°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.4 months, from November 24 to March 4, with an average daily high temperature below 75°F. The coldest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is January, with an average low of 45°F and high of 66°F.

In Al Ḩayy, 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 Ḩayy begins around May 22 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around October 13.

The clearest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 99% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 13 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around May 22.

The cloudiest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 34% 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 Ḩayy varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.4 months, from October 27 to May 6, with a greater than 7% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Al Ḩayy is January, with an average of 3.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.6 months, from May 6 to October 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Al Ḩayy 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 Ḩayy is January, with an average of 3.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 14% on January 20.

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 Ḩayy experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.9 months, from October 27 to April 24, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Al Ḩayy is January, with an average rainfall of 1.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from April 24 to October 27. The month with the least rain in Al Ḩayy is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Al Ḩayy varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 2 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 16 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:48 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 9 minutes later at 6:57 AM on January 9. The earliest sunset is at 4:50 PM on December 3, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 16 minutes later at 7:06 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Al Ḩayy 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 Ḩayy, 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, staying within 1% of 1% 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 Ḩayy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from May 26 to September 8, with average wind speeds of more than 10.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.6 months, from September 8 to May 26. The calmest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 4.0 months, from February 20 to June 21 and for 3.4 months, from August 4 to November 17, with a peak percentage of 59% on September 14. The wind is most often from the west for 1.5 months, from June 21 to August 4 and for 3.1 months, from November 17 to February 20, with a peak percentage of 55% on July 7.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Al Ḩayy 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 Ḩayy for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid February to mid April and from late October to late November, with a peak score in the third week of March.

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 Ḩayy for hot-weather activities are from early April to mid May and from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the second week of October.

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 Ḩayy 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 3.4 months, from May 14 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is June, with an average of 8.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 1 to February 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Al Ḩayy is December, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Al Ḩayy are 32.174 deg latitude, 46.043 deg longitude, and 66 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Al Ḩayy is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 92 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 54 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (138 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (279 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Al Ḩayy is covered by cropland (42%), bare soil (28%), and artificial surfaces (18%), within 10 miles by bare soil (44%) and cropland (43%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (41%) and cropland (31%).