Climatology
This page presents Albania's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Albania has a subtropical Mediterranean climate. Its topography is dominated by its mountains, hills, and coastline and the country’s geologic and climatic characteristics result in an extensive network of rivers and lakes. As such, the country’s mostly mountainous landscape is endowed with abundant water resources, diverse flora and fauna, and an extensive coastline on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Average annual temperatures vary from 17.6ºC (in Saranda to the South) to 7ºC (in Vermosh in the North). Lowland areas are characterized by a stable mean temperature of 14ºC–16ºC. Maximum temperatures can reach up to 11.3ºC in mountain areas and 21.8ºC in lowland and coastal zones. The north, west and southwest regions in Albania experience the highest amounts of rainfall. Annual average rainfall is 1,430 mm; however, the spatial and seasonal distribution varies, with the majority of rainfall occurring during the winter months. The most humid areas are the Albanian Alps in the north (Koder Shengjergj with 2,935 mm and Boga with 2,883 mm of annual precipitation) and Kurveleshi in the south (Nivica with 2,204 mm of annual precipitation). The highest amount of precipitation is experienced in November and the lowest amounts during July to August. Snowfall occurs in the Albanian Alps, in the central and southern areas. Average snowfall depth in mountainous areas is 600–1,200 cm, with the highest snowfall reaching 2–3 m depth in Vermosh, Boga, Theth, Valbona, Curraj and Lure. In the West Plains lowlands to the southwestern coast, snow is rare.