Climatology
This page presents Libya'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.
Libya’s climate is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Sahara desert to the south and, as a result, abrupt transitions of weather conditions are experienced across the country. The Mediterranean coastal strip experiences dry summers and relatively wet winters. The Jabal Natusah and Jabal Akhdal highlands experience a plateau climate, with higher rainfall and humidity and low winter temperatures. The northern Tripoli regions of Jabal Nafusah and Jifarah Plain and the northern Benghazi region of Jabal al Akhdar receive the highest average annual rainfall, exceeding the minimum value of 250-300 mm.
Pre-desert and desert conditions, with scorching temperatures of daily thermal variations, are experienced in the southern part of the interior where rain is rare and irregular. Rainfall in Libya occurs during the winter months, with average annual rainfall of 26 mm and great variations from place to place and from year to year. Approximately 93% of the land surface receives less than 100 mm of rain per year.