Climatology
This page presents Algeria'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.
Algeria experiences two distinct climates: a Mediterranean climate in northern Algeria and a desert climate in the majority of the country. The sub-humid Mediterranean climate on the coast and in the Tell Atlas Mountains is characterized by wet and mild winters and hot and dry summers. The rest of the country is covered by the Sahara Desert, where the seasonal average winter temperature is 15°C to 28°C and 40°C to 45°C during the summer. In the north, moist winds from the sea bring rain from autumn to spring. Algeria's climate is also influenced by Sirocco winds, which cause increased temperature with dusty, dry conditions and storms in the Mediterranean Sea. Key historical climate trends include:
- Annual mean temperatures have risen across Algeria since the 1960's.
- Inter-annual and decadal variability at the nearest available station show a warming of about 2.7°C per century since the 1900's.
- Variability in rainfall is high.
- The seasonal average station, decadal variability and linear trend indicate a reduction of 12.4 mm/month per century since 1960's.