Climatology
This page presents Lebanon'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.
Lebanon has a Mediterranean-type climate characterized by hot and dry summers (June to September) and cool and rainy winters (December to mid-March), with an average annual temperature of 15˚C. Along the coast, summers are hot and humid with temperatures crossing 35°C in August. But due to the moderating effect of the sea, the daily temperature range is narrower than it is inland. January is the coldest month, with temperatures around 5 to 10°C. The mean annual rainfall on the coast ranges between 700 and 1,000 mm. About 70% of the average rainfall in the country falls between November and March and is concentrated during only a few days of the rainy season, falling in heavy cloudbursts or violent storms. Precipitation in inland Lebanon is higher than precipitation along the coast (1,600 mm), with snow in the mountains.