Country Summary
This page presents high-level information for Qatar's climate zones and its seasonal cycle for mean temperature and precipitation for the latest climatology, 1991-2020. Climate zone classifications are derived from the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, which divides climates into five main climate groups divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). All climates except for those in the E group are assigned a seasonal precipitation sub-group (second letter). Climate classifications are identified by hovering your mouse over the legend. A narrative overview of Qatar's country context and climate is provided following the visualizations.
Qatar is located in Western Asia, on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It has an estimated population of over 2.8 million (2020) people, in which 97% of the population lives in cities located in coastal areas, making Qatar one of the most urbanized countries. Qatar’s economy is dominated by the oil and gas sector, which contributes about 60% to gross domestic product (2017). Qatar experiences limited agricultural production due to scarce water resources, low water quality and quantity, poor soils and harsh climatic conditions. Due to these circumstances, Qatar imports the bulk of its food. As most water needs are met through desalination processes, meeting increasing needs due to population growth is also likely to increase energy needs for such processes, thus posing serious challenges to sustainable economic development. Qatar is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise with adverse impacts on the 97% of population living in urban areas along the coast.