Weather Locations in Algeria

Algeria Weather Overview

Algeria is more than eighty percent desert and as such it predominantly has an arid desert climate. However, the Atlas Mountains and the northern Mediterranean coast give rise to large regional variation in climatic conditions. The coastal strip receives a warm Mediterranean climate. South of this area conditions become increasingly arid with more extreme temperatures, punctuated by the cooler, wetter mountains.  The country’s rain falls almost entirely in the winter season between October and April, though some regions rarely receive rain at all.

Algeria is in North Africa and shares borders with Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Libya and Tunisia.

Coastal Algeria – The Tell Atlas

The Tell Atlas Mountains stretch right across Algeria, from Morocco to Tunisia, running along the Mediterranean coast. This hilly coastal strip of northern Algeria is home to ninety percent of the country’s inhabitants. The area receives a typical Mediterranean climate of long, hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Algiers, the capital city, sits in the middle of the coast line and sees an average high of 32°C in its hottest month, August. In the summer night time temperatures drop around 10°C  to the low 20s. From June till September Algiers can expect to receive between 5 mm and 50 mm of rain, but is usually on the lower end of the scale. The sun shines for around ten hours per day and humidity is very low. Cooling winds often blow in from the Mediterranean, but hot, dry winds can also blow up from the south. The sirocco, originating in the Sahara, brings uncomfortably high temperatures in the low 40s and travels at high speeds, sometimes at gale force. It sometimes carries huge amounts of sand causing sandstorms throughout northern Africa and even as far as European Mediterranean resorts. Sandstorms are generally unpleasant. They reduce visibility and make a mockery of modern transportation, grounding planes and forcing cars to stay put. 

Algeria is coldest in January but coastal regions remain mild. Algeria’s lowest average high is 16°C and its lowest average low is 6°C. Frost and snow are incredibly rare as it doesn’t tend to get down to freezing. However, this winter (2008-2009) saw heavy snowfall across the region, paralysing transport and actually killing thirteen people. Rain levels increase from October and stay steadily around 90 mm per month from November till January, after which they begin to reduce, finishing completely in March. Temperatures get back into the 20s in April. It is best to visit this region of Algeria in the seasons’ fringes, between April and June, and September and November, if the worst of the heat is to be avoided. However, many prefer the stifling temperatures of the peak months.

In the summer wind generally comes from the east and northeast, while in the winter they usually come from the west and northwest. As a result the northeast of Algeria receives the highest rainfall and the north facing areas on the Tell Atlas receive a great deal more rain than south facing areas, due to a rain shadow effect. The entire area is fertile; the more arid southern slopes still manage to support basic agriculture. Precipitation carried by the wind is almost exhausted by the time it reaches the south edge of the Tell Atlas. The highest parts of the mountains are much cooler and often receive snow in winter months. In the east of Algeria and to the west in Morocco, the Tell Atlas meets the Saharan Atlas, enclosing an area of high plateaus called ‘Hauts Plateaux’ or ‘Plateau of the Chotts’.

Hauts Plateaux

This is a steppe region, flat and highly elevated: 1100 - 1300 metres in the west and 400 metres in the east. The region receives a semi-arid sub-tropical climate with extreme temperatures and a reduced, unreliable rainy season. The rain sits on top of the sun-baked terrain forming large, shallow lakes in the wet season which evaporate and create extensive salt flats in the dry season. Low and unpredictable precipitation levels do not support robust plant life and the area is covered in shrubs or grass where it is not completely barren. Huge differences in night and daytime temperatures are seen as low humidity allows for rapid heat loss. Temperatures are similar to those in the Sahara, but actually feel even worse due to the plateau’s comparatively moderate humidity. In the winter frosts are likely and snow sometimes falls. The area is home to some semi-nomadic tribes as the scrubland is still, just barely, suitable for the grazing of livestock.

The plateau’s aridity can be attributed to the rain shadow created by the Tell Atlas to the north. However, the area is less arid than it might be if not for the Saharan Atlas to the south. The Saharan Atlas acts as a barrier to the harsh, hot, dry weather found in the desert. While the sirocco does sometimes get past in the summer, the Atlas Mountains do a sterling job of protecting the coastal regions of Algeria from the extremes of the desert.

The Saharan Atlas

These mountains run parallel to the Tell Atlas, meeting them at the east and west limits of the high plateau region. They are much higher than the Tell Atlas with a maximum peak of 2236 metres found at Djebel Aissa. Their great height allows them to catch the last drops of rain from the northerly winds and as such see higher rainfall levels than the plateaus to the north. The climate here is alpine and greatly effected by altitude. The summer, from May till September, is hot and sunny receiving little rain. The winter season is cool to cold with snow and ice increasing with altitude.

The Saharan Atlas form the north border of the Sahara, and have also majorly contributed to the initial formation of the desert. Just between the Sahara and the Saharan Atlas is a narrow band of steppe land where extreme desert conditions can already be seen. In Biskra, the average high temperature is in the low 40s for July and August and the difference between night and day temperatures is around 15°C year round.

The Sahara

The Algerian desert is a diverse place. There are massive areas covered in towering sand dunes in the north, rocky areas and highlands in the southeast surrounding sandstone plateaus and gorges, and a sea of pebbles in the southwest. Temperatures are, unsurprisingly extreme. In the summer, highs in the mid 40s are often seen while winters remain in the 20s with cold nights that can get down to freezing. Rainfall is minimal and erratic, decreasing further south. In the winter months the western harmattan wind becomes violent and whips the desert into huge sandstorms. It can blow sand all the way to North America. It is best to visit the desert in the fringes of season, in March or November, when the worst of the heat and cold can be avoided.

back to top