Weather in Dubai – best time to visit the UAE
Dubai is undoubtedly the most visited of the seven United Arab Emirates.
Located in the Persian Gulf and thriving on oil production, Dubai attracts tourists from all over the world with its ostentatious wealth, extravagant architecture, luxury hotels and shopping malls and last but not least, year round warm weather.
Having only one urban centre, Dubai emirate is located in a desert climate zone characterised by high to extremely high temperatures and very scarce rainfall, the factors which make it a tourist destination throughout most of the year.
The choice of the best time to visit Dubai depends largely on one’s individual taste and tolerance to hot weather. Below, we present an overview of weather in Dubai to expect across the year.
Dubai in the summer - heat not for everyone
The months between June and September are the warmest time in Dubai. During this time the average daytime temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius, easily reaching 40-45 degrees. For a majority of tourists from northern Europe the oppressive heat of Dubai summer makes any activities other than soaking in a hotel pool or chilling in an air conditioned room - very challenging if not impossible.
Nights usually bring some relief, with even 10 degrees drop of temperatures. Nevertheless it is still rather hard to explore to the fullest Dubai tourist offer during the summer.
The water temperature in the Persian Gulf, on the other hand, is usually at 29-32 degrees, throughout most of the summer.
See Dubai climate chart.
Although the desert climate is usually dry, the closeness of a large body of water and strong evaporation from the Persian Gulf contribute to a very high humidity felt in Dubai in the summer, which combined with the heat, only increases the discomfort.
The adventurous travellers heading to Dubai during that time of the year should be also prepared to face strong winds, known as shamal, which often bring sandstorms.
Spring and autumn – the best time to visit Dubai
In order to be able to enjoy to the fullest many of Dubai attractions, early spring and late autumn are probably the best seasons to visit the emirate.
As of early March, the daytime temperatures exceed 20 degrees, usually reaching 30degrees by the end of April, resembling southern European summer, with the exception of inexistence of rainfall.
Similarly, in the autumn, after a very hot summer, the temperatures start slowly decreasing, from an average of 30 degrees in October, to around 25 degrees by the end of November.
The difference in temperatures between the day and the night is still around 10 degrees which means that a warm outer wear may be needed at night, outside the summer season.
Dubai winter
Winter holiday in Dubai is a good solution for tourists who enjoy a little bit of fresh air and a morning chill, as in January and February the daytime temperatures may drop below 20 degrees Celsius (unlike the water temperature which remains above 20 degrees Celsius even during the coldest season in Dubai).
Winter is also considered a ‘rainy’ season in Dubai, although on average there are only 4 rainy days in the wettest months of December and February. The rain, even when it happens, is usually short-lived.
Topics: dubai-weather, climate-dubai, uae, summer-in-dubai
