General Information » Environment » Climate

Oman’s climate varies considerably with the different regions, but sunny blue skies and warm temperatures can be expected most of the year. The best time to visit Oman is in winter, between October and April, when temperatures average between 25°C and 35°C during the day and about 18°C at night.

The north is hot and humid during the summer, with temperatures reaching 48°C during the day in June and July, and averaging about 32°C at night. Humidity can rise to an uncomfortable 90%. The mean summer temperature in Muscat is 33°C, but the ‘gharbi’ (western) wind from the Rub Al Khali can raise coastal town temperatures by another 6°C to 10°C.

The interior is usually hotter than the coastal area, often reaching 50°C in the shade. In the mountains, night temperatures can fall to -1°C with a light dusting of snow!

Rainfall is infrequent and irregular, falling mainly between November and March. Average annual rainfall in the Muscat area is 75mm, while rainfall in the mountains can be as high as 700mm.

The southern Dhofar region usually has high humidity, even in winter. Between June and September the area receives light monsoon rains, from the Indian Ocean, called the ‘khareef’. The area around Salalah is lush and green and at certain times of the year is swathed in a cooling mist – it’s hard for visitors to reconcile this image with the usual Arabian landscapes of forbidding deserts and rocky, inhospitable mountains.

Information on local weather and meteorological conditions is available by dialling 1102 (Arabic) or 1103 (English).

Forecast by Phone

If you subscribe to OmanMobile, you can get a weather forecast sent to your mobile phone. Just send a text message with the name of the area you are in, preceded by f., to 90023 (so if you were in Muscat, you would type in f.Muscat and send it to 90023).