Climate and average weather in Sarande

In Sarande, the summers are warm, fairly dry, and clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Sarande typically varies from 4°C to 27°C, and is rarely below 0°C or above 30°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Sarande for warm-weather activities is from late May to early October.

Hottest
Aug
27°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Nov
260 mm
Driest
Jul
19 mm
Rain / yr
1501 mm
115 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
23 m
39.9°N
Clearest
Jul
16% cloud

Sarande is City of Albania.

Density
384/km²
people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Sarande weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Sarande, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.4 months, from June 9 to September 19, with daily high temperatures above 23°C. The hottest month of the year in Sarande is August, with an average high of 27°C and low of 20°C.

The cool season lasts 3.9 months, from November 27 to March 24, with daily high temperatures below 13°C. The coldest month of the year in Sarande is January, with an average low of 4°C and high of 10°C.

Days typically run about 6°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan104
Feb105
Mar137
Apr1610
May2014
Jun2418
Jul2720
Aug2720
Sep2317
Oct2013
Nov159
Dec116

Average hourly temperature in Sarande

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 27°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Sarande weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan10° / 16412.11.29.52.1
Feb10° / 16311.71.710.42.3
Mar13° / 14812.30.611.73.4
Apr16° / 10°10511.50134.8
May20° / 14°719.8014.26.6
Jun24° / 18°345.3014.88.2
Jul27° / 20°193.4014.58.5
Aug27° / 20°213.5013.68.3
Sep23° / 17°1188.6012.37.5
Oct20° / 13°1659.7010.96.5
Nov15° / 26013.40.29.84.3
Dec11° / 23413.80.79.22.5

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Sarande gets about 1501 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 7.1 months, from around Oct 11 to May 14, peaking in November at about 48% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 13.

November is the wettest month by volume, with 260 mm over about 13 wet days; July is the driest, with 19 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 24 · 48%Aug 13 · 10%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4012
Feb4212
Mar3912
Apr3912
May3110
Jun185
Jul113
Aug124
Sep289
Oct3210
Nov4413
Dec4414

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Sarande collects about 1501 mm of rain across 115 wet days — roughly 125 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 260 mm, while July is the driest at just 19 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 44% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec16416314810571341921118165260234
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan164121
Feb163122
Mar148121
Apr105120
May71100
Jun3450
Jul1930
Aug2140
Sep11890
Oct165100
Nov260130
Dec234141

Snow in Sarande

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Sarande averages about 4 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Dec 8 to Mar 24 — about 3.5 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.7 days of snow and an estimated 9 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 19 cm of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 8
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan14
Feb29
Mar14
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec13

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Sarande, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 11 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around October 4. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 96% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 5 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around May 10. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 52% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 18 · 97%Nov 28 · 44%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb4852
Mar5446
Apr5743
May7030
Jun8614
Jul964
Aug946
Sep7723
Oct6436
Nov4951
Dec4951

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 10, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.57:054:33
Feb10.46:425:08
Mar11.75:595:40
Apr13.05:096:12
May14.24:306:42
Jun14.84:167:05
Jul14.54:297:03
Aug13.64:566:32
Sep12.35:275:42
Oct10.95:574:53
Nov9.86:324:18
Dec9.27:014:12

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Sarande averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.1 months, from around May 25 to Sep 26. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is November, down near 11 sunny days — about 60% fewer than the July peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 1528 daysNov 3010 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar12Mixed
Apr12Mixed
May15Bright
Jun22Bright
Jul28Brilliant
Aug27Brilliant
Sep19Bright
Oct15Bright
Nov11Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Sarande, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around May 30 to September 29. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 88% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 30 to May 29, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 18 · 100%Aug 5 · 6%muggycomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr97300
May523890
Jun9334217
Jul2145034
Aug2105038
Sep19324010
Oct553690
Nov93700
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Sarande is steady company: average speeds sit near 8 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeNov 28 · 10 km/hJun 3 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar9calm
Apr8calm
May8calm
Jun7calm
Jul8calm
Aug7calm
Sep7calm
Oct8calm
Nov9calm
Dec10calm

Hazard calendar for Sarande

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Sarande's rainy season runs September–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Sarande

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sarande throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late September, Sarande is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sarande for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 4 · 8.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan2.1poor
Feb2.4poor
Mar3.4poor
Apr4.8fair
May6.6good
Jun8.1ideal
Jul8.5ideal
Aug8.2ideal
Sep7.5ideal
Oct6.5good
Nov4.3fair
Dec2.5poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sarande for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 12 · 8.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Sarande, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 27°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 10°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Sarande sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 4 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Sarande

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 25°C and coldest in February near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 27 to Nov 13 — about 5.6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan15Cool
Feb15Bracing
Mar15Bracing
Apr16Cool
May19Cool
Jun22Refreshing
Jul24Refreshing
Aug25Warm
Sep24Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov20Cool
Dec17Cool

UV index (midday) in Sarande by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Sarande peaks around July 24 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 24UV 9Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr7High
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Sarande

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar50
Apr6.52.5
May73.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug85
Sep62
Oct40
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Sarande by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Sarande is worst in April — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1915 µg/m³Dec 168 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb12Good
Mar14Moderate
Apr15Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep10Good
Oct10Good
Nov9Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free day

Sarande is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan940
Feb960
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec970

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Sarande banks about 2,022 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,5002,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar5
Apr78
May207
Jun321
Jul409
Aug424
Sep311
Oct201
Nov66
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Sarande receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.8 and 7.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 22 to Sep 21. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.8 kWh/m² — roughly 75% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 27.3 kWhDec 181.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.1Moderate
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.2Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May6.4Intense
Jun7.2Intense
Jul7.2Intense
Aug6.4Intense
Sep4.8Bright
Oct3.4Moderate
Nov2.2Moderate
Dec1.8Dim

Where is Sarande?

Sarande sits at 39.9°N, 20.0°E, 23 m above sea level, in Albania. The nearest listed city is Gjirokastër, 25 km away.

GjirokastërCorfuDhërmiZagorochoriaIoánninaVlorëPatos FshatBerat

Topography around Sarande

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Sarande.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sarande has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 464 m around an average of 98 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,494 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,461 m.

The land around Sarande is covered by water (32%) and grassland (31%) within 3 km, water (34%), grassland (29%) and trees (23%) within 16 km, and water (39%), trees (37%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
464 m
16 km
1,494 m
80 km
2,461 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Gjirokastër 25 km · Corfu 29 km · Dhërmi 44 km · Zagorochoria 74 km · Ioánnina 76 km · Vlorë 80 km · Patos Fshat 90 km · Berat 92 km

Albania travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 43% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$12,998
2025
Happiness
5.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
71%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.4
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
11.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 532
Religion
Muslim 57%Roman Catholic 10%Orthodox 7%other 6%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Sarande (39.8753°, 20.0048°, elevation 23 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).