Ghardaïa in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Ghardaïa sees average daytime highs around 17°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 18 mm of rain over about 4 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 69% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Ghardaïa's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Ghardaïa's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 17°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 6°C
- Rainfall
- 18 mm
- 4 wet days
- Avg wind
- 16 km/h
- Travel score
- 7.1
- 2nd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Ghardaïa in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C.
A typical winter day in Ghardaïa reaches about 17°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Ghardaïa
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Ghardaïa weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16° / 5° | 9 | 1.6 | 10.1 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 18° / 7° | 4 | 1.1 | 10.8 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 22° / 10° | 7 | 1.5 | 11.8 | 8.6 |
| Apr | 26° / 14° | 7 | 1.4 | 12.8 | 8.4 |
| May | 32° / 19° | 3 | 0.8 | 13.6 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 37° / 24° | 1 | 0.3 | 14.1 | 2.2 |
| Jul | 40° / 27° | 1 | 0.2 | 13.9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 39° / 27° | 2 | 0.8 | 13.2 | 0.5 |
| Sep | 34° / 23° | 8 | 1.5 | 12.2 | 3.7 |
| Oct | 28° / 17° | 6 | 1.1 | 11.2 | 7.6 |
| Nov | 21° / 10° | 6 | 1.4 | 10.3 | 8.4 |
| Dec | 17° / 7° | 5 | 1.2 | 9.9 | 7.1 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 69% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Ghardaïa gets around 18 mm of rain over 4 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 16 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 hours in early December to 11 h 12 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.9 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Ghardaïa
None of Ghardaïa's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Ghardaïa sees seasonal dust haze (March–September), heaviest in June.
Is winter a good time to visit Ghardaïa?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is one of the better times to visit Ghardaïa for general sightseeing.
What to pack for Ghardaïa in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Ghardaïa sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection.
UV index in Ghardaïa in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ghardaïa peaks around June 21 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 3 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | High | Very high | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | Moderate |
| Feb | 5 | High |
| Mar | 7 | Very high |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 8 | Very high |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 10 | Extreme |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Ghardaïa in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Ghardaïa is worst in April — around 86 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.6× the cleanest month (December, 33 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 37 | 51 | 70 | 86 | 78 | 75 | 51 | 53 | 53 | 41 | 36 | 33 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | Poor |
| Feb | 51 | Poor |
| Mar | 70 | Unhealthy |
| Apr | 86 | Unhealthy |
| May | 78 | Unhealthy |
| Jun | 75 | Unhealthy |
| Jul | 51 | Poor |
| Aug | 53 | Poor |
| Sep | 53 | Poor |
| Oct | 41 | Poor |
| Nov | 36 | Poor |
| Dec | 33 | Moderate |
Where is Ghardaïa?
Ghardaïa sits at 32.5°N, 3.7°E, 503 m above sea level, in Algeria. The nearest listed city is Metlili Chaamba, 25 km away.
Topography around Ghardaïa
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Ghardaïa.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Ghardaïa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 116 m around an average of 530 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 249 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 528 m.
The land around Ghardaïa is covered by bare terrain (60%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 3 km, bare terrain (95%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (100%) within 80 km.
Algeria travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 33% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $6,051
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.7 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 69%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.2
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 20.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 468
- Religion
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 Ghardaïa (32.4909°, 3.6735°, elevation 503 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.