Ar Ruţbah in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Ar Ruţbah sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 43 mm of precipitation over about 10 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 56% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Ar Ruţbah's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Ar Ruţbah's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 14°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 4°C
- Precipitation
- 43 mm
- 10 wet days
- Avg wind
- 15 km/h
- Travel score
- 5.1
- 3rd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Ar Ruţbah in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C.
A typical winter day in Ar Ruţbah reaches about 14°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Ar Ruţbah
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 44 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Ar Ruţbah 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 | 13° / 3° | 16 | 3.8 | 10.1 | 4.3 |
| Feb | 15° / 4° | 15 | 3.3 | 10.8 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 20° / 8° | 15 | 3 | 11.7 | 7.7 |
| Apr | 26° / 13° | 9 | 2.3 | 12.8 | 8.4 |
| May | 31° / 18° | 4 | 0.9 | 13.7 | 5.7 |
| Jun | 36° / 22° | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 3.0 |
| Jul | 38° / 24° | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.3 |
| Aug | 38° / 24° | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 1.3 |
| Sep | 35° / 21° | 0 | 0.1 | 12.2 | 3.7 |
| Oct | 29° / 16° | 7 | 1.4 | 11.2 | 7.3 |
| Nov | 20° / 8° | 16 | 2.7 | 10.3 | 7.8 |
| Dec | 15° / 4° | 12 | 2.8 | 9.9 | 5.3 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 56% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Ar Ruţbah gets around 43 mm of rain and snow over 10 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 15 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 3.6 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Ar Ruţbah
None of Ar Ruţbah's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Ar Ruţbah sees seasonal dust haze (March–September), heaviest in May.
Is winter a good time to visit Ar Ruţbah?
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 a reasonable time to visit Ar Ruţbah for sightseeing.
What to pack for Ar Ruţbah in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Ar Ruţbah sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 10 days see rain.
UV index in Ar Ruţbah 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 Ar Ruţbah peaks around June 18 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 3 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 10 | Very high |
| Aug | 10 | Very high |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Ar Ruţbah 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 Ar Ruţbah is worst in May — around 71 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.0× the cleanest month (November, 35 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) | 42 | 45 | 63 | 62 | 71 | 62 | 60 | 55 | 51 | 52 | 35 | 40 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | Poor |
| Feb | 45 | Poor |
| Mar | 63 | Unhealthy |
| Apr | 62 | Unhealthy |
| May | 71 | Unhealthy |
| Jun | 62 | Unhealthy |
| Jul | 60 | Unhealthy |
| Aug | 55 | Poor |
| Sep | 51 | Poor |
| Oct | 52 | Poor |
| Nov | 35 | Poor |
| Dec | 40 | Poor |
Where is Ar Ruţbah?
Ar Ruţbah sits at 33.0°N, 40.3°E, 620 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Rukban, 150 km away.
Topography around Ar Ruţbah
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Ar Ruţbah.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Ar Ruţbah has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 35 m around an average of 622 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 411 m.
The land around Ar Ruţbah is covered by bare terrain (82%) within 3 km, bare terrain (98%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (100%) within 80 km.
Iraq travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 4
- Do Not Travel
- Power plugs
- Type C / D / G
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 38% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $5,410
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.2 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 60%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 9.5
- per 100k, 2013
- Road deaths
- 27.3
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Very low
- EF EPI 406
- 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 Ar Ruţbah (33.0372°, 40.2859°, elevation 620 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.