Climate and average weather in Sulaymaniyah
In Sulaymaniyah, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Sulaymaniyah typically varies from -0°C to 39°C, and is rarely below -6°C or above 42°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Sulaymaniyah for warm-weather activities are from mid April to late May and early October to mid November.
- Hottest
- Aug
- 39°
- Coldest
- Jan
- -0°
- Wettest
- Feb
- 132 mm
- Driest
- Jul
- 0 mm
- Rain / yr
- 733 mm
- 74 wet days
- Daylight
- 9.6–14.4 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 847 m
- 35.6°N
- Clearest
- Jul
- 6% cloud
Sulaymaniyah is city in Iraq.
- Founded
- 1784
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Sulaymaniyah 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 mid April to late May.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Sulaymaniyah, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from June 2 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 32°C. The hottest month of the year in Sulaymaniyah is August, with an average high of 39°C and low of 21°C.
The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 26 to March 10, with daily high temperatures below 15°C. The coldest month of the year in Sulaymaniyah is January, with an average low of -0°C and high of 9°C.
Days typically run about 13°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 17°C) in August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 9 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 39 | 34 | 27 | 18 | 12 |
| Avg low (°C) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 2 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 0 |
| Feb | 11 | 1 |
| Mar | 16 | 5 |
| Apr | 21 | 9 |
| May | 28 | 13 |
| Jun | 34 | 18 |
| Jul | 39 | 22 |
| Aug | 39 | 21 |
| Sep | 34 | 17 |
| Oct | 27 | 12 |
| Nov | 18 | 6 |
| Dec | 12 | 2 |
How hot and cold Sulaymaniyah really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Sulaymaniyah feels like about 39°C (around July 29). About 115 days a year carry some heat stress, and 28 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in July.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°C (around January 17), with roughly 67 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 9 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 27 | 34 | 39 | 39 | 34 | 27 | 18 | 12 |
| Air high (°C) | 9 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 39 | 34 | 27 | 18 | 12 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -2 | -1 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Air low (°C) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 2 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 9 | -2 | 0 |
| Feb | 11 | 11 | -1 | 1 |
| Mar | 16 | 16 | 3 | 5 |
| Apr | 21 | 21 | 8 | 9 |
| May | 27 | 28 | 13 | 13 |
| Jun | 34 | 34 | 18 | 18 |
| Jul | 39 | 39 | 22 | 22 |
| Aug | 39 | 39 | 21 | 21 |
| Sep | 34 | 34 | 17 | 17 |
| Oct | 27 | 27 | 12 | 12 |
| Nov | 18 | 18 | 5 | 6 |
| Dec | 12 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
Average hourly temperature in Sulaymaniyah
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 39°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -0°C.
Sulaymaniyah weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9° / -0° | 131 | 12.2 | 4 | 9.9 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 11° / 1° | 132 | 12.1 | 2.9 | 10.7 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 16° / 5° | 121 | 11.7 | 0.9 | 11.7 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 21° / 9° | 88 | 10.2 | 0.1 | 12.9 | 6.6 |
| May | 28° / 13° | 30 | 5.3 | 0 | 13.8 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 34° / 18° | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 14.4 | 3.8 |
| Jul | 39° / 22° | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.2 | 1.0 |
| Aug | 39° / 21° | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.3 | 0.9 |
| Sep | 34° / 17° | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 12.2 | 4.1 |
| Oct | 27° / 12° | 38 | 3.8 | 0 | 11.1 | 7.5 |
| Nov | 18° / 6° | 83 | 7.8 | 0.2 | 10.1 | 6.1 |
| Dec | 12° / 2° | 109 | 10.1 | 1.3 | 9.6 | 3.2 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Sulaymaniyah gets about 733 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 6.5 months, from around Oct 26 to May 12, peaking in February at about 44% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 25.
February is the wettest month by volume, with 132 mm over about 12 wet days; July is the driest, with 0 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 38 | 43 | 38 | 34 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 26 | 33 |
| Rain days | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 12 |
| Feb | 43 | 12 |
| Mar | 38 | 12 |
| Apr | 34 | 10 |
| May | 17 | 5 |
| Jun | 1 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 1 | 0 |
| Oct | 12 | 4 |
| Nov | 26 | 8 |
| Dec | 33 | 10 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Sulaymaniyah collects about 733 mm of rain across 74 wet days — roughly 61 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 132 mm, while July is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 52% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 131 | 132 | 121 | 88 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 83 | 109 |
| Rain days | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Snow days | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 131 | 12 | 4 |
| Feb | 132 | 12 | 3 |
| Mar | 121 | 12 | 1 |
| Apr | 88 | 10 | 0 |
| May | 30 | 5 | 0 |
| Jun | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 38 | 4 | 0 |
| Nov | 83 | 8 | 0 |
| Dec | 109 | 10 | 1 |
Snow in Sulaymaniyah
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.
Sulaymaniyah averages about 9 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 29 to Mar 28 — about 3.9 months.
January is snowiest, with roughly 4 days of snow and an estimated 27 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 53 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 27 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 27 |
| Feb | 3 | 17 |
| Mar | 1 | 3 |
| Apr | 0 | 1 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 1 |
| Dec | 1 | 5 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Sulaymaniyah, 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 12 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around October 24. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 25 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around May 11. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 51 | 51 | 55 | 62 | 79 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 82 | 67 | 55 |
| Cloudier (%) | 49 | 49 | 45 | 38 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 33 | 45 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 49 |
| Feb | 51 | 49 |
| Mar | 55 | 45 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 |
| May | 79 | 21 |
| Jun | 98 | 2 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 99 | 1 |
| Oct | 82 | 18 |
| Nov | 67 | 33 |
| Dec | 55 | 45 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 11, brings about 14 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 48 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.9 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:12 | 6:53 | 6:16 | 5:32 | 4:58 | 4:47 | 4:58 | 5:22 | 5:46 | 6:11 | 6:41 | 7:06 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:03 | 5:33 | 6:00 | 6:25 | 6:51 | 7:10 | 7:09 | 6:43 | 5:59 | 5:16 | 4:46 | 4:43 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.9 | 7:12 | 5:03 |
| Feb | 10.7 | 6:53 | 5:33 |
| Mar | 11.7 | 6:16 | 6:00 |
| Apr | 12.9 | 5:32 | 6:25 |
| May | 13.8 | 4:58 | 6:51 |
| Jun | 14.4 | 4:47 | 7:10 |
| Jul | 14.2 | 4:58 | 7:09 |
| Aug | 13.3 | 5:22 | 6:43 |
| Sep | 12.2 | 5:46 | 5:59 |
| Oct | 11.1 | 6:11 | 5:16 |
| Nov | 10.1 | 6:41 | 4:46 |
| Dec | 9.6 | 7:06 | 4:43 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Sulaymaniyah averages about 19 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 30 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 5.1 months, from around May 18 to Oct 18. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 28 sunny days (brilliant).
The greyest month is February, down near 10 sunny days — about 64% fewer than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 12 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 21 | 16 | 13 |
| Sky | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Bright | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Bright | Bright | Mixed |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Mixed |
| Feb | 9 | Mixed |
| Mar | 12 | Mixed |
| Apr | 13 | Mixed |
| May | 19 | Bright |
| Jun | 28 | Brilliant |
| Jul | 30 | Brilliant |
| Aug | 30 | Brilliant |
| Sep | 29 | Brilliant |
| Oct | 21 | Bright |
| Nov | 16 | Bright |
| Dec | 13 | Mixed |
Humidity comfort
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 Sulaymaniyah, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in April, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 95 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 100 | 99 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 99 | 1 |
| May | 95 | 5 |
| Jun | 99 | 1 |
| Jul | 99 | 1 |
| Aug | 99 | 1 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 99 | 1 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
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 Sulaymaniyah is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | calm |
| Feb | 6 | calm |
| Mar | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 7 | calm |
| May | 7 | calm |
| Jun | 7 | calm |
| Jul | 7 | calm |
| Aug | 7 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 6 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Sulaymaniyah
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Sulaymaniyah's rainy season runs November–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Sulaymaniyah sees seasonal dust haze (May), heaviest in May.
Best time to visit Sulaymaniyah
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sulaymaniyah throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late April, Sulaymaniyah is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.
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 times of year to visit Sulaymaniyah for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid April to late May and again from early October to mid November, with a peak score in the third week of October.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 2.0 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 3.2 |
| Rating | poor | poor | fair | good | good | fair | poor | poor | fair | good | good | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.0 | poor |
| Feb | 2.7 | poor |
| Mar | 4.8 | fair |
| Apr | 6.6 | good |
| May | 7.0 | good |
| Jun | 3.8 | fair |
| Jul | 1.1 | poor |
| Aug | 1.0 | poor |
| Sep | 4.1 | fair |
| Oct | 7.4 | good |
| Nov | 6.1 | good |
| Dec | 3.2 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Sulaymaniyah for hot-weather activities run from mid May to late June and again from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the first week of October.
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 Sulaymaniyah, by month
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 39°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 9°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.
In August, Sulaymaniyah sees daytime highs around 39°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.
UV index (midday) in Sulaymaniyah by month
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 Sulaymaniyah peaks around June 18 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 2 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 10 | Very high |
| Aug | 10 | Very high |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Sulaymaniyah
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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 3 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 3 | 0 |
| Mar | 3.5 | 0 |
| Apr | 6.5 | 2 |
| May | 8 | 5 |
| Jun | 8.5 | 6 |
| Jul | 8.5 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 8 | 5.5 |
| Sep | 7 | 4 |
| Oct | 5 | 0 |
| Nov | 2.5 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Air quality in Sulaymaniyah by month
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 Sulaymaniyah is worst in May — around 41 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 37 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 29 | 29 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | Moderate |
| Feb | 33 | Moderate |
| Mar | 41 | Poor |
| Apr | 41 | Poor |
| May | 41 | Poor |
| Jun | 37 | Poor |
| Jul | 35 | Moderate |
| Aug | 34 | Moderate |
| Sep | 33 | Moderate |
| Oct | 33 | Moderate |
| Nov | 29 | Moderate |
| Dec | 29 | Moderate |
Growing season
The growing season in Sulaymaniyah typically lasts about 334 days, from around February 6 to January 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 19 to November 21.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 46 | 59 | 88 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 93 | 66 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 31 |
| Feb | 59 | 28 |
| Mar | 88 | 19 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 93 | 10 |
| Dec | 66 | 31 |
Growing degree days
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. Sulaymaniyah banks about 3,043 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 17 | 149 | 323 | 492 | 629 | 620 | 462 | 293 | 58 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 17 |
| Apr | 149 |
| May | 323 |
| Jun | 492 |
| Jul | 629 |
| Aug | 620 |
| Sep | 462 |
| Oct | 293 |
| Nov | 58 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Sulaymaniyah receives about 5.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.4 and 8.0 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 29 to Oct 2. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.9 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 2.5 kWh/m² — roughly 69% less than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 2.6 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Moderate | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.6 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3.5 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4.8 | Bright |
| Apr | 6.0 | Intense |
| May | 7.2 | Intense |
| Jun | 8.0 | Intense |
| Jul | 7.9 | Intense |
| Aug | 7.4 | Intense |
| Sep | 6.2 | Intense |
| Oct | 4.5 | Bright |
| Nov | 3.2 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2.4 | Moderate |
Where is Sulaymaniyah?
Sulaymaniyah sits at 35.6°N, 45.4°E, 847 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Baynjiwayn, 47 km away.
Topography around Sulaymaniyah
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Sulaymaniyah.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Sulaymaniyah has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 257 m around an average of 862 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,093 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,652 m.
The land around Sulaymaniyah is covered by artificial surfaces (84%) within 3 km, grassland (57%) and cropland (23%) within 16 km, and grassland (73%) 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 Sulaymaniyah (35.565°, 45.4329°, elevation 847 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. 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).