Ar Raqqah in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Ar Raqqah sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 87 mm of precipitation over about 19 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 43% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Ar Raqqah's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Ar Raqqah's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 14°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 5°C
- Precipitation
- 87 mm
- 19 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.4
- 3rd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Ar Raqqah in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C.
A typical winter day in Ar Raqqah reaches about 14°C and drops to 5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Ar Raqqah
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.
Ar Raqqah 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 | 12° / 4° | 31 | 6.9 | 9.8 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 15° / 5° | 26 | 5.8 | 10.6 | 5.0 |
| Mar | 20° / 9° | 25 | 5 | 11.7 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 26° / 13° | 18 | 3.9 | 12.9 | 7.9 |
| May | 32° / 18° | 10 | 2.1 | 13.9 | 5.2 |
| Jun | 37° / 23° | 1 | 0.2 | 14.4 | 2.1 |
| Jul | 40° / 25° | 0 | 0.1 | 14.2 | 0.2 |
| Aug | 39° / 25° | 0 | 0.1 | 13.4 | 0.5 |
| Sep | 35° / 22° | 1 | 0.2 | 12.2 | 3.3 |
| Oct | 29° / 16° | 16 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 6.8 |
| Nov | 20° / 9° | 23 | 4.1 | 10.1 | 7.5 |
| Dec | 14° / 5° | 29 | 6.1 | 9.6 | 4.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Ar Raqqah gets around 87 mm of rain and snow over 19 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 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 06 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 3.0 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Ar Raqqah
None of Ar Raqqah's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Ar Raqqah sees seasonal dust haze (May), heaviest in May.
Is winter a good time to visit Ar Raqqah?
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 Raqqah for sightseeing.
What to pack for Ar Raqqah in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Ar Raqqah sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 19 days see rain.
UV index in Ar Raqqah in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ar Raqqah peaks around June 15 at about 9 (very high) — 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 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | High | Very high | High | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 7 | Very high |
| Jun | 10 | Very high |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 5 | High |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Ar Raqqah 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 Raqqah is worst in March — around 39 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) | 28 | 31 | 39 | 37 | 37 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 28 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | Moderate |
| Feb | 31 | Moderate |
| Mar | 39 | Poor |
| Apr | 37 | Poor |
| May | 37 | Poor |
| Jun | 34 | Moderate |
| Jul | 33 | Moderate |
| Aug | 33 | Moderate |
| Sep | 33 | Moderate |
| Oct | 31 | Moderate |
| Nov | 28 | Moderate |
| Dec | 28 | Moderate |
Where is Ar Raqqah?
Ar Raqqah sits at 36.0°N, 39.0°E, 259 m above sea level, in Syria. The nearest listed city is Al-Tabqa, 43 km away.
Topography around Ar Raqqah
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Ar Raqqah.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Ar Raqqah has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 30 m around an average of 249 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 174 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 639 m.
The land around Ar Raqqah is covered by artificial surfaces (66%) within 3 km, cropland (48%) and bare terrain (31%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (49%) and cropland (29%) within 80 km.
Syria travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 4
- Do Not Travel
- Power plugs
- Type C / E / L
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 32% of US
- price level, 2022
- GDP per capita
- $1,057
- 2022
- Happiness
- 3.5 / 10
- World Happiness, 2018
- Homicide rate
- 2.1
- per 100k, 2010
- Road deaths
- 14.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Low
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 456
- 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 Raqqah (35.9528°, 39.0079°, elevation 259 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.