Damascus in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Damascus sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 107 mm of precipitation over about 20 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 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Damascus's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Damascus's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 12°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 3°C
- Precipitation
- 107 mm
- 20 wet days
- Avg wind
- 8 km/h
- Travel score
- 3.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Damascus in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.
A typical winter day in Damascus reaches about 12°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Damascus
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 40 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Damascus 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 | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10° / 2° | 41 | 7.6 | 1.8 | 10 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 12° / 3° | 35 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 10.8 | 3.6 |
| Mar | 16° / 5° | 25 | 5.1 | 0.4 | 11.7 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 21° / 9° | 11 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 12.8 | 8.0 |
| May | 27° / 13° | 8 | 2.1 | 0 | 13.7 | 8.3 |
| Jun | 31° / 16° | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 14.2 | 6.2 |
| Jul | 34° / 18° | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4.4 |
| Aug | 34° / 18° | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 4.3 |
| Sep | 31° / 16° | 1 | 0.4 | 0 | 12.2 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 26° / 13° | 8 | 2.2 | 0 | 11.2 | 8.4 |
| Nov | 18° / 7° | 21 | 4.2 | 0.1 | 10.3 | 6.8 |
| Dec | 13° / 3° | 31 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 9.8 | 3.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Damascus gets around 107 mm of rain and snow over 20 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 8 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 min 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 3.2 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Damascus?
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 weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Damascus.
What to pack for Damascus in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Damascus sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. About 20 days see rain.
UV index in Damascus in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Damascus peaks around June 21 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 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) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5 | High |
| Apr | 7 | Very high |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 11 | Extreme |
| Sep | 9 | Very high |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Damascus 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 Damascus is worst in November — around 58 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 1.9× the cleanest month (July, 31 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) | 52 | 57 | 52 | 54 | 44 | 35 | 31 | 31 | 41 | 51 | 58 | 57 |
| Level | Poor | Unhealthy | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Unhealthy | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | Poor |
| Feb | 57 | Unhealthy |
| Mar | 52 | Poor |
| Apr | 54 | Poor |
| May | 44 | Poor |
| Jun | 35 | Poor |
| Jul | 31 | Moderate |
| Aug | 31 | Moderate |
| Sep | 41 | Poor |
| Oct | 51 | Poor |
| Nov | 58 | Unhealthy |
| Dec | 57 | Unhealthy |
Where is Damascus?
Damascus sits at 33.5°N, 36.3°E, 701 m above sea level, in Syria. The nearest listed city is al-Yarmūk, 5.0 km away.
Topography around Damascus
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Damascus.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Damascus has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 481 m around an average of 724 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 988 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,803 m.
The land around Damascus is covered by artificial surfaces (77%) within 3 km, grassland (39%), artificial surfaces (27%) and cropland (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (35%), bare terrain (29%) and cropland (23%) 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 Damascus (33.5102°, 36.2913°, elevation 701 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.