Latakia in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Latakia sees average daytime highs around 15°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 616 mm of rain over about 38 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 15°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 42% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Latakia's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Latakia's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
15°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
12°C
Rainfall
616 mm
38 wet days
Avg wind
16 km/h
Travel score
4.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Latakia in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 15°C.

A typical winter day in Latakia reaches about 15°C and drops to 12°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

10°15°20°25°DecJanFeb

Latakia 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan15° / 11°22614.19.94.1
Feb15° / 11°15911.510.74.5
Mar17° / 13°11610.911.75.5
Apr19° / 15°758.912.96.6
May22° / 19°415.713.88.0
Jun25° / 22°143.414.48.8
Jul27° / 25°41.814.28.5
Aug28° / 26°41.413.38.0
Sep27° / 24°243.612.28.3
Oct25° / 21°66611.18.1
Nov21° / 16°124810.17.0
Dec16° / 13°23112.29.65.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 42% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Latakia gets around 616 mm of rain over 38 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 16 km/h across winter.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.8 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Latakia

In seasonPeak

In winter, Latakia overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Latakia's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Latakia?

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.

4.5
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.3
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Latakia for sightseeing.

What to pack for Latakia in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Latakia sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 12°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 38 days see rain.

rain geara warm layer

Sea temperature near Latakia in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 19°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 18 km away) is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 17°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 4 to Dec 19 — about 7.6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan18Cool
Feb17Cool
Mar17Cool
Apr18Cool
May21Refreshing
Jun25Warm
Jul27Warm
Aug28Tropical
Sep28Warm
Oct26Warm
Nov23Refreshing
Dec20Refreshing

UV index in Latakia in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Latakia peaks around June 19 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 19UV 10Jan 10UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Latakia in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Latakia is worst in March — around 48 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.3× the cleanest month (August, 21 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorMar 948 µg/m³Aug 1021 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan40Poor
Feb48Poor
Mar48Poor
Apr45Poor
May33Moderate
Jun26Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug21Moderate
Sep27Moderate
Oct36Poor
Nov41Poor
Dec44Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Latakia?

Latakia sits at 35.5°N, 35.8°E, 29 m above sea level, in Syria. The nearest listed city is Burj Islām, 16 km away.

BāniyāsJisr ash ShughūrSamandağKafranbelMaşyāfŢarţūs

Topography around Latakia

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Latakia.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Latakia has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 94 m around an average of 25 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 285 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,704 m.

The land around Latakia is covered by artificial surfaces (57%) within 3 km, water (55%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and water (37%) and trees (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
94 m
16 km
285 m
80 km
1,704 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Burj Islām 16 km · Jablah 23 km · Bāniyās 41 km · Jisr ash Shughūr 57 km · Samandağ 63 km · Kafranbel 71 km · Maşyāf 72 km · Ţarţūs 72 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
Muslim 87%Christian 10%Druze 3%

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 Latakia (35.5312°, 35.7909°, elevation 29 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.