Kairouan in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Kairouan sees average daytime highs around 18°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 71 mm of rain over about 12 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 18°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Kairouan's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Kairouan's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
18°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
7°C
Rainfall
71 mm
12 wet days
Avg wind
10 km/h
Travel score
6.8
2nd-best season
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Kairouan in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 18°C.

A typical winter day in Kairouan reaches about 18°C and drops to 7°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

10°20°30°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Kairouan

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.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Kairouan 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
Jan17° / 273.99.96.5
Feb18° / 224.210.66.8
Mar21° / 345.411.77.3
Apr24° / 12°254.612.97.9
May28° / 16°173.813.96.9
Jun33° / 20°71.714.44.4
Jul36° / 23°20.614.22.6
Aug36° / 23°102.113.32.7
Sep32° / 21°375.112.24.9
Oct27° / 17°395.311.17.3
Nov22° / 12°253.910.17.9
Dec18° / 223.89.67.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Kairouan gets around 71 mm of rain over 12 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%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 10 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

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 3.0 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Kairouan

In seasonPeak

None of Kairouan's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Kairouan sees seasonal dust haze (April–June), heaviest in June.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Kairouan?

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.

6.8
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
2.1
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Kairouan for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kairouan in Winter

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

In winter, Kairouan sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Kairouan in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 16°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 52 km away) is warmest in August at about 27°C and coldest in February near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 29 to Nov 27 — about 6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan16Cool
Feb15Bracing
Mar15Bracing
Apr16Cool
May19Cool
Jun22Refreshing
Jul25Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep26Warm
Oct24Refreshing
Nov21Refreshing
Dec18Cool

UV index in Kairouan in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Kairouan peaks around July 17 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighHighVery highHighModerateJul 17UV 10Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr5Moderate
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Kairouan 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 Kairouan is worst in November — around 29 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateNov 1329 µg/m³Jul 1522 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan27Moderate
Feb28Moderate
Mar28Moderate
Apr28Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug23Moderate
Sep26Moderate
Oct29Moderate
Nov29Moderate
Dec28Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Kairouan?

Kairouan sits at 35.7°N, 10.1°E, 65 m above sea level, in Tunisia. The nearest listed city is Msaken, 44 km away.

MsakenKalaa SriraKelaa KebiraEzzouhourAkoudaZaouiet SousseHammam SousseSousse

Topography around Kairouan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kairouan has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 29 m around an average of 58 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 158 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,365 m.

The land around Kairouan is covered by artificial surfaces (52%) and cropland (21%) within 3 km, cropland (53%) and grassland (22%) within 16 km, and cropland (38%) and grassland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
29 m
16 km
158 m
80 km
1,365 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Msaken 44 km · Kalaa Srira 45 km · Kelaa Kebira 45 km · Ezzouhour 46 km · Akouda 47 km · Zaouiet Sousse 49 km · Hammam Sousse 50 km · Sousse 51 km

Tunisia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 29% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$4,657
2025
Happiness
4.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
65%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
4.7
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
16.5
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 498
Religion
Muslim 99%

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 Kairouan (35.6781°, 10.0963°, elevation 65 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.