Climate and average weather in Zarzis

In Zarzis, the summers are muggy, hot, dry, and clear and the winters are mild, breezy, and mostly clear.

Best: mid March to early August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zarzis typically varies from 12°C to 30°C, and is rarely below 10°C or above 33°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 Zarzis for warm-weather activities are from mid March to early August and mid September to early December.

Hottest
Aug
30°
Coldest
Jan
12°
Wettest
Dec
26 mm
Driest
Jul
0 mm
Rain / yr
152 mm
25 wet days
Daylight
9.8–14.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
11 m
33.5°N
Clearest
Jul
4% cloud

Zarzis 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 March to early August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Zarzis, 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 18 to October 11, with daily high temperatures above 26°C. The hottest month of the year in Zarzis is August, with an average high of 30°C and low of 26°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from December 5 to March 23, with daily high temperatures below 19°C. The coldest month of the year in Zarzis is January, with an average low of 12°C and high of 16°C.

Days typically run about 4°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan1612
Feb1612
Mar1814
Apr2016
May2319
Jun2622
Jul2925
Aug3026
Sep2825
Oct2622
Nov2117
Dec1813

How hot and cold Zarzis really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

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, Zarzis feels like about 33°C (around August 18). About 38 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan16161212
Feb16161212
Mar18181414
Apr20201616
May23231919
Jun26262222
Jul31292525
Aug33302626
Sep31282525
Oct26262222
Nov21211717
Dec18181313

Average hourly temperature in Zarzis

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 30°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 12°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Zarzis weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan16° / 12°193.3106.1
Feb16° / 12°162.910.86.4
Mar18° / 14°132.211.77.4
Apr20° / 16°81.612.88.2
May23° / 19°30.813.78.9
Jun26° / 22°10.114.29.1
Jul29° / 25°00148.0
Aug30° / 26°10.213.27.2
Sep28° / 25°161.812.27.5
Oct26° / 22°253.711.28.1
Nov21° / 17°243.910.37.9
Dec18° / 13°264.69.86.9

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Zarzis gets about 152 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from around Sep 21 to Mar 21, peaking in November at about 14% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 17.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 26 mm over about 5 wet days; July is the driest, with 0 mm.

0%10%20%30%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainNov 3 · 14%Jun 17 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan123
Feb103
Mar82
Apr52
May21
Jun00
Jul00
Aug10
Sep62
Oct124
Nov134
Dec145

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Zarzis collects about 152 mm of rain across 25 wet days — roughly 13 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 26 mm, while July is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 49% of the year’s total.

02550JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec191613831116252426
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan193
Feb163
Mar132
Apr82
May31
Jun10
Jul00
Aug10
Sep162
Oct254
Nov244
Dec265

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Zarzis, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 30 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around September 22. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 99% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 23 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around May 29. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 23% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 26 · 100%Nov 21 · 76%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7822
Feb8119
Mar8020
Apr8119
May8119
Jun928
Jul991
Aug982
Sep8812
Oct7723
Nov7723
Dec7822

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

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 9, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.07:255:25
Feb10.87:075:53
Mar11.76:336:17
Apr12.85:516:41
May13.75:207:04
Jun14.25:107:22
Jul14.05:217:22
Aug13.25:426:57
Sep12.26:046:16
Oct11.26:265:35
Nov10.36:545:08
Dec9.87:185:05

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Zarzis averages about 22 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 18 and 30 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around May 30 to Sep 17. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 30 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is October, down near 19 sunny days — about 36% fewer than the July peak.

05101520253035JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2630 daysOct 2418 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan20Bright
Feb19Bright
Mar21Bright
Apr21Bright
May22Bright
Jun26Brilliant
Jul30Brilliant
Aug30Brilliant
Sep23Brilliant
Oct19Bright
Nov19Bright
Dec20Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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 Zarzis, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around May 16 to November 1. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around November 2 to May 15, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 1 · 100%Jul 13 · 0%miserablecomfortablemuggyoppressivehumiddrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9910000
Feb9820000
Mar87130000
Apr58366000
May153741700
Jun17364890
Jul00742482
Aug002246311
Sep131336417
Oct9173131110
Nov572514400
Dec9371000

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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Zarzis is typically light breeze, near 19 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.9 months, from around Nov 27 to Jun 23. The windiest month is December, averaging about 20 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jun 24 to Nov 26, with October the calmest month at about 17 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyDec 27 · 20 km/hOct 26 · 16 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan19light breeze
Feb19light breeze
Mar20light breeze
Apr20breezy
May20breezy
Jun19light breeze
Jul18light breeze
Aug17light breeze
Sep18light breeze
Oct17light breeze
Nov18light breeze
Dec20light breeze

Hazard calendar for Zarzis

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

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

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

Best time to visit Zarzis

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zarzis throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late March, Zarzis 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 Zarzis for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid March to early August and again from mid September to early December, with a peak score in the first week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 5 · 9.2

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).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan6.1good
Feb6.5good
Mar7.4good
Apr8.2ideal
May8.9ideal
Jun9.1ideal
Jul8.0ideal
Aug7.2good
Sep7.5ideal
Oct8.1ideal
Nov7.9ideal
Dec6.9good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Zarzis for hot-weather activities is from late May to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 24 · 9.7

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 Zarzis, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

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 30°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 16°C), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Zarzis sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 26°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

Sea temperature near Zarzis

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 14 km away) is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 13 to Dec 5 — about 6.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan16Cool
Feb15Bracing
Mar16Cool
Apr18Cool
May20Refreshing
Jun23Refreshing
Jul27Warm
Aug28Tropical
Sep28Warm
Oct25Warm
Nov22Refreshing
Dec19Cool

UV index (midday) in Zarzis by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Zarzis peaks around June 20 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateJun 20UV 10Dec 22UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar7High
Apr6High
May7High
Jun10Extreme
Jul9Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Zarzis

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb4.50
Mar62
Apr60
May73
Jun8.56
Jul85.5
Aug7.55
Sep74
Oct5.51
Nov30
Dec00

Air quality in Zarzis by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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 Zarzis is worst in January — around 33 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.2× the cleanest month (July, 10 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateJan 1832 µg/m³Jul 2210 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan33Moderate
Feb28Moderate
Mar29Moderate
Apr27Moderate
May19Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul10Good
Aug11Good
Sep14Moderate
Oct19Moderate
Nov24Moderate
Dec25Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Zarzis is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

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. Zarzis banks about 3,883 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan117
Feb114
Mar182
Apr248
May344
Jun427
Jul522
Aug556
Sep500
Oct426
Nov280
Dec169

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.

Zarzis receives about 5.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.8 and 7.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 14 to Sep 19. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.6 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.9 kWh/m² — roughly 62% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 17.7 kWhDec 192.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.3Moderate
Feb4.3Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr6.7Intense
May7.1Intense
Jun7.6Intense
Jul7.6Intense
Aug6.8Intense
Sep5.6Bright
Oct4.3Bright
Nov3.4Moderate
Dec2.9Moderate

Where is Zarzis?

Zarzis sits at 33.5°N, 11.1°E, 11 m above sea level, in Tunisia. The nearest listed city is Midoun, 36 km away.

DjerbaMedenineMarethTataouine

Topography around Zarzis

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zarzis has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 50 m around an average of 8 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 75 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 466 m.

The land around Zarzis is covered by artificial surfaces (47%) and water (42%) within 3 km, water (56%) within 16 km, and water (46%) and bare terrain (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
50 m
16 km
75 m
80 km
466 m
grasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Midoun 36 km · El Mgarsa 37 km · Ajim 41 km · Ben Gardane 42 km · Djerba 48 km · Medenine 59 km · Mareth 78 km · Tataouine 89 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 Zarzis (33.504°, 11.1121°, elevation 11 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).