Mecca is 2.8°C (5°F) warmer by day, Mecca has 4°C (7.2°F) warmer nights, and both get similar annual rainfall.
Mecca is at its warmest in June and coolest in January, while Riyadh peaks in July and bottoms out in January. Month for month, Mecca is the warmer of the two in 10 of 12 months.
Both collect a similar amount of rain over the year — 50 mm (2 in) in Mecca and 48 mm (1.9 in) in Riyadh. The most comfortable time to visit is January, February and December in Mecca and February, March and November in Riyadh.
Overnight, Mecca typically falls to around 22.5°C (72.5°F) while Riyadh settles near 18.5°C (65.3°F).
Mecca is hottest in June and coldest in January, whereas Riyadh peaks in July and is coolest in January.
Mecca sees the most rain in November and the least in July; Riyadh is wettest in March and driest in June.
Mecca feels the more humid of the two, averaging 34% relative humidity against 25%.
For Riyadh, the pick of the year is February, March and November.
Month by month, here is the coldest night, the average day and the hottest afternoon each city can expect. Switch Compare to read rainfall, humidity, wind or solar instead, and Period to move between the long-term 45-year average and any single year — the shading is a quick warm-to-cool guide.
| Month | Mecca | Riyadh | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 15.5 | 21.9❄️ | 28.4 | 7.5 | 14.5❄️ | 21.5 |
| February | 16 | 23 | 30.1 | 9.2 | 16.7 | 24.2 |
| March | 18.7 | 25.9 | 33.1 | 13.4 | 21 | 28.7 |
| April | 22.4 | 29.5 | 36.7 | 18.6 | 26.4 | 34.1 |
| May | 25.8 | 33.2 | 40.5 | 23.8 | 31.8 | 39.8 |
| June | 27.5 | 35.3🔥 | 43.1 | 26 | 34.3 | 42.7 |
| July | 27.4 | 34.5 | 41.6 | 27.7 | 35.7🔥 | 43.7 |
| August | 27.5 | 34.5 | 41.6 | 27.7 | 35.6 | 43.5 |
| September | 27.6 | 34.8 | 42 | 24.7 | 32.6 | 40.5 |
| October | 24.4 | 31.1 | 37.9 | 20.2 | 27.6 | 35 |
| November | 20.4 | 26.6 | 32.9 | 14.5 | 21.2 | 28 |
| December | 17.3 | 23.5 | 29.7 | 9.4 | 16.1 | 22.8 |
| Annual Avg | 22.5 | 29.5 | 36.5 | 18.6 | 26.1 | 33.7 |
Min / mean / max temperature (°C). 🔥 marks each city's hottest month, ❄️ its coldest; shading runs cool blue to warm red.
The same figures plotted out, so the shape of a typical year is easier to see than in a grid. Where the two lines run close together Mecca and Riyadh feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Mecca Riyadh
See how Mecca and Riyadh stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
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Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Mecca and Riyadh — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Mecca is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 36.5°C (97.7°F) against 33.7°C (92.7°F) in Riyadh — roughly 2.8°C (5°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in Mecca, with average lows of 22.5°C (72.5°F) versus 18.5°C (65.3°F).
Mecca is hottest in June, averaging highs of about 43.1°C (109.5°F), while Riyadh peaks in July at around 43.7°C (110.7°F). That makes Riyadh the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Riyadh gets colder. In its coldest month (January) overnight lows average about 7.5°C (45.4°F), compared with 15.5°C (59.9°F) at the low point of the year in Mecca.
They get a similar amount of rain over a year — about 50 mm (2 in) in Mecca and 48 mm (1.9 in) in Riyadh. Mecca is wettest in November and driest in July; Riyadh is wettest in March and driest in June.
Mecca is the more humid of the two, averaging 34% relative humidity over the year against 25% in Riyadh.
The most comfortable months in Mecca are January, February and December, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
Riyadh is at its most pleasant around February, March and November, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Mecca is the warmer city in 10 of the 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in January, about 7.4°C (13.3°F), and narrowest in June, about 1°C (1.8°F).
Riyadh has the bigger seasonal swing, about 21.2°C (38.2°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 13.4°C (24.1°F) in Mecca — so Mecca has the steadier, more even climate.
It depends what matters most to you: choose Mecca for warmer weather and go for Riyadh if you want lower humidity. There is no single "better" climate — it comes down to whether you value warmth, dryness or comfort most.
Every figure on this page is calculated from NASA POWER satellite climate data spanning 1981–2025 (45 years). The averages describe the long-term climate of Mecca and Riyadh, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
