Medina is 0.8°C (1.4°F) warmer by day, and both get similar annual rainfall.
Medina is at its warmest in July and coolest in January, while Riyadh peaks in July and bottoms out in January. Month for month, Medina is the warmer of the two in 7 of 12 months.
Both collect a similar amount of rain over the year — 25 mm (1 in) in Medina and 48 mm (1.9 in) in Riyadh. The most comfortable time to visit is February, March and November in Medina and February, March and November in Riyadh.
| Medina | Metric | Riyadh |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 39°C | 🌡️Average daytime high | 38.2°C |
| 13.5°C | 🌙Average nighttime low | 14.1°C |
| July | 🔥Hottest month | July |
| January | ❄️Coldest month | January |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 25 mm | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 48 mm |
| November | ☔Wettest month | March |
| June | 🏜️Driest month | June |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 27% | 💧Average humidity | 25% |
| 3.1 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 2.8 m/s |
Overnight, Medina typically falls to around 13.5°C (56.3°F) while Riyadh settles near 14.1°C (57.4°F).
Medina is hottest in July and coldest in January, whereas Riyadh peaks in July and is coolest in January.
Medina sees the most rain in November and the least in June; Riyadh is wettest in March and driest in June.
Medina feels the more humid of the two, averaging 27% 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 | Medina | Riyadh | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 3.3 | 16.5❄️ | 29.7 | 1.7 | 14.9❄️ | 28.1 |
| February | 4.3 | 18.4 | 32.4 | 3.5 | 17.6 | 31.6 |
| March | 7.3 | 21.5 | 35.7 | 7.2 | 21.3 | 35.4 |
| April | 11 | 25.4 | 39.7 | 12.9 | 26.1 | 39.4 |
| May | 16.7 | 30 | 43.4 | 19.3 | 31.5 | 43.6 |
| June | 20.6 | 32.9 | 45.2 | 23.2 | 34.2 | 45.1 |
| July | 21.8 | 33.8 | 45.8 | 25.1 | 35.5🔥 | 45.8 |
| August | 22.5 | 34.2🔥 | 45.8 | 25 | 35.3 | 45.6 |
| September | 21.7 | 32.9 | 44.2 | 21.2 | 32.2 | 43.3 |
| October | 16.6 | 28.4 | 40.2 | 16.4 | 27.6 | 38.8 |
| November | 10.4 | 22.6 | 34.7 | 9.6 | 21.2 | 32.9 |
| December | 6 | 18.4 | 30.7 | 3.8 | 16.1 | 28.4 |
| Annual Avg | 13.5 | 26.3 | 39 | 14.1 | 26.1 | 38.2 |
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 Medina and Riyadh feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Medina Riyadh
See how Medina and Riyadh stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
Choose which city to keep, then search for any other city in our database — we'll build the comparison for you.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Medina and Riyadh — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Medina is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 39°C (102.2°F) against 38.2°C (100.8°F) in Riyadh — roughly 0.8°C (1.4°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in Riyadh, with average lows of 14.1°C (57.4°F) versus 13.5°C (56.3°F).
Medina is hottest in July, averaging highs of about 45.8°C (114.5°F), while Riyadh peaks in July at around 45.8°C (114.5°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 1.7°C (35°F), compared with 3.3°C (37.9°F) at the low point of the year in Medina.
They get a similar amount of rain over a year — about 25 mm (1 in) in Medina and 48 mm (1.9 in) in Riyadh. Medina is wettest in November and driest in June; Riyadh is wettest in March and driest in June.
Medina is the more humid of the two, averaging 27% relative humidity over the year against 25% in Riyadh.
The most comfortable months in Medina are February, March and November, 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.
Medina is the warmer city in 7 of the 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in December, about 2.3°C (4.1°F), and narrowest in March, about 0.2°C (0.4°F).
Riyadh has the bigger seasonal swing, about 20.6°C (37.1°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 17.7°C (31.9°F) in Medina — so Medina has the steadier, more even climate.
On climate alone, Medina comes out ahead — it offers warmer days than Riyadh. Riyadh is the better fit only if you'd actually prefer cooler weather.
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 Medina and Riyadh, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
