When to Visit Cairo

Cairo sits at the edge of the Sahara, and the weather makes that clear from the moment you arrive. This is a desert city in the truest sense. Rainfall is almost nonexistent for most of the year. The sun dominates nearly every day on the calendar. The climate tends toward organized extremity: mild, settled winters. Summers that demand planning rather than improvisation. What saves Cairo from the brutal monotony you might associate with desert climates is the Nile corridor and the Mediterranean influence creeping down from the north. These keep humidity at a moderate 70% year-round. That is higher than you'd expect for a city surrounded by open desert. The year divides fairly cleanly into two periods. From roughly November through March, Cairo settles into its cool, dry season. Daytime temperatures sit in the 18°C to 24°C (66°F to 75°F) range. Nights can drop toward 10°C (50°F). The occasional brief shower arrives, and locals treat it as a minor curiosity. The rest of the year belongs to the heat. It builds through spring, peaks in July when afternoon highs hit 35°C (95°F), then retreats gradually through autumn. Rainfall from May through October is essentially zero. Spring deserves its own mention. It comes with a specific complication: the khamsin. These hot, dust-laden winds blow in from the Sahara between March and May. On a difficult day they reduce visibility, coat everything in fine sand, and push temperatures several degrees above the seasonal average within hours. They're unpredictable in timing and intensity. Some springs in Cairo you barely notice them. Others you spend a morning indoors. Either way, understand them before you build an outdoor itinerary around those months.