Climate - Lebanon

Index

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• Introduction
• The coast - Beirut
• Inland areas - Mount Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

Introduction

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In Lebanon, a small country in western Asia, the climate is Mediterranean on the coast, with mild and rainy winters and hot and sunny summers. In the interior, occupied by mountain ranges and valleys, the climate is more continental, in fact winters become progressively colder with increasing altitude, while summers are very hot in the areas below 1,000 meters (3,300 feet).
The rains follow the Mediterranean pattern, in fact they only occur between October and April (and sometimes in May), and are more abundant in winter. This pattern is followed even in the interior, although the rainfall is scarcer in the eastern part of the country.
From June to September, it almost never rains, and the sun shines everywhere.
In spring, and more rarely in autumn, Lebanon can be affected by a strong wind coming from the desert, called Khamsin, which can cause sudden increases in temperature and bring sandstorms.

The coast

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On the Lebanese coast, where Beirut and other cities such as Tripoli and Tyre are found, the climate is typically Mediterranean. Winters are very mild, with average temperatures in January around 14 °C (57 °F), but they are also rainy, with abundant rains especially in December and January. Summers, from June to September, are constantly sunny, hot and muggy but tempered by sea breezes. In summer, average highs are around 30 °C (86 °F).

Beirut

In Beirut, the capital, winter is very mild, but there may be periods with rain and wind, sometimes even a little cold.
The temperature can reach or exceed 35 °C (95 °F) from April to October, usually for short periods, when the wind blows from the desert. The record is 41 °C (106 °F), set in May 2015.
Here are the average temperatures.

In the average year, 730 mm (28.5 in) of rain fall in Beirut, with heavy rainfall in winter. Here is the average precipitation.

In Beirut, and in general in Lebanon, the sun shines regularly in summer, while in winter there is an alternation between cloudy and sunny days.

The Mediterranean Sea in Lebanon is warm enough to swim in from June to October or November, as we can see in the following table.

Inland areas

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Mount Lebanon

On the range of Mount Lebanon, the winter rains are even more abundant than on the coast, at least on the western slope, the one directly exposed to maritime currents, which are forced to rise and condense in clouds. The temperature naturally decreases with increasing altitude, so in winter these mountains experience heavy snowfalls, and in the worst winters, large amounts of snow can fall. Mount Lebanon is the highest chain in the country, culminating in Qurnat as Sawda', 3,087 meters (10,128 feet) high. Snow covers the mountains above 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) for almost 4 months a year, and above 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) for about 6 months a year.
At 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) above sea level, the average temperature in January is about 0 °C (32 °F), as we can see from the data of the Cedars Ski Resort, located in the north of the country, east of Tripoli.

Bekaa Valley

In the Bekaa Valley, located between the chains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and at an altitude ranging between 600 and 1,200 meters (2,000 and 3,900 feet), in winter the climate is colder than on the coast, also because of the altitude, while the summer is hot, despite the altitude.
Here are the average temperatures in Zahlé, the capital of the Bekaa governorate, located at 950 meters (3,100 feet) above sea level.

Given the relatively low temperatures, when cold spells affect Lebanon and the Middle East in winter, abundant snowfalls may occur, followed by frosts.



In summer, the days are hot, and sometimes they can be scorching, but nights are still quite cool because of the altitude, especially in the highest part of the valley, such as in Baalbek, located at 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level.
Precipitation is concentrated in the winter months here as well, and it's a bit less abundant than on the coast or on the western slope, but it is nonetheless significant, around 100/150 mm (4/6 in) per month from December to February.
In the eastern part of the country, we find the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, which is cold in winter but more arid, especially in the northern part, while in the south, near Mount Hermon, heavy snowfalls can occur in winter.

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