Egypt essentially has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). The climate is generally extremely dry all over the country except on the northern Mediterranean coast which receives rainfall in winter. In addition to rarity of rain, extreme heat during summer months is also a general climate feature of Egypt although daytime temperatures are more moderated along the northern coast.
The prevailing northwesterly wind from the Mediterranean Sea continuously blows over the northern coast without the interposition of an eventual mountain range and thus, greatly moderates temperatures throughout the year. Because of the effect, average low temperatures vary from in wintertime to 23°C in summertime and average high temperatures vary from 17°C in wintertime to 32°C in summertime. Though temperatures are moderated along the coasts, the situation changes in the interior, which is away from the moderating northerly winds. Thus, in the central and the southern parts, daytime temperatures are very hot, especially in summers when average high temperatures can exceed, as in Aswan, Luxor, Asyut or Sohag which are located in the deserts of Egypt. Although the mild weather in the winter days the temperature decreases to be very cold at nighttime and early mornings sometimes freezing especially, in the interior lands of Upper egypt,desert regions has freezing nights. Temperature can go below zero degrees Celsius.
Every year, sometime from March to May, an extremely hot, dry and dusty wind blows from the south or the southwest. This wind is called khamasīn. When the flow of dry air continuously blows over vast desert regions, it picks up fine sand and dust particles and finally results in a dusty wind which is generally felt in the periphery of the desert. When this wind blows over Egypt, it causes high temperatures to soar temporarily at dangerous levels, usually over, the relative humidity levels to drop under 5%. The khamasīn causes sudden, early heat waves and the absolute highest temperature records in Egypt.
Egypt receives between 202NaN2 and 2002NaN2 of annual average precipitation along the narrow Mediterranean coast, but south from Cairo, the average drops to nearly 02NaN2 in the central and the southern part of the country. The cloudiest, rainiest places are in and around Alexandria and Rafah. The sunshine duration is high all over Egypt, ranging from a low of 3,300 hours along the northernmost part in places such as Alexandria to reach a high of over 4,000 hours farther in the interior, in most of the country.
Some mountainous locations in Sinai, such as Saint Catherine, have cooler night temperatures, due to their high elevations. It usually snows on the Sinai mountains, but it almost never snows in the cities of Giza, Cairo, and Alexandria. For example, in December 2013, Cairo received a single overnight snowfall for the first time since 1901. Also it snowed in Alexandria in December 2021 and in Hurghada in January 2022 for 1 night, in general, snow is very rare in Egypt but its chance is not vanished. In Saint Catherine town it often snows in winter.