What's on in Kuwait City (Kuwait), Kuwait through the year

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  25 Jan – 25 Mar · usuallyClosures

  Working hours are cut by law and eating in public in daylight is an offence, so the city is genuinely shut until sunset. Then the diwaniyas, the tents and the restaurants run until three in the morning. Source ↗

Still on: Desert camping season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, National and Liberation Days

• Festival

  Girgian

  5 Feb – 15 Mar · usuallyRamadan & Eid

  The middle nights of Ramadan, when children go door to door in embroidered dress collecting sweets and nuts. It is the warmest thing in the Kuwaiti year and entirely a neighbourhood affair. Source ↗

• Holiday

  National and Liberation Days

  23–27 FebNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  The 25th and 26th of February shut the country and turn the Gulf Road into a rolling water fight — foam, hoses and traffic at walking pace for two days. Nothing else in the region looks like it. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan (25 Jan – 25 Mar (usually)), Desert camping season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramadan (25 Jan – 25 Mar (usually)), Girgian (5 Feb – 15 Mar (usually)), Desert camping season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  The unliveable months

  15 May – 20 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Among the hottest inhabited places anywhere, and the city is built on the assumption that you go from car to mall without stepping outside. Nothing happens in daylight for four months.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Summer shamal dust

  1 Jun – 31 Jul · usuallyDust seasonClosures

  The northwesterly picks up desert sand and the sky goes orange for days at a stretch; flights are delayed and the air is unbreathable for anyone with a chest. It is worse than the heat. Source ↗

Still on: The unliveable months (15 May – 20 Sep (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: The unliveable months (15 May – 20 Sep (usually)), Summer shamal dust (1 Jun – 31 Jul (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: The unliveable months (15 May – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: The unliveable months (15 May – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Desert camping season

  1 Nov – 15 Mar · usuallyTrail season

  Kuwaiti families put up serviced tent camps in the desert south and west of the city for the whole cool season, and much of social life moves out there at weekends.

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Desert camping season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))