SeasonMap

Extreme heat, month by month around the world

The weeks the city lives indoors.

This is a warning page, not a recommendation. Extreme heat covers 180 destinations on SeasonMap; the months below are the ones in which the risk window is open — most weeks in them pass quietly, and the score beside each place is still the ordinary climate score, hazard and all.

← All seasons · The world's calendar

When it is on

Number of destinations with extreme heat on in that month. Windows move a little each year.

Extreme heat in January

  1. 🇦🇺 Adelaide, AustraliaHeat and fire danger season · 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)A run of hot northerlies can put the Hills and the Fleurieu on catastrophic fire danger and bring a total fire ban; the country fire service rates each district a day at a time.85climate
  2. 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaSummer heat and humidity · 1 Jan – 25 Feb (usually)River-plate humidity on top of the heat, and the porteños who can afford to have gone to the coast.79climate
  3. 🇸🇿 Hlane Royal National Park, EswatiniLowveld summer heat · 1 Dec – 28 FebMidsummer on the flats can push into the high thirties, the grass is high and the game scatters away from the pans.61climate
  4. 🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguaySummer heat · 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually)The met service runs heat warnings through most of the southern summer and the low-lying centre holds it after dark.57climate
  5. 🇦🇺 Alice Springs, AustraliaThe heat closes the walking · 1 Dec – 28 FebFrom December the long trails are advised against, guided walks stand down, and the town runs on early mornings and waterholes.55climate
  6. 🇦🇺 Uluru, AustraliaHeat closures on the walks · 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)Park rangers close the Valley of the Winds beyond the first lookout from eleven in the morning whenever the forecast hits the mid-thirties, and the same logic applies to the Uluru base walk.53climate

What's on around the world in January →

Extreme heat in February

  1. 🇦🇺 Adelaide, AustraliaHeat and fire danger season · 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)A run of hot northerlies can put the Hills and the Fleurieu on catastrophic fire danger and bring a total fire ban; the country fire service rates each district a day at a time.89climate
  2. 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaSummer heat and humidity · 1 Jan – 25 Feb (usually)River-plate humidity on top of the heat, and the porteños who can afford to have gone to the coast.79climate
  3. 🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguaySummer heat · 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually)The met service runs heat warnings through most of the southern summer and the low-lying centre holds it after dark.62climate
  4. 🇦🇺 Alice Springs, AustraliaThe heat closes the walking · 1 Dec – 28 FebFrom December the long trails are advised against, guided walks stand down, and the town runs on early mornings and waterholes.62climate
  5. 🇸🇿 Hlane Royal National Park, EswatiniLowveld summer heat · 1 Dec – 28 FebMidsummer on the flats can push into the high thirties, the grass is high and the game scatters away from the pans.59climate
  6. 🇦🇺 Uluru, AustraliaHeat closures on the walks · 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)Park rangers close the Valley of the Winds beyond the first lookout from eleven in the morning whenever the forecast hits the mid-thirties, and the same logic applies to the Uluru base walk.57climate

What's on around the world in February →

Extreme heat in March

  1. 🇦🇺 Adelaide, AustraliaHeat and fire danger season · 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)A run of hot northerlies can put the Hills and the Fleurieu on catastrophic fire danger and bring a total fire ban; the country fire service rates each district a day at a time.92climate
  2. 🇮🇳 Bengaluru, IndiaPre-monsoon heat and water cuts · 1 Mar – 25 May (usually)The weeks before the rains are the hottest of the Bengaluru year, and the borewells drop with them; tanker deliveries and apartment rationing make the news most Aprils.79climate
  3. 🇲🇲 Mandalay, MyanmarHot season on the dry plain · 1 Mar – 15 May (usually)Mandalay sits in the driest part of the country and the pre-monsoon weeks are the hardest in Myanmar.72climate
  4. 🇦🇺 Uluru, AustraliaHeat closures on the walks · 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)Park rangers close the Valley of the Winds beyond the first lookout from eleven in the morning whenever the forecast hits the mid-thirties, and the same logic applies to the Uluru base walk.67climate
  5. 🇮🇳 Hampi, IndiaDeccan pre-monsoon heat · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The granite holds everything it takes all day and there is no shade on the boulder ridges or in the bazaar.66climate
  6. 🇮🇳 Hyderabad, IndiaDeccan summer heat · 20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually)Heat advisories start in late March and the middle of the day goes indoors until the rains break.62climate
  7. 🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarHot season · 1 Mar – 15 May (usually)The build-up before the rains is the hardest part of the Yangon year, and the city moves indoors between about eleven and four.59climate
  8. 🇲🇱 Bamako, MaliThe hot months · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The stretch between the harmattan lifting and the first rains is the hardest of the year.50climate
  9. 🇧🇫 Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoThe hot season · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the year here, and the city moves indoors or under a tree between eleven and four.45climate
  10. 🇹🇩 N'Djamena, ChadThe hot months · 20 Mar – 10 Jun (usually)The weeks between the harmattan lifting and the first storms are punishing, and the power supply picks exactly then to fail.43climate
  11. 🇳🇪 Niamey, NigerThe hot months · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The hardest stretch of the Sahelian year, when the nights stop cooling down and the afternoons are spent indoors.42climate

What's on around the world in March →

Extreme heat in April

  1. 🇮🇳 Bengaluru, IndiaPre-monsoon heat and water cuts · 1 Mar – 25 May (usually)The weeks before the rains are the hottest of the Bengaluru year, and the borewells drop with them; tanker deliveries and apartment rationing make the news most Aprils.70climate
  2. 🇮🇳 Pondicherry, IndiaCoastal summer · 1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)The hottest and stickiest stretch on this coast, with the sea breeze the only relief and afternoons written off.67climate
  3. 🇮🇳 Agra, IndiaPre-monsoon heat · 20 Apr – 20 Jun (usually)The plains bake through May and the marble is too hot to walk on barefoot by mid-morning.59climate
  4. 🇧🇩 Dhaka, BangladeshPre-monsoon heat · 1 Apr – 25 May (usually)Heat warnings shut the schools in the worst weeks and the load-shedding follows the demand, so the air conditioning is not a guarantee.59climate
  5. 🇮🇳 Udaipur, IndiaPre-monsoon heat · 25 Apr – 20 Jun (usually)The Aravallis hold the heat in the bowl the city sits in, and in a dry year the lakes are low enough to walk out on.58climate
  6. 🇮🇳 Pune, IndiaDeccan pre-monsoon heat · 1 Apr – 31 May (usually)The city that sells itself as the cool alternative to Mumbai stops being one for two months.58climate
  7. 🇲🇽 Mérida, MexicoPre-rain heat · 1 Apr – 31 May (usually)The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the Yucatán year, and the city shuts down between one and five.57climate
  8. 🇮🇳 Jaipur, IndiaPre-monsoon heat · 25 Apr – 20 Jun (usually)Amber and Nahargarh are open sandstone with no shade on them, and the desert wind off the west makes the afternoons worse rather than better.55climate
  9. 🇮🇳 Hampi, IndiaDeccan pre-monsoon heat · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The granite holds everything it takes all day and there is no shade on the boulder ridges or in the bazaar.52climate
  10. 🇮🇳 Varanasi, IndiaPlains summer · 15 Apr – 20 Jun (usually)The Gangetic plain at its worst: the ghats are empty between ten and five and the stone is too hot to sit on.51climate
  11. 🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarHot season · 1 Mar – 15 May (usually)The build-up before the rains is the hardest part of the Yangon year, and the city moves indoors between about eleven and four.51climate
  12. 🇲🇲 Mandalay, MyanmarHot season on the dry plain · 1 Mar – 15 May (usually)Mandalay sits in the driest part of the country and the pre-monsoon weeks are the hardest in Myanmar.51climate
  13. 🇮🇳 Khajuraho, IndiaPre-monsoon heat · 15 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)The Bundelkhand plateau is one of the hotter corners of central India before the rains and the sandstone radiates it back at you.50climate
  14. 🇮🇳 Jodhpur, IndiaPre-monsoon heat · 20 Apr – 25 Jun (usually)The edge of the Thar in May: no shade anywhere on the fort ramparts and a dry wind that makes the afternoon worse, not better.47climate
  15. 🇮🇳 Hyderabad, IndiaDeccan summer heat · 20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually)Heat advisories start in late March and the middle of the day goes indoors until the rains break.44climate
  16. 🇲🇱 Bamako, MaliThe hot months · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The stretch between the harmattan lifting and the first rains is the hardest of the year.42climate
  17. 🇧🇫 Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoThe hot season · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the year here, and the city moves indoors or under a tree between eleven and four.39climate
  18. 🇳🇪 Niamey, NigerThe hot months · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The hardest stretch of the Sahelian year, when the nights stop cooling down and the afternoons are spent indoors.31climate
  19. 🇹🇩 N'Djamena, ChadThe hot months · 20 Mar – 10 Jun (usually)The weeks between the harmattan lifting and the first storms are punishing, and the power supply picks exactly then to fail.31climate

What's on around the world in April →

Extreme heat in May

  1. 🇺🇸 Death Valley National Park, United StatesSummer extreme heat · 15 May – 30 SepThe hottest reliably measured place on Earth, and the park closes its lower trails and warns people off walking after ten in the morning.84climate
  2. 🇺🇸 Saguaro National Park, United StatesThe heat rule · 15 May – 15 SepThe park asks you to be off the trail by ten in the morning on a hot day, and not to start at all on the hottest ones.80climate
  3. 🇵🇸 Jericho, PalestineThe Jordan Valley summer · 20 May – 20 Sep (usually)Valley heat with the hills trapping it in; the ruins at Tell es-Sultan and Hisham's Palace have no shade worth the name.80climate
  4. 🇪🇬 Siwa, EgyptOasis summer · 15 May – 15 Sep (usually)Everything happens before nine and after six, and the shaded pools and the cold springs are the whole day in between.78climate
  5. 🇺🇸 Big Bend National Park, United StatesDesert summer heat · 15 May – 15 Sep (usually)The desert floor along the Rio Grande is the hot part; the Chisos Basin sits high enough to be bearable.75climate
  6. 🇺🇸 Grand Canyon National Park, United StatesInner canyon heat · 15 May – 15 SepIt is routinely fifteen degrees hotter at the river than on the rim, and the park tells people not to hike below the rim between ten and four in summer.74climate
  7. 🇺🇸 Joshua Tree National Park, United StatesDesert summer heat · 25 May – 20 Sep (usually)Afternoons over forty degrees, no shade to speak of and no water anywhere in the park.74climate
  8. 🇲🇽 Monterrey, MexicoSummer heat · 15 May – 5 Sep (usually)The city sits in a bowl of the Sierra Madre and holds its heat well into the night.74climate
  9. 🇺🇸 Tucson, United StatesDesert summer heat · 10 May – 20 SepTrailheads in Saguaro and the Tucson Mountains empty out by mid-morning, and the drive up Mount Lemmon exists precisely because it is twenty degrees cooler at the top.73climate
  10. 🇺🇸 Scottsdale, United StatesDesert summer heat · 15 May – 20 SepPreserve trailheads including Camelback are closed to dogs and sometimes to people during heat warnings, and the city runs on early mornings and air conditioning.72climate
  11. 🇺🇸 Houston, United StatesGulf coast heat and humidity · 20 May – 25 Sep (usually)Four months where the dew point does not drop and the heat index sits above forty most afternoons.68climate
  12. 🇺🇸 Phoenix, United StatesExtreme heat · 1 May – 5 Oct (usually)Five months over forty degrees with nights that no longer drop below thirty in July.67climate
  13. 🇮🇳 Bengaluru, IndiaPre-monsoon heat and water cuts · 1 Mar – 25 May (usually)The weeks before the rains are the hottest of the Bengaluru year, and the borewells drop with them; tanker deliveries and apartment rationing make the news most Aprils.64climate
  14. 🇧🇭 Manama, BahrainHeat and humidity · 20 May – 30 Sep (usually)Low-lying, surrounded by shallow water and correspondingly sticky; the difference from the desert states is that here it is the damp that beats you.61climate
  15. 🇸🇩 Port Sudan, SudanHeat and humidity · 20 May – 30 Sep (usually)One of the hottest and stickiest coasts anywhere; the sea is too warm to cool you down and the dive season stops for it.61climate
  16. 🇵🇰 Karachi, PakistanHeat when the sea breeze drops · 1 May – 25 Jun (usually)The dangerous weeks are the ones the sea breeze fails and the humidity stays; the 2015 heatwave killed more than a thousand people in the city under exactly that pattern.59climate
  17. 🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesOutdoor season shuts · 15 May – 30 Sep (usually)Corniche life, the desert camps and the open-air festival grounds all stop; what is left is Louvre Abu Dhabi, the malls and the indoor parks on Yas.57climate
  18. 🇮🇷 Kish Island, IranGulf heat and humidity · 20 May – 30 Sep (usually)Sticky rather than dry, and the sea gives no relief because it is as warm as the air.57climate
  19. 🇮🇳 Pune, IndiaDeccan pre-monsoon heat · 1 Apr – 31 May (usually)The city that sells itself as the cool alternative to Mumbai stops being one for two months.56climate
  20. 🇮🇳 Hampi, IndiaDeccan pre-monsoon heat · 15 Mar – 31 May (usually)The granite holds everything it takes all day and there is no shade on the boulder ridges or in the bazaar.54climate
  21. 🇮🇳 Pondicherry, IndiaCoastal summer · 1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)The hottest and stickiest stretch on this coast, with the sea breeze the only relief and afternoons written off.54climate
  22. 🇲🇽 Mérida, MexicoPre-rain heat · 1 Apr – 31 May (usually)The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the Yucatán year, and the city shuts down between one and five.50climate
  23. 🇲🇲 Mandalay, MyanmarHot season on the dry plain · 1 Mar – 15 May (usually)Mandalay sits in the driest part of the country and the pre-monsoon weeks are the hardest in Myanmar.50climate
  24. 🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi ArabiaSummer heat in the valley · 15 May – 15 SepThe city sits in a bare rock valley with nothing to soften the afternoon.48climate
  25. 🇵🇰 Lahore, PakistanPre-monsoon heat · 1 May – 25 Jun (usually)The plains bake before the rains and load-shedding tracks the demand, so the air conditioning is not a given.48climate

…and 21 more in May.

What's on around the world in May →

Extreme heat in June

  1. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalAlentejo summer heat · 20 Jun – 5 SepThe interior of southern Portugal runs hotter than the coast by a wide margin and the walled town has no shade to speak of at midday.91climate
  2. 🇦🇲 Yerevan, ArmeniaThe valley heat · 20 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)Yerevan sits in a bowl and holds the heat; the tuff buildings radiate it back after dark.88climate
  3. 🇰🇬 Osh, KyrgyzstanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 20 Aug (usually)The Ferghana end of the country is a good deal hotter than Bishkek and the bazaar runs early and late around it.87climate
  4. 🇯🇴 Madaba, JordanPlateau summer · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Madaba sits high enough to be a degree kinder than Amman and much kinder than the valley below, but the churches are stone boxes with no air moving and the afternoon walk between them is work.87climate
  5. 🇯🇴 Petra, JordanBare rock in high summer · 1 Jun – 10 SepThere is almost no shade past the Siq, and the climbs to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice are unmanageable after about ten in the morning.85climate
  6. 🇺🇸 Sacramento, United StatesValley heat · 20 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Runs of triple-digit afternoons come through the valley several times a summer and the city moves indoors and underground until evening.85climate
  7. Vatican City, Vatican CitySummer queue on the wall · 15 Jun – 5 SepIn high summer the unbooked entrance queue runs along an unshaded wall for hours and the Sistine Chapel is packed shoulder to shoulder.85climate
  8. 🇺🇿 Samarkand, UzbekistanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 25 Aug (usually)The tiled courtyards hold the heat and there is no shade in the Registan at any hour worth photographing it.83climate
  9. 🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain, SpainThe summer heat · 20 Jun – 5 SepCordoba is routinely the hottest city in Spain and the old town is built for it: shuttered mornings, nothing outdoors until nine at night.83climate
  10. 🇱🇾 Tripoli, LibyaThe coastal summer · 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Humid rather than desert-dry because the sea is right there, and the middle of the day is dead.82climate
  11. Laayoune, Western SaharaWhen the wind turns inland · 1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)The cold current offshore keeps this coast mild until the wind swings round off the Sahara, and then the town goes from pleasant to furnace within a day.82climate
  12. 🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceMidday closures in the heat · 15 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)On the worst days the culture ministry shuts the open archaeological sites through the middle of the afternoon and the Red Cross hands out water at the gate.81climate
  13. 🇹🇷 Selçuk, TurkeyNo shade at Ephesus · 25 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)The ruins are a kilometre of open marble with nothing to stand under, and the terrace houses are hotter still under their roof.81climate
  14. 🇲🇪 Podgorica, MontenegroExtreme summer heat · 25 Jun – 1 Sep (usually)One of the hottest cities in Europe, sitting in a bowl of hills an hour from the sea with nothing to move the air.81climate
  15. 🇹🇯 Dushanbe, TajikistanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 25 Aug (usually)The Hisor valley traps the heat and the city runs on the plane-tree shade along Rudaki and the tea houses.80climate
  16. 🇸🇾 Damascus, SyriaThe dry heat · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Heat the city has always answered with courtyards and late nights.80climate
  17. 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesSummer heat and humidity · 25 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Rowhouse blocks hold the heat overnight and the mid-Atlantic humidity does the rest.79climate
  18. 🇯🇴 Jerash, JordanHeat on the ruins · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Nothing at Gerasa has a roof, and the limestone throws the heat straight back at you the length of the colonnaded street.79climate
  19. 🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesSummer heat and humidity · 20 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)The city was built on a river flat and the summer behaves accordingly, with afternoon thunderstorms and heat advisories through July and August.78climate
  20. 🇺🇸 Great Sand Dunes National Park, United StatesScorching sand surface · 1 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)The sand surface gets far hotter than the air and burns bare feet and dogs' pads by mid-morning.78climate
  21. 🇹🇷 Pamukkale, TurkeyHeat on the terraces · 25 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)The Denizli basin bakes and the white travertine throws it straight back up at you, barefoot, with no shade anywhere on the walk up.78climate
  22. 🇺🇸 Zion National Park, United StatesCanyon heat · 1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)The canyon floor sits above forty degrees on midsummer afternoons and the rock radiates it back.77climate
  23. 🇯🇴 Wadi Rum, JordanThe unusable middle of the day · 1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Camps still run, but jeep trips go at dawn and after five and the scrambles are off entirely.77climate
  24. 🇺🇸 Pinnacles National Park, United StatesSummer heat and fire danger · 1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)The chaparral offers no shade and the High Peaks are exposed the whole way round.76climate
  25. 🇺🇿 Andijan, UzbekistanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 25 Aug (usually)The valley bakes for two months and the town works early and late around it.76climate

…and 91 more in June.

What's on around the world in June →

Extreme heat in July

  1. 🇵🇹 Coimbra, PortugalMondego valley heat · 1 Jul – 31 AugThe valley sits far enough from the sea to lose the Atlantic breeze, and the university hill is all stone stairs in full sun.88climate
  2. 🇪🇸 Salamanca, SpainMeseta summer heat · 1 Jul – 31 AugHigh, dry and treeless: the Plaza Mayor is an oven from noon and the sandstone throws it back until late.87climate
  3. Pristina, KosovoKosovo plain heat · 1 Jul – 20 AugThe basin holds the heat and there is very little shade in the centre, so the cafes on Rruga UCK do their trade after eight.86climate
  4. 🇷🇺 Chita, RussiaSummer heat swing · 1 Jul – 15 Aug (usually)The same continental extremes that bring -49°C winters can push summer afternoons past 40°C, with a recorded high of 40.6°C in August.85climate
  5. 🇪🇸 Ronda, SpainInland Andalusian heat · 1 Jul – 25 AugRonda sits high enough to cool off at night but not enough to escape the afternoon.85climate
  6. 🇫🇷 Lyon, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The city sits in a river corridor that traps the heat, and most summers bring a run of days when the Presqu'ile is unwalkable in the afternoon.84climate
  7. 🇫🇷 Toulouse, FranceGaronne valley heat · 5 Jul – 25 AugThe brick that gives the city its colour also stores the heat, and August adds the French habit of closing for the month, so a good share of the restaurants are shut.84climate
  8. 🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyTuscan inland heat · 5 Jul – 25 AugSiena is a hill town with brick that holds heat and a shadeless main square.84climate
  9. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalAlentejo summer heat · 20 Jun – 5 SepThe interior of southern Portugal runs hotter than the coast by a wide margin and the walled town has no shade to speak of at midday.84climate
  10. 🇰🇬 Osh, KyrgyzstanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 20 Aug (usually)The Ferghana end of the country is a good deal hotter than Bishkek and the bazaar runs early and late around it.83climate
  11. 🇫🇷 Montpellier, FranceLanguedoc heat · 1 Jul – 25 AugThe old town's narrow streets stay usable but the tram platforms and the Antigone esplanade do not, and the coast at Palavas is where the city goes at four.83climate
  12. 🇫🇷 Aix-en-Provence, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Most summers bring stretches where the town moves indoors until six and the fountains are the only shade worth having.83climate
  13. 🇫🇷 Carcassonne, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)The Aude valley takes the worst of the southern summer, and the walled city has almost no shade in it.83climate
  14. 🇯🇴 Madaba, JordanPlateau summer · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Madaba sits high enough to be a degree kinder than Amman and much kinder than the valley below, but the churches are stone boxes with no air moving and the afternoon walk between them is work.83climate
  15. 🇯🇴 Petra, JordanBare rock in high summer · 1 Jun – 10 SepThere is almost no shade past the Siq, and the climbs to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice are unmanageable after about ten in the morning.82climate
  16. 🇫🇷 Avignon, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Avignon sits in one of the hottest corners of France and the festival plays straight through it: the stone courtyards hold the day until well past midnight.82climate
  17. 🇭🇺 Budapest, HungarySummer heat alerts · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The national weather service issues heat alerts most summers and the city holds it: stone, no sea and little shade on the Pest grid.81climate
  18. 🇹🇷 Göreme, TurkeyHigh summer on the plateau · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The valleys are treeless and the tuff throws the heat back at you, so walking Rose or Pigeon valley is a dawn job.81climate
  19. 🇮🇹 Palermo, ItalySirocco heat · 1 Jul – 31 AugWhen the sirocco comes off North Africa the city sits under dust-hazed African air for days at a time and the markets close by noon.80climate
  20. 🇮🇹 Bolzano, ItalyValley-floor heat · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The city sits in a closed basin with mountains on three sides and regularly runs hotter than anywhere in Italy for a week at a time.80climate
  21. 🇷🇸 Niš, SerbiaInland summer heat · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Nis sits in a basin well away from any sea and July and August afternoons are brutal in it, which is why nothing happens between two and six.80climate
  22. 🇮🇹 Matera, ItalyHeat in the ravine · 1 Jul – 25 AugThe Sassi are cut into a south-facing tufa gorge with almost no shade and stone that holds the day's heat into the night.80climate
  23. 🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyBasin heat · 1 Jul – 25 AugThe city sits in a bowl in the Arno valley with no breeze and stone that holds the day's heat overnight.79climate
  24. 🇦🇲 Yerevan, ArmeniaThe valley heat · 20 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)Yerevan sits in a bowl and holds the heat; the tuff buildings radiate it back after dark.79climate
  25. 🇷🇴 Bucharest, RomaniaHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The plain around the city bakes and the concrete holds it overnight; the met service issues red warnings most summers and the terraces do not fill until nine.79climate

…and 119 more in July.

What's on around the world in July →

Extreme heat in August

  1. 🇷🇺 Chita, RussiaSummer heat swing · 1 Jul – 15 Aug (usually)The same continental extremes that bring -49°C winters can push summer afternoons past 40°C, with a recorded high of 40.6°C in August.90climate
  2. 🇰🇬 Osh, KyrgyzstanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 20 Aug (usually)The Ferghana end of the country is a good deal hotter than Bishkek and the bazaar runs early and late around it.89climate
  3. Pristina, KosovoKosovo plain heat · 1 Jul – 20 AugThe basin holds the heat and there is very little shade in the centre, so the cafes on Rruga UCK do their trade after eight.89climate
  4. 🇵🇹 Coimbra, PortugalMondego valley heat · 1 Jul – 31 AugThe valley sits far enough from the sea to lose the Atlantic breeze, and the university hill is all stone stairs in full sun.87climate
  5. 🇪🇸 Salamanca, SpainMeseta summer heat · 1 Jul – 31 AugHigh, dry and treeless: the Plaza Mayor is an oven from noon and the sandstone throws it back until late.86climate
  6. 🇺🇿 Samarkand, UzbekistanHigh-summer heat · 25 Jun – 25 Aug (usually)The tiled courtyards hold the heat and there is no shade in the Registan at any hour worth photographing it.84climate
  7. 🇷🇴 Bucharest, RomaniaHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The plain around the city bakes and the concrete holds it overnight; the met service issues red warnings most summers and the terraces do not fill until nine.83climate
  8. 🇫🇷 Toulouse, FranceGaronne valley heat · 5 Jul – 25 AugThe brick that gives the city its colour also stores the heat, and August adds the French habit of closing for the month, so a good share of the restaurants are shut.83climate
  9. 🇷🇸 Niš, SerbiaInland summer heat · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Nis sits in a basin well away from any sea and July and August afternoons are brutal in it, which is why nothing happens between two and six.83climate
  10. 🇪🇸 Ronda, SpainInland Andalusian heat · 1 Jul – 25 AugRonda sits high enough to cool off at night but not enough to escape the afternoon.83climate
  11. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalAlentejo summer heat · 20 Jun – 5 SepThe interior of southern Portugal runs hotter than the coast by a wide margin and the walled town has no shade to speak of at midday.83climate
  12. 🇫🇷 Lyon, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The city sits in a river corridor that traps the heat, and most summers bring a run of days when the Presqu'ile is unwalkable in the afternoon.82climate
  13. 🇫🇷 Montpellier, FranceLanguedoc heat · 1 Jul – 25 AugThe old town's narrow streets stay usable but the tram platforms and the Antigone esplanade do not, and the coast at Palavas is where the city goes at four.82climate
  14. 🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyTuscan inland heat · 5 Jul – 25 AugSiena is a hill town with brick that holds heat and a shadeless main square.82climate
  15. 🇫🇷 Aix-en-Provence, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Most summers bring stretches where the town moves indoors until six and the fountains are the only shade worth having.82climate
  16. 🇫🇷 Carcassonne, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)The Aude valley takes the worst of the southern summer, and the walled city has almost no shade in it.82climate
  17. 🇯🇴 Madaba, JordanPlateau summer · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Madaba sits high enough to be a degree kinder than Amman and much kinder than the valley below, but the churches are stone boxes with no air moving and the afternoon walk between them is work.82climate
  18. 🇪🇸 Madrid, SpainHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 31 AugAEMET runs heat warnings for the Madrid region through most of high summer, and the city plans around them: sightseeing before noon, nothing outdoors between two and eight, terraces after dark.81climate
  19. 🇯🇴 Petra, JordanBare rock in high summer · 1 Jun – 10 SepThere is almost no shade past the Siq, and the climbs to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice are unmanageable after about ten in the morning.81climate
  20. 🇦🇲 Yerevan, ArmeniaThe valley heat · 20 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)Yerevan sits in a bowl and holds the heat; the tuff buildings radiate it back after dark.80climate
  21. 🇨🇳 Kashgar, ChinaPeak summer heat · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The oasis follows the desert.80climate
  22. 🇫🇷 Avignon, FranceHeatwave weeks · 1 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Avignon sits in one of the hottest corners of France and the festival plays straight through it: the stone courtyards hold the day until well past midnight.80climate
  23. 🇭🇺 Budapest, HungarySummer heat alerts · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The national weather service issues heat alerts most summers and the city holds it: stone, no sea and little shade on the Pest grid.79climate
  24. 🇹🇷 Göreme, TurkeyHigh summer on the plateau · 1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)The valleys are treeless and the tuff throws the heat back at you, so walking Rose or Pigeon valley is a dawn job.79climate
  25. 🇺🇸 Great Sand Dunes National Park, United StatesScorching sand surface · 1 Jun – 31 Aug (usually)The sand surface gets far hotter than the air and burns bare feet and dogs' pads by mid-morning.79climate

…and 119 more in August.

What's on around the world in August →

Extreme heat in September

  1. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalAlentejo summer heat · 20 Jun – 5 SepThe interior of southern Portugal runs hotter than the coast by a wide margin and the walled town has no shade to speak of at midday.89climate
  2. 🇺🇸 Sacramento, United StatesValley heat · 20 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Runs of triple-digit afternoons come through the valley several times a summer and the city moves indoors and underground until evening.87climate
  3. 🇯🇴 Madaba, JordanPlateau summer · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Madaba sits high enough to be a degree kinder than Amman and much kinder than the valley below, but the churches are stone boxes with no air moving and the afternoon walk between them is work.87climate
  4. 🇯🇴 Petra, JordanBare rock in high summer · 1 Jun – 10 SepThere is almost no shade past the Siq, and the climbs to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice are unmanageable after about ten in the morning.86climate
  5. 🇺🇸 St. Louis, United StatesSummer heat and humidity · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)The river valley traps humidity and the heat index runs well above the thermometer for weeks.85climate
  6. 🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain, SpainThe summer heat · 20 Jun – 5 SepCordoba is routinely the hottest city in Spain and the old town is built for it: shuttered mornings, nothing outdoors until nine at night.85climate
  7. 🇮🇷 Isfahan, IranThe dry summer · 10 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Dry rather than sticky, but the square is unshaded and unusable in the middle of the day.84climate
  8. 🇮🇷 Tehran, IranThe dry summer · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Hot and dusty at street level, several degrees cooler in the northern suburbs against the mountain, which is where the city goes in the evening.83climate
  9. Vatican City, Vatican CitySummer queue on the wall · 15 Jun – 5 SepIn high summer the unbooked entrance queue runs along an unshaded wall for hours and the Sistine Chapel is packed shoulder to shoulder.83climate
  10. 🇺🇸 Sedona, United StatesSummer heat · 1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)At 1,300 metres Sedona is cooler than Phoenix and still too hot to walk red rock after ten in the morning.82climate
  11. 🇲🇪 Podgorica, MontenegroExtreme summer heat · 25 Jun – 1 Sep (usually)One of the hottest cities in Europe, sitting in a bowl of hills an hour from the sea with nothing to move the air.82climate
  12. 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesSummer heat and humidity · 25 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Rowhouse blocks hold the heat overnight and the mid-Atlantic humidity does the rest.81climate
  13. 🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesSummer heat and humidity · 20 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)The city was built on a river flat and the summer behaves accordingly, with afternoon thunderstorms and heat advisories through July and August.80climate
  14. 🇺🇸 Zion National Park, United StatesCanyon heat · 1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)The canyon floor sits above forty degrees on midsummer afternoons and the rock radiates it back.80climate
  15. 🇺🇸 Atlanta, United StatesSummer heat and humidity · 10 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Three months of humid thirty-plus afternoons with a thunderstorm most days around five.80climate
  16. 🇺🇸 Moab, United StatesSummer heat · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)There is no shade on the slickrock and no water on the trails.80climate
  17. 🇺🇸 Death Valley National Park, United StatesSummer extreme heat · 15 May – 30 SepThe hottest reliably measured place on Earth, and the park closes its lower trails and warns people off walking after ten in the morning.79climate
  18. 🇸🇾 Damascus, SyriaThe dry heat · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Heat the city has always answered with courtyards and late nights.79climate
  19. 🇮🇷 Shiraz, IranThe dry summer · 10 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Dry heat at altitude, which means the shaded gardens work and the middle of the day does not.78climate
  20. 🇺🇸 Canyonlands National Park, United StatesSummer heat · 10 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)No shade, no water and no phone signal below the rim, and the Maze district is a long way from any help.78climate
  21. 🇹🇷 Mardin, TurkeyMesopotamian summer · 15 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)The plain below the ridge is one of the hottest places in Turkey and the stone lanes hold the heat into the night.78climate
  22. 🇯🇴 Jerash, JordanHeat on the ruins · 15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)Nothing at Gerasa has a roof, and the limestone throws the heat straight back at you the length of the colonnaded street.78climate
  23. 🇯🇴 Wadi Rum, JordanThe unusable middle of the day · 1 Jun – 10 Sep (usually)Camps still run, but jeep trips go at dawn and after five and the scrambles are off entirely.78climate
  24. 🇺🇸 Big Bend National Park, United StatesDesert summer heat · 15 May – 15 Sep (usually)The desert floor along the Rio Grande is the hot part; the Chisos Basin sits high enough to be bearable.77climate
  25. 🇱🇾 Tripoli, LibyaThe coastal summer · 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Humid rather than desert-dry because the sea is right there, and the middle of the day is dead.77climate

…and 64 more in September.

What's on around the world in September →

Extreme heat in October

  1. 🇧🇼 Gaborone, BotswanaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 20 Nov (usually)The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the year: still air, dust off the bare ground and afternoons nobody walks anywhere in.82climate
  2. 🇳🇦 Sossusvlei, NamibiaHeat before the rains · 1 Oct – 31 Dec (usually)From October the dunes are unclimbable much after nine in the morning and the walk into Deadvlei is a first-light job or nothing.75climate
  3. 🇺🇸 Phoenix, United StatesExtreme heat · 1 May – 5 Oct (usually)Five months over forty degrees with nights that no longer drop below thirty in July.74climate
  4. 🇦🇺 Darwin, AustraliaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)Locals call the weeks before the rains the build-up: still, heavy air and thunderheads that stack up every afternoon without delivering.65climate
  5. 🇿🇼 Victoria Falls, ZimbabweSuicide month · 20 Sep – 10 Nov (usually)The local name for the weeks before the rains break, when the valley bakes and the bush is grey.62climate
  6. 🇳🇦 Etosha National Park, NamibiaThe heat before the rains · 1 Oct – 10 Dec (usually)October and November are the hard end of the dry season, when the heat builds until the rains break it.61climate
  7. 🇦🇺 Kakadu, AustraliaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)Locals call October to December the build-up: still, heavy air and thunderheads that stack up for weeks before they deliver.45climate

What's on around the world in October →

Extreme heat in November

  1. 🇦🇺 Adelaide, AustraliaHeat and fire danger season · 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)A run of hot northerlies can put the Hills and the Fleurieu on catastrophic fire danger and bring a total fire ban; the country fire service rates each district a day at a time.94climate
  2. 🇧🇼 Gaborone, BotswanaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 20 Nov (usually)The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the year: still air, dust off the bare ground and afternoons nobody walks anywhere in.80climate
  3. 🇳🇦 Sossusvlei, NamibiaHeat before the rains · 1 Oct – 31 Dec (usually)From October the dunes are unclimbable much after nine in the morning and the walk into Deadvlei is a first-light job or nothing.74climate
  4. 🇦🇺 Uluru, AustraliaHeat closures on the walks · 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)Park rangers close the Valley of the Winds beyond the first lookout from eleven in the morning whenever the forecast hits the mid-thirties, and the same logic applies to the Uluru base walk.69climate
  5. 🇿🇼 Victoria Falls, ZimbabweSuicide month · 20 Sep – 10 Nov (usually)The local name for the weeks before the rains break, when the valley bakes and the bush is grey.64climate
  6. 🇳🇦 Etosha National Park, NamibiaThe heat before the rains · 1 Oct – 10 Dec (usually)October and November are the hard end of the dry season, when the heat builds until the rains break it.64climate
  7. 🇦🇺 Darwin, AustraliaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)Locals call the weeks before the rains the build-up: still, heavy air and thunderheads that stack up every afternoon without delivering.55climate
  8. 🇦🇺 Kakadu, AustraliaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)Locals call October to December the build-up: still, heavy air and thunderheads that stack up for weeks before they deliver.39climate

What's on around the world in November →

Extreme heat in December

  1. 🇦🇺 Adelaide, AustraliaHeat and fire danger season · 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)A run of hot northerlies can put the Hills and the Fleurieu on catastrophic fire danger and bring a total fire ban; the country fire service rates each district a day at a time.91climate
  2. 🇳🇦 Sossusvlei, NamibiaHeat before the rains · 1 Oct – 31 Dec (usually)From October the dunes are unclimbable much after nine in the morning and the walk into Deadvlei is a first-light job or nothing.73climate
  3. 🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguaySummer heat · 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually)The met service runs heat warnings through most of the southern summer and the low-lying centre holds it after dark.64climate
  4. 🇳🇦 Etosha National Park, NamibiaThe heat before the rains · 1 Oct – 10 Dec (usually)October and November are the hard end of the dry season, when the heat builds until the rains break it.63climate
  5. 🇦🇺 Alice Springs, AustraliaThe heat closes the walking · 1 Dec – 28 FebFrom December the long trails are advised against, guided walks stand down, and the town runs on early mornings and waterholes.61climate
  6. 🇸🇿 Hlane Royal National Park, EswatiniLowveld summer heat · 1 Dec – 28 FebMidsummer on the flats can push into the high thirties, the grass is high and the game scatters away from the pans.60climate
  7. 🇦🇺 Uluru, AustraliaHeat closures on the walks · 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)Park rangers close the Valley of the Winds beyond the first lookout from eleven in the morning whenever the forecast hits the mid-thirties, and the same logic applies to the Uluru base walk.59climate
  8. 🇦🇺 Darwin, AustraliaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)Locals call the weeks before the rains the build-up: still, heavy air and thunderheads that stack up every afternoon without delivering.49climate
  9. 🇦🇺 Kakadu, AustraliaThe build-up · 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually)Locals call October to December the build-up: still, heavy air and thunderheads that stack up for weeks before they deliver.37climate

What's on around the world in December →