Cyprus Weather and Climate

Geographical location

According to COUNTRYAAH, Cyprus is a popular holiday island in the eastern Mediterranean. The island state is around 75 kilometers away from Turkey, which means that geographically, Cyprus is already part of Asia.

As a rule, however, the island state is assigned to the European cultural area. Cyprus has an area of ​​9251 square kilometers, making it the third largest Mediterranean island after Sicily and Sardinia.

Northern Cyprus, i.e. the northern part of the island, is claimed by Turkey, even though the entire national territory of Cyprus became a member of the European Union in May 2004 under international law.

There are two mountain ranges in Cyprus that stretch across the entire island, the Pentadaktylos mountain range in northeastern Cyprus and the volcanic, forested Troodos Mountains in the interior.

The Troodos also includes Olympus, the highest mountain in Cyprus at 1952 meters. The capital is Nicosia, the northern part of the city is also the capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

• Abbreviation Finder: Check to see national geography, brief history, society description, domestic politics, economy overview, and a list of widely used acronyms about Cyprus.

Climate in Cyprus

The Cyprus climate is subtropical Mediterranean. The summers are characterized by a hot and very dry climate, the winters are characterized by a mild and rather humid climate. Due to its southern location, Cyprus has particularly long summers with up to 13 hours of sunshine a day. In the region between the Pentadaktylos and Troodos mountain ranges, it gets extremely hot in summer and temperatures can exceed 45 ° C.

On the coast, the weather is somewhat more moderate, but the daytime temperatures usually reach values ​​of 37 degrees and more even here in summer. In general, it can be stated that the winds often make it cooler on the west coast than on the east coast. The water temperatures in the Mediterranean reach around the end of April the 20 degree mark and are throughout the summer until the end suitable for bathing in November.

However, the air temperatures slowly cool down in autumn, in November nighttime temperatures of around 10 degrees are not uncommon. Between the beginning of December and mid- March, the daytime temperatures remain below 20 ° C. The lowest temperatures on the coast in winter are rarely below 8 ° C. In winter there is regular snowfall in the plateaus of the two mountain ranges.

When to go to Cyprus

In principle, Cyprus can be visited all year round. If you want to go hiking and sightseeing, the months of March, April and November are the best time to travel. In the winter months in the Troodos Mountains until mid-March, even skiers in Cyprus get their money’s worth. The main season for beach holidays is especially during the summer holidays in July and August.

Due to the extreme heat, often over 40 degrees, this period is not suitable for every vacationer. Even the smallest of activities in Cyprus (especially in the interior of the island) can be a pain in the summer. We therefore recommend the end of April to the end of June and the beginning of September as the best time to visit Cyprus until mid-November.

Optimal travel time for the regions

In the following overview you can see the best travel time depending on the region (Cyprus).

Place	Best travel time
Nicosia	May, June, July, August, September and October
Limassol	May, June, July, August, September and October

Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in Nicosia (Cyprus)

	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daytime temperature	15 ° C	16 ° C	19 ° C	24 ° C	30 ° C	34 ° C	37 ° C	37 ° C	34 ° C	28 ° C	22 ° C	17 ° C
Night temperature	5 ° C	5 ° C	6 ° C	10 ° C	15 ° C	19 ° C	22 ° C	22 ° C	19 ° C	15 ° C	10 ° C	7 ° C
Precipitation in mm	48	47	37	22	22	7	1	7	6	22	31	58
Rainy days	9	9	8	4	4	1	0	1	1	5	6	8
Hours of sunshine	6	7	8	9	11	13	13	12	11	9	7	6
Sunrise	6:55	6:35	6:00	6:15	5:45	5:30	5:45	6:05	6:30	6:50	6:20	6:45
Sunset	17:00	17:30	17:55	19:20	19:45	20:00	20:00	19:35	18:55	18:10	16:40	16:35

Temperatures

The annual average temperature in Nicosia is 19.4 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is July (29.4 ° C), coldest month of January with mean values of 10.3 ° C.

Precipitation

The annual precipitation is 308 mm on 56 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. There is no rainy season, i.e. months with more than 175 mm of precipitation. In February snowfall is possible.

Sunshine

As our climate table shows, July is the sunniest month with an average of 12.8 hours of sunshine per day. On average over the year the sun shines 9.2 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.

Cities nearby

The following major towns are nearby and have a similar climate: Limassol and Limassol Municipality.

Highlights and attractions

Even if the topic of beach holidays is the top priority for most travelers to Cyprus, the island is also rich in scenic and cultural attractions. The most popular vacation spots include Agía Nápa, Páfos (Coral Bay) and Ómodos. Many highlights can be found in Larnaca, Limassol and the still divided capital Nicosia.

On your Cyprus vacation you should definitely see the Lefkara Peaks, the archaeological sites in Paphos and the Kykkos Monastery. Other attractions in the country include the Kourion Amphitheater, Larnaca Red Villages, and Aphrodite’s Rock. In Northern Cyprus, Famagusta and Girne stand out as tourist centers, and ancient Salamis is one of the most important attractions in the north.