Weather locations in Iran

Iran occupies a high closed plateau between the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Elburz and Zagros mountains, and its climate is overwhelmingly arid or semi-arid. Only the narrow Caspian littoral and a few northern slopes get meaningful rain.

Main climate types

The plateau, which covers most of the country, is desert or steppe in type, with low rain and large swings between summer heat and winter cold. The Caspian province of Mazandaran, backed by the Elburz Range, stands apart: a humid subtropical belt taking 800 to 2,000 millimetres a year, with mild winters and hot, muggy summers. The Zagros mountains receive winter snow and have cold Alpine conditions, while the far south along the Gulf and Oman is hot and humid with its own winter rain.

Temperatures

Tehran, on the plateau at 1,200 metres, averages about 2 degrees in January and 29 degrees in July, and the daily range in summer is large. Southern cities such as Bandar Abbas are consistently hot, with July highs above 35 degrees and high humidity. In the north the Caspian lowland averages around 7 degrees in January and 26 degrees in July, though it feels much hotter and muggier in the summer because of the humidity.

Rainfall

Most of the country takes under 250 millimetres a year, and the central basins around Yazd, Kerman and the Dasht-e Kavir are the driest. Rain arrives mainly from late autumn to early spring, and in the north-west it can fall as snow from December to February. Totals reach 1,000 to 2,000 millimetres on the Caspian coast and its slopes, with most of it falling from winter into early spring.

When to go

For most of Iran the most pleasant months are March to May and mid-September to November, when daytime temperatures are moderate. Winter on the plateau is cold, with snow on the higher Zagros passes and around Tehran, while the Caspian province is milder but wet and foggy. For anyone wanting to escape the summer heat, the Elburz and the Caspian coast are the coolest parts of the country.