Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Zarqa is from April, October, November. — consistent weather climate
🌡Hot & dry
| Score | 40 | 50 | 75 | 96 | 89 | 75 | 56 | 55 | 74 | 99 | 90 | 54 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold | Cold | Mild | Pleasant | Pleasant | Pleasant | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Pleasant | Mild | Cold |
| Temperature | 4–14°C | 5–16°C | 8–20°C | 12–25°C | 16–30°C | 18–33°C | 20–35°C | 20–35°C | 19–33°C | 16–28°C | 10–21°C | 6–16°C |
| Feels like | 1–10°C | 2–12°C | 5–16°C | 10–23°C | 14–28°C | 18–31°C | 20–34°C | 21–34°C | 20–32°C | 15–27°C | 8–18°C | 3–13°C |
| Precipitation | 38mm 8 days | 36mm 7 days | 24mm 5 days | 11mm 3 days | 4mm 1 days | 0mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 1mm 0 days | 4mm 1 days | 16mm 3 days | 22mm 5 days |
| Sunshine | 8.8h ☀︎ 85% | 9.4h ☀︎ 85% | 10.5h ☀︎ 87% | 11.9h ☀︎ 92% | 12.7h ☀︎ 92% | 13.1h ☀︎ 92% | 13.2h ☀︎ 94% | 12.9h ☀︎ 97% | 11.6h ☀︎ 94% | 10.5h ☀︎ 92% | 9.4h ☀︎ 89% | 8.5h ☀︎ 84% |
| Wind | SW · 20 km/h | SW · 20 km/h | W · 22 km/h | W · 22 km/h | W · 24 km/h | W · 24 km/h | W · 24 km/h | NW · 23 km/h | NW · 20 km/h | W · 17 km/h | S · 17 km/h | S · 17 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 71% | 66% | 58% | 45% | 39% | 41% | 43% | 48% | 49% | 52% | 61% | 68% |
| Day length | 10.3h | 11.0h | 12.0h | 13.0h | 13.8h | 14.2h | 14.0h | 13.3h | 12.4h | 11.4h | 10.5h | 10.1h |
Zarqa offers its most generous, comfortable weather in autumn and mid-spring, yet visitors swarm the city at year's end just as raw, bone-chilling winter winds settle over the desert plateau.
Zarqa does not flatter the casual tourist. Jordan's second city is an unadorned, working metropolis of concrete apartment blocks, bustling auto-repair corridors, lively market avenues, and ancient crossroads anchored by the stone tower of Qasr Shabib. Few travelers put Zarqa on an itinerary unless they are visiting family, passing through the transport hubs, or seeking an unvarnished cross-section of modern Jordanian life away from the manicured archaeological trails. To see the city at its most humane, you must arrive when the desert breeze tempers the urban heat. The calendar holds a curious paradox here: Zarqa reaches its atmospheric perfection in October, completely ignored by travelers, only to choke with crowds in November and December just as the sun retreats and a damp, biting chill grips the streets.
October is the undisputed pinnacle of the year in Zarqa. The fierce radiance that bakes the governorate through the summer months finally softens into a golden, dry warmth. Days hover in the upper twenties, gentle enough to wander the sprawling shopping streets of New Zarqa without seeking refuge in air-conditioned shops every twenty minutes. By mid-afternoon, a refreshing breeze sweeps off the eastern steppe, clearing the diesel haze and cooling the sun-baked stone buildings.
Evenings during this window are extraordinary. As twilight settles over the alleyways around Qasr Shabib, shopkeepers roll up their metal shutters, fruit vendors pile fresh pomegranates high under bare incandescent bulbs, and street life spills into every vacant square. You can sit outside late into the night over tea perfumed with fresh sage and never feel the bite of the desert night.
Yet despite this near-flawless weather, travelers are absent. The crowds are among the thinnest of the entire year. September begins this transition with lingering summer heat that rapidly mellows by the third week, leaving October as an open secret: a period of supreme comfort in an intense, high-energy city.
November flips the script. Travel numbers spike dramatically to their absolute peak, and December remains nearly as packed. Why this surge happens when the weather deteriorates is an open question, driven largely by holiday schedules, regional family visits, and transport flows rather than climate logic. If you arrive expecting warm Levantine sunshine, you will be sorely disappointed.
By late November, the desert plateau turns sharp. Temperatures tumble into the teens by day, and when the sun sinks behind the arid hills, the chill penetrates straight through heavy wool. Gray overcast skies replace the endless blue, and intermittent drizzles leave the unpaved alleyways slick with mud. The valley along the Zarqa River traps the damp air, making the cold seep into your bones in buildings that are built to shed summer heat rather than hold winter warmth.
Navigating the city in this period requires patience. The markets of New Zarqa are clogged with pedestrians bundled in heavy parkas, traffic along the arterial avenues slows to a crawl, and the pleasant outdoor buzz of the cafes vanishes indoors behind fogged glass.
January and February are the bleakest months to experience Zarqa. The city sits on an exposed inland plateau, and when winter storms roll in from the Mediterranean, they arrive stripped of coastal moisture and laden with frigid air. Highs struggle to reach 14 degrees, but the constant desert wind makes it feel substantially colder. Rain is not torrential, but it falls as a persistent, sullen drizzle that slicks the asphalt and keeps the streets subdued.
Life retreats indoors. Morning commutes through the city center take place under slate-gray skies, with street carts steaming over vats of simmering fava beans and roasted corn. Qasr Shabib stands solitary against the pale light, surrounded by quiet, shuttered alleys.
March brings a slow, turbulent awakening. The chill begins to loosen its grip, and the low crowd levels mean you can explore without competition. However, early spring is unpredictable. One day brings pale sunshine and mild desert air; the next brings a sharp northern snap or a gritty desert wind that coats the entire city in a fine film of beige dust.
April is the other sublime pocket of the calendar. The winter murk vanishes entirely, replaced by crisp, luminous desert light and daytime temperatures that land in the mid-twenties. The scrubby hills bordering the city and the edges of the Zarqa River basin flash with brief, vibrant greenery before the summer desiccates the landscape. It is the best time of year for walking, with comfortable, dry air and minimal wind.
May pushes the thermometer up toward thirty degrees, but the lack of humidity keeps the heat remarkably light and tolerable. Evenings in late spring have an exhilarating, breezy quality. Families stroll down commercial strips, pastry shops do a roaring trade late into the darkness, and the scent of grilled meats and cardamom coffee drifts through the open windows of every taxi.
Crucially, visitor numbers remain remarkably low throughout both months. You get all the atmospheric benefits of early summer without the oppressive midday glare or the dense congestion of late autumn.
From June through August, Zarqa becomes an oven. The city's dense concrete architecture absorbs the unrelenting sun from dawn to dusk, radiating heat back into the streets long after dark. Daytime highs routinely cross 35 degrees, and under the bare desert sky, walking outdoors between midday and late afternoon feels punishing. The air is dry and static, and dust hangs suspended over the main thoroughfares.
Travel during these months demands an entirely nocturnal schedule. The city essentially hibernates through the middle of the day; shops pull metal grates down, side streets empty out, and traffic thins to a trickle. Only when the sun finally drops below the western horizon does Zarqa roar back to life. After eight in the evening, the heat becomes manageable, and the entire population emerges onto the sidewalks to shop, eat, and socialize until the early hours of the morning.
If you must visit during midsummer, adapt to local habits immediately. Rest during the blistering afternoons, stay out late into the cool desert night, and do not attempt serious sightseeing under the noon sun.