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The climate of Albania
To most people Albania is quite an unknown country in the Balkans.
Popular countries such as Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia can count on
much more tourism than Albania gets. However, this has nothing to do
with Albania’s climate. Albania has the same Mediterranean climate as
the countries mentioned above; warm summers and especially along the
coastline mild winters. In the interior winters can be much more
severe, especially in the higher regions such as the Albanian Alps and
in the northern part of the country. According to the Köppen-Geiger
climate classification Albania has a warm Mediterranean climate, types
Csa (along the coastline) and Csb (in the interior).
Climate information of places and areas in Albania
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific
information about weather and climate can be found on the climate
pages per area or town. As for Albania the following climate
information is available:
Warm summers
Summers in Albania are warm to hot. In July and August maximum
temperatures are around 30 degrees Celsius on average. However, this
is an average; peaks in temperature are not uncommon. If all the
elements cooperate temperatures may rise as high as 40 degrees
Celsius. As quick as a heat wave may occur, as suddenly the weather
may change in Albania. Because of the structure of the land and its
situation on the Adriatic Sea heat is often dispelled by heavy rain
and thunder storms. Daytime temperatures may drop up to 10 degrees
Celsius within 24 hours. In July and August this doesn’t occur that
often. However, at the end of the summer chances of heavy depressions
increase rapidly. The best time to visit Albania is from June till
August. Many hours of sunshine are guaranteed then and precipitation
figures are low. From October autumn starts; the hours of sunshine per
day decrease and the intensity of rainfall increases.
Mild winters
Albanian winters are mild, especially in the lower regions along the
coastline. On average winters are not cold here. Daytime temperatures
around or even above 10 degrees Celsius are not uncommon. During the
night subzero temperatures are uncommon. However, even the coastal
areas get some frosty days each year and sometimes even some snow. In
the higher regions snow, ice and subzero temperatures are not uncommon
during the winter which starts in the end of November and lasts till
the beginning of March. On the windward side of the mountains large
amounts of snow are not uncommon. Tirana also gets covered in snow
from time to time. During the winter snow is not uncommon in the
higher regions, especially at an altitude of 1000-1500 meters winter
sports are possible. However, if you plan going on winter sports in
Albania you will come to the conclusion that it is far less organized
than in more popular winter sports countries. Ski resorts, ski lifts
and après ski are hard to find here.
Precipitation figures
As a rule for Albania during the winter much more precipitation is
recorded than during the much drier summers. Differences depend on the
location you are in and also may differ per year. Because of the many
mountains the weather is unstable. In one area it may rain for days
while 10 kilometers away it may be very dry. As a rule the northern
part of Albania and the mountains in the southwest record much more
rain per year than the rest of the country. Per year between 700-1200
millimeters of rain falls on average. In some regions precipitation
figures on a yearly basis may reach up to 1500 millimeters of rain.
However, this is a local deviation. The next year it may be half that
amount.
Sun
The hours of sunshine vary from 2000 per year in the most sober areas
in the interior to almost 3000 hours of sunshine in
Saranda which is
located in the south western part on the coast of Albania at the same
latitude as the Greek island of Corfu. The average amount of sunshine
for Albania is 2400-2500 hours of sunshine per year. With more than
300 hours of sunshine per month July and August are the sunniest.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate
records and are an average for Albania. Please, note that local
deviations may occur, especially in the field of possible
precipitation quantities. The northern part of the country gets more
rain. The windward side of the mountains gets more rain and the
temperatures are lower in the interior during the winter.
More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression
of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain
period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather,
extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we monthly offer useful extra
climate information. The information below is an average for
Albania. Please visit the pages on individual climate information for
other places in Albania.
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
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= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
