About Sudan

Sara and John say...

This is a hot desert land, with abundant sunshine and little rain through the year. However, there are variations on that theme.

In contrast to the rest of the country, the Red Sea coast sees most of its meagre rainfall in wintertime, when a few showers occur. Nights can get chilly, but at this time of year, the temperatures are more tolerable than the rest of the year, when clear skies and strong sunshine lift daytime highs into the 30s and 40s Celsius.

The rest of northern Sudan is a desert wilderness - one of the hottest and driest places in the world! 50 Celsius is not unheard of in summer, although the winter is notably cooler. It rarely rains at any time of year!

Further south, while summers are punishingly hot and sunny, some sporadic monsoon rainfall does occur between May and September. This includes the the capital, Khartoum. The rest of the year is dry and sunny. However ‘Haboob’ winds can cause sandstorms, especially in late spring.

Southernmost areas of Sudan are less arid and see less extreme heat. This is because there is more cloud, especially in summer, and the monsoon showers last longer - from April to October.

We’d recommend the winter months for visiting Sudan, especially December and January. It’s likely to be dry with less extreme heat than at any other time of year.