Overview of Algeria Weather
Algeria is a country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometers (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa.
The country’s Mediterranean coastline stretches for more than 600 kilometers (373 mi) and is mostly located in the coastal plain of the Sahel region. Inland from the coast, the terrain rises to the wooded hills of the Tell Atlas range in the west, and the Saharan Atlas range in the east. These higher ranges are separated by the Tafilalt, a large flat expanse of land in eastern Algeria.
Algeria has a temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The coastal plain experiences cooler temperatures than the interior, although the difference is not as great as in other Mediterranean countries.
Precipitation is heaviest in the coastal areas, where annual totals can exceed 1,000 millimeters (39 in), and is somewhat lighter in the east. Inland, annual precipitation levels are much lower, averaging around 200 millimeters (7.9 in).
Algeria’s climate is influenced by a number of factors, including its location in the transition zone between the Mediterranean and Saharan climate zones, its altitude, and its coastal location.
The Atlas Mountains act as a barrier to the influence of the Mediterranean, resulting in a more continental climate in the interior. The coastal location moderates the temperatures, but the country still experiences significant variation in temperature between the coast and the interior.
Algeria’s highest point is Emi Koussi, a mountain in the Sahara Desert. At 3,406 meters (11,168 ft), it is also the highest point in the Sahara Desert and in all of Africa.
