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Weekly note

Deserts in winter

Winter is December to February north of the equator and in South Asia; June to August south of the equator. These are the deserts where at least two of those three months are a sweet spot or good, ranked on ten years of climate readings, public holidays and fares.

Winter in the north: December to February

8 of the 10 places are a sweet spot or good in at least two of December, January and February; 5 of them in each of the three.

  1. Doha Qatar December: sweet spotJanuary: goodFebruary: good 3 of 3 good or better · highs 23–25°C
  2. Cairo Egypt December: goodJanuary: sweet spotFebruary: good 3 of 3 good or better · highs 20–22°C
  3. Riyadh Saudi Arabia December: goodJanuary: goodFebruary: sweet spot 3 of 3 good or better · highs 21–23°C
  4. Marrakech Morocco December: goodJanuary: goodFebruary: good 3 of 3 good or better · highs 20–22°C
  5. Scottsdale United States December: goodJanuary: goodFebruary: good 3 of 3 good or better · highs 19–21°C
  6. Dubai United Arab Emirates December: okJanuary: sweet spotFebruary: good 2 of 3 good or better · highs 24–26°C
  7. Muscat Oman December: okJanuary: goodFebruary: good 2 of 3 good or better · highs 25–26°C
  8. Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates December: goodJanuary: okFebruary: good 2 of 3 good or better · highs 24–26°C

Fewer than two good months

Winter in the south: June to August

1 of the 10 places is a sweet spot or good in at least two of June, July and August; 1 of them in each of the three.

  1. The Grand Canyon United States June: sweet spotJuly: sweet spotAugust: good 3 of 3 good or better · highs 28–29°C

Fewer than two good months

Deserts, season by season

Winter elsewhere

Labelled and ranked by the score from Bengaluru, as every month page is, until you choose your own city: then your own city's score decides, and the places are split into your own country, short hops within 1,500 km, and further away. A month counts when it is a sweet spot or good; two such months put a place on the list, and more months, then a higher average score, put it higher. The climate is each place's own, from ten years of readings. How we rank