11 Cities with the Highest Average Temperature in the World

If you can’t stand the cold and are thinking of emigrating or are just genuinely interested in hottest cities in the world (we’re talking temperature here), fear not – here’s our list of 11 cities with the highest average temperature in the world. Our list of 11 countries with highest average temperature in the world might come in handy as well, but 11 cities from our list don’t necessarily have to be the members of these 11 countries.

While some countries are smaller than certain cities’ metropolitan areas, they are usually much larger. This means that their average temperature depends on a number of factors and cities don’t necessarily have to follow that pattern. While countries tend to exhibit different climate patterns in their respective different parts, cities can usually be read like a book. Yes, metropolises do tend to have some variations due to their microclimatic factors, but these differences are usually minimal. Some cities border with high mountains and this is where temperatures differ the most, but then again, mountains can’t really be considered parts of cities in question. What I’m trying to say is that while countries and their temperatures can fluctuate, cities across the globe usually feature steady figures. This is why their temperature depends on fewer factors than those of larger land masses which countries certainly are. However, most of the rules apply in both cases.

Hottest cities in the world are found in the torrid geographical zone and usually in either desert or tropical areas. Now it’s becoming interesting. Some cities might exhibit extreme temperatures during summer and not be as hot during the winter at the same time. This means that a city might be hotter than any of listed cities and still don’t make the list of 11 cities with the highest average temperature in the world. We will only consider average annual temperatures which can be quite different in the end. This ensures that hottest cities on our list are actually as consistent as possible throughout the year and not only hot during July or August, for instance. Bear in mind the fact that we’ll, furthermore only take daily averages and not daily maximum temperatures. We also won’t consider smaller cities and towns as they represent majority compared to large cities and metropolises. Only cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants in their metropolitan areas will be taken into account. Finally, we have used a couple of sources and mashed the data in order to be more precise. Some of the sources have a very long period of temperature measuring, while others have only measured temperatures for a while. This is why it’s important to compare the data and find the average since, as you know, the climate tends to shift during prolonged periods of time. Our main source is Weatherbase, which, sadly, tends to round off most of their figures thus making it hard for us to clearly divide the number of cities with the same average annual temperatures. That’s why we have used World Meteorological Organization’s World Weather Information Service, which tends to offer much more precise data. Sadly, WWIS doesn’t offer data for a number of cities that could (and some will) make the list of 11 cities with the highest average temperature in the world. This is why we have resorted to some local and, possibly, not so accurate sources like weather2travel, Indian Meteorological Department and others like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or Hong Kong Observatory. Hopefully, you can now see how hard it is to compile precise and thoroughly checked data as collective data on world’s hottest cities doesn’t exist.

11. Garoua (Cameroon)

Average annual temperature (WWIS and NOAA): 28.38 °C – 83.08 °F

With around 300,000 people calling this city home, Garoua is fourth or fifth largest city in the west-central African Republic of Cameroon. It serves as country North Region’s capital and lies on Benué River which is Niger’s major tributary. Hottest months in Garoua are March and April with averages between 32 and 33 °C (90 and 91.5 °F), but the average temperature never drops below 26 °C or 79 °F which it reaches during December and January.

10. Sokoto (Nigeria)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase and WWIS): 28.47 °C – 83.25 °F

Sokoto will be the only city from Nigeria on this list, but it won’t be the only city from the region as you’ll soon find out. Positioned in country’s far north-western corner, the city is a home to more than 430,000 people. It used to be the capital of defunct Northwestern State which now bears the name of the city. Of course, Sokoto is still the capital. Dry Sahel zone surrounded by savannas is what determines Sokoto’s climate. Average temperatures here reach their maximum during April when it’s 33.75 °C or 92.75 °F outside. Opposite to that, the minimum annual temperature of 24.5 °C or 76.1 °F exhibits itself during year’s first month of January.

9. Chennai (India)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase and WWIS): 28.51 °C – 83.32 °F

First of many Indian cities on this list of 11 cities with the highest average temperature in the world, Chennai is a home to some 6,750,000 inhabitants, which makes it fifth largest city in world’s second most populous country. Chennai’s metropolitan area, however, numbers more than 8.5 million inhabitants, which puts it in the fourth spot when Indian metro areas are concerned. Found in the south – south-eastern part of the country, city is the capital of Indian state Tamil Nadu. Both city’s southern position and the Bay of Bengal have an impact on its weather as average temperatures reach their peak during May and June. 32.5 °C (90.5 °F) and 32.35 °C (90.23 °F) are the maximum averages respectively, while average minimum is achieved during the month of January (24.6 °C or 76.28 °F).

8. Vijayawada (India)

Average annual temperature (WWIS and IMD): 28.64 °C – 83.55 °F

The city of Vijayawada is north of Chennai; still in Gulf of Bengal, but only slightly inland. Krishna River helps it reaching such a high overall temperatures throughout the year, but main reasons are city’s position south of the Tropic of Cancer and orientation towards the Indian Ocean. Vijayawada has more than million inhabitants and almost million and a half if whole metro area is considered. This Andhra Pradesh city exhibits its mean maximum during May when temperature reaches the 33.85 °C (92.93 °F) mark, while mean low can be felt during January (24.4 °C or 75.92 °F).

7. Madurai (India)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase, WWIS, and IMD): 28.9 °C – 84.02 °F

Capital city of Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Madurai finds itself in far southern corner of the country. It is of a similar size as previously mentioned Vijayawada and features similar climate, obviously. With that in mind, May is the hottest month here as well with average high reaching 31.8 °C or 89.24 °F. January is the coldest with mean temperature of 25.3 °C or 77.54 °F, but December follows it in its footsteps with average showing 25.35 °C or 77.63 °F.

6. Maracaibo (Venezuela)

Average annual temperature (WWIS and NOAA) 28.99 °C – 84.18 °F

A gem of Venezuelan northern coast, Maracaibo guards the entrance to the Gulf of Venezuela. This is the second largest city of South American northernmost country with population of about one and a half million citizens. Metropolitan area, however, numbers around 2.1 million people. Maracaibo isn’t known as a main touristic destination, but thanks to its climate and weather throughout the year, you won’t miss any of the sun, sea and sand aspects of traditional tourism. Average temperatures are stable throughout the year, but summer months including April and May are still slightly hotter than the other. Coldest month is January, but ironically, Maracaibo sees the most sunshine during it – over 266 hours.

5. Niamey (Niger)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase and WWIS): 29.16 °C – 84.49 °F

Finally, we get one of world country’s capitals for our list of 11 cities with the highest average temperature in the world. Niamey is also Niger’s largest city with close to 1.5 million people living in it and in its surrounding metro area. It’s close to another city from the list – Sokoto in Nigeria, and features very similar climate. Hottest month is May when mercury in thermometers reaches an average of 33.95 °C or 93.11 °F. Only a few months during the year offer refreshing conditions and average temperatures lower than 30 °C (86 °F), and they occur during winter’s dry season.

4. Djibouti City (Djibouti)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase, WWIS, and HKO): 29.4 °C – 84.92 °F

Djibouti is one of the world’s hottest countries overall, and its capital city doesn’t fail to exhibit similar results. Guardian City of the Gulf of Tadjoura, just south of the entrance to the Red Sea, Djibouti boasts population of more than 600,000. That’s around 75 percent of country’s entire population. Summer months are practically unbearable with maximum occurring during the month of July and reading 36.4 °C – 97.52 °F. If you can call an average of 25.1 °C (77.18 °F) cold, then January is Djibouti City’s coldest month.

3. Kassala (Sudan)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase, WWIS, and HKO): 29.75 °C – 85.55 °F

Capital of Sudanese state with the same name, Kassala is Sudan’s second easternmost major city after Port Sudan. Unlike Port Sudan, Kassala doesn’t have a sea exit and features subtropical desert climate which is both arid and hot. More than 400,000 people call this desert city home and they enjoy extremely hot springs with average maximum in May. That’s when temperature reaches 33.8 °C – 92.84 °F mark, while lowest averages occur during December, January, and February.

2. Khartoum (Sudan)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase, WWIS, and HKO): 29.91 °C – 85.84 °F

It might not be officially the hottest capital city in the world, but it does feature steady high temperatures throughout the year and earns the title of the capital city with highest average temperature. Around 6.5 million people live in or around Khartoum, which boasts hot desert climate (not sure if boasting is the right word for this, though). Similar to Kassala, Khartoum’s maximum appears in May, but June doesn’t lag behind either. May’s average temperature amounts to 34.6 °C – 94.28 °F, while January’s average shows 23.15 °C- 73.67 °F.

1. Mecca (Saudi Arabia)

Average annual temperature (Weatherbase and WWIS): 31.22 °C – 88.2 °F

Birthplace of Muhammad and holiest city of Islam aren’t the only monikers Mecca can boast with. It can also boast with being world’s hottest city in terms of average annual temperature. Thanks to the extremely arid desert climate, Mecca’s summers are absolutely scorching. Unlike other Saudi Arabian cities, Mecca manages to retain its extremely high temperatures during winter as well, and this is what helps it earn the first spot. You can choose pretty much any summer month as hottest, but let’s take June and July for example. That’s when average temperatures get stuck at 36.1 °C or 96.96 °F. Daily maximums easily reach close to 45 °C (110 °F) and it’s no wonder why Mecca is so hot. Finally, even January with average temperature of 24.65 °C – 76.37 °F isn’t cold at all.

It has been extremely hard to compile this list of 11 cities with the highest average temperature in the world due to the lack of information. Finding data doesn’t always necessarily have to be hard, but comparing it with other reputable sources, thus checking its credibility usually is. We are aware that cities like Rajahmudry (India), Warangal (India), Aden (Yemen), Omdurman (Sudan) and Nelore (India) might exhibit higher averages than some of the cities from our list, but it has been impossible to check their data through satisfactory number of sources. Furthermore, Kuwait City (Kuwait) and Nagpur (India) might showcase even higher extreme highs than cities from our list, but their averages aren’t higher due to harsher winters. Finally, 250,000 citizens is the minimum population prerequisite for our list and smaller cities couldn’t have found their spot here.