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Longest dry spell, then versus now

245 capital cities · 1976-1986 <> 2015-2025

Across 245 capital cities with a complete daily weather record going back to 1976, the longest yearly run of days without measurable rain now averages 25 days, against 23 days in 1976 to 1986. 136 of those capitals now go longer without rain than they used to and 88 go shorter, so this is not a single global trend but a redistribution. The largest increase is in Brasília, up 51 days to 117. The largest decrease is in Abu Dhabi, down 51 days to 201. The longest dry spell of any capital today is Cairo's, at 240 days.

The four capitals whose dry spell has grown the most since 1976-1986, and the four where it has shrunk the most.

Data through September 3, 2026.

The intro of our climate and meteo pages

Every other capital, ranked by how much its longest dry spell has changed, from the biggest increase to the biggest decrease, comparing 1976-1986 with 2015-2025.
RankCapitalThen and nowChange
1LusakaZambiaThen132 daysNow161 days+29 dayslonger than before
2BissauGuinea-BissauThen121 daysNow149 days+28 dayslonger than before
3N'DjamenaChadThen116 daysNow143 days+27 dayslonger than before
4PhoenixArizonaThen69 daysNow96 days+27 dayslonger than before
5Carson CityNevadaThen45 daysNow70 days+25 dayslonger than before
6DushanbeTajikistanThen57 daysNow80 days+23 dayslonger than before
7JubaSouth SudanThen39 daysNow61 days+22 dayslonger than before
8Salt Lake CityUtahThen28 daysNow50 days+22 dayslonger than before
9BanjulGambiaThen148 daysNow169 days+21 dayslonger than before
10BanguiCentral African RepublicThen25 daysNow46 days+21 dayslonger than before
11AlgiersAlgeriaThen60 daysNow80 days+20 dayslonger than before
12AshgabatTurkmenistanThen107 daysNow125 days+18 dayslonger than before
13DjiboutiDjiboutiThen63 daysNow80 days+17 dayslonger than before
14NiameyNigerThen109 daysNow125 days+16 dayslonger than before
15RabatMoroccoThen94 daysNow110 days+16 dayslonger than before
16KigaliRwandaThen50 daysNow65 days+15 dayslonger than before
17Phnom PenhCambodiaThen39 daysNow53 days+14 dayslonger than before
18GitegaBurundiThen92 daysNow105 days+13 dayslonger than before
19SantiagoChileThen62 daysNow74 days+12 dayslonger than before
20MaputoMozambiqueThen37 daysNow49 days+12 dayslonger than before
21YarenNauruThen10 daysNow22 days+12 dayslonger than before
22IslamabadPakistanThen32 daysNow43 days+11 dayslonger than before
23AsmaraEritreaThen23 daysNow34 days+11 dayslonger than before
24MuscatOmanThen178 daysNow188 days+10 dayslonger than before
25LimaPeruThen168 daysNow178 days+10 dayslonger than before
26HarareZimbabweThen119 daysNow129 days+10 dayslonger than before
27Sana'aYemenThen70 daysNow80 days+10 dayslonger than before
28San SalvadorEl SalvadorThen56 daysNow66 days+10 dayslonger than before
29GaboroneBotswanaThen82 daysNow91 days+9 dayslonger than before
30BakuAzerbaijanThen63 daysNow72 days+9 dayslonger than before
31KabulAfghanistanThen59 daysNow68 days+9 dayslonger than before
32Addis AbabaEthiopiaThen45 daysNow54 days+9 dayslonger than before
33NairobiKenyaThen28 daysNow37 days+9 dayslonger than before
34LoméTogoThen15 daysNow24 days+9 dayslonger than before
35ConakryGuineaThen92 daysNow100 days+8 dayslonger than before
36DiliTimor-LesteThen74 daysNow82 days+8 dayslonger than before
37South TarawaKiribatiThen9 daysNow17 days+8 dayslonger than before
38MogadishuSomaliaThen75 daysNow82 days+7 dayslonger than before
39AbujaNigeriaThen58 daysNow65 days+7 dayslonger than before
40UlaanbaatarMongoliaThen52 daysNow59 days+7 dayslonger than before
41BeijingChinaThen48 daysNow55 days+7 dayslonger than before
42Mexico CityMexicoThen31 daysNow38 days+7 dayslonger than before
43HelenaMontanaThen20 daysNow27 days+7 dayslonger than before
44JakartaIndonesiaThen12 daysNow19 days+7 dayslonger than before
45MalaboEquatorial GuineaThen6 daysNow13 days+7 dayslonger than before
46SacramentoCaliforniaThen106 daysNow112 days+6 dayslonger than before
47BamakoMaliThen94 daysNow100 days+6 dayslonger than before
48MadridSpainThen46 daysNow52 days+6 dayslonger than before
49Panama CityPanamaThen41 daysNow47 days+6 dayslonger than before
50YamoussoukroIvory CoastThen25 daysNow31 days+6 dayslonger than before
51SeoulSouth KoreaThen22 daysNow28 days+6 dayslonger than before
52TallahasseeFloridaThen20 daysNow26 days+6 dayslonger than before
53Porto-NovoBeninThen16 daysNow22 days+6 dayslonger than before
54KampalaUgandaThen6 daysNow12 days+6 dayslonger than before
55TehranIranThen131 daysNow136 days+5 dayslonger than before
56AntananarivoMadagascarThen70 daysNow75 days+5 dayslonger than before
57TunisTunisiaThen61 daysNow66 days+5 dayslonger than before
58DhakaBangladeshThen49 daysNow54 days+5 dayslonger than before
59StockholmSwedenThen21 daysNow26 days+5 dayslonger than before
60HonoluluHawaiiThen19 daysNow24 days+5 dayslonger than before
61MontgomeryAlabamaThen19 daysNow24 days+5 dayslonger than before
62AsunciónParaguayThen17 daysNow22 days+5 dayslonger than before
63AccraGhanaThen16 daysNow21 days+5 dayslonger than before
64Port-au-PrinceHaitiThen15 daysNow20 days+5 dayslonger than before
65San JoséCosta RicaThen9 daysNow14 days+5 dayslonger than before
66BoiseIdahoThen50 daysNow54 days+4 dayslonger than before
67Santa FeNew MexicoThen30 daysNow34 days+4 dayslonger than before
68TbilisiGeorgiaThen19 daysNow23 days+4 dayslonger than before
69BridgetownBarbadosThen15 daysNow19 days+4 dayslonger than before
70YaoundéCameroonThen14 daysNow18 days+4 dayslonger than before
71BeirutLebanonThen107 daysNow110 days+3 dayslonger than before
72OuagadougouBurkina FasoThen83 daysNow86 days+3 dayslonger than before
73TashkentUzbekistanThen71 daysNow74 days+3 dayslonger than before
74OlympiaWashingtonThen30 daysNow33 days+3 dayslonger than before
75HavanaCubaThen26 daysNow29 days+3 dayslonger than before
76DenverColoradoThen25 daysNow28 days+3 dayslonger than before
77AstanaKazakhstanThen23 daysNow26 days+3 dayslonger than before
78CaracasVenezuelaThen23 daysNow26 days+3 dayslonger than before
79MonacoMonacoThen22 daysNow25 days+3 dayslonger than before
80AmsterdamNetherlandsThen19 daysNow22 days+3 dayslonger than before
81ColumbiaSouth CarolinaThen18 daysNow21 days+3 dayslonger than before
82MinskBelarusThen18 daysNow21 days+3 dayslonger than before
83Port LouisMauritiusThen18 daysNow21 days+3 dayslonger than before
84KingstownSaint Vincent & GrenadinesThen16 daysNow19 days+3 dayslonger than before
85RichmondVirginiaThen15 daysNow18 days+3 dayslonger than before
86BelmopanBelizeThen13 daysNow16 days+3 dayslonger than before
87FunafutiTuvaluThen5 daysNow8 days+3 dayslonger than before
88FreetownSierra LeoneThen45 daysNow47 days+2 dayslonger than before
89KathmanduNepalThen28 daysNow30 days+2 dayslonger than before
90AustinTexasThen26 daysNow28 days+2 dayslonger than before
91BelgradeSerbiaThen25 daysNow27 days+2 dayslonger than before
92LincolnNebraskaThen24 daysNow26 days+2 dayslonger than before
93Port of SpainTrinidad & TobagoThen24 daysNow26 days+2 dayslonger than before
94KyivUkraineThen21 daysNow23 days+2 dayslonger than before
95San MarinoSan MarinoThen21 daysNow23 days+2 dayslonger than before
96Des MoinesIowaThen20 daysNow22 days+2 dayslonger than before
97NassauBahamasThen20 daysNow22 days+2 dayslonger than before
98ZagrebCroatiaThen20 daysNow22 days+2 dayslonger than before
99Andorra la VellaAndorraThen19 daysNow21 days+2 dayslonger than before
100Buenos AiresArgentinaThen19 daysNow21 days+2 dayslonger than before
101SarajevoBosnia & HerzegovinaThen17 daysNow19 days+2 dayslonger than before
102Jefferson CityMissouriThen16 daysNow18 days+2 dayslonger than before
103MoroniComorosThen14 daysNow16 days+2 dayslonger than before
104CharlestonWest VirginiaThen11 daysNow13 days+2 dayslonger than before
105GeorgetownGuyanaThen7 daysNow9 days+2 dayslonger than before
106ThimphuBhutanThen7 daysNow9 days+2 dayslonger than before
107SkopjeNorth MacedoniaThen28 daysNow29 days+1 daylonger than before
108RomeItalyThen27 daysNow28 days+1 daylonger than before
109ChișinăuMoldovaThen25 daysNow26 days+1 daylonger than before
110BismarckNorth DakotaThen24 daysNow25 days+1 daylonger than before
111PristinaKosovoThen24 daysNow25 days+1 daylonger than before
112LjubljanaSloveniaThen22 daysNow23 days+1 daylonger than before
113LibrevilleGabonThen21 daysNow22 days+1 daylonger than before
114ParisFranceThen21 daysNow22 days+1 daylonger than before
115AtlantaGeorgiaThen19 daysNow20 days+1 daylonger than before
116MontevideoUruguayThen19 daysNow20 days+1 daylonger than before
117DublinIrelandThen18 daysNow19 days+1 daylonger than before
118JacksonMississippiThen18 daysNow19 days+1 daylonger than before
119MaléMaldivesThen18 daysNow19 days+1 daylonger than before
120MoscowRussiaThen18 daysNow19 days+1 daylonger than before
121BernSwitzerlandThen17 daysNow18 days+1 daylonger than before
122Saint John'sAntigua & BarbudaThen17 daysNow18 days+1 daylonger than before
123SpringfieldIllinoisThen17 daysNow18 days+1 daylonger than before
124Saint George'sGrenadaThen16 daysNow17 days+1 daylonger than before
125TokyoJapanThen16 daysNow17 days+1 daylonger than before
126WellingtonNew ZealandThen16 daysNow17 days+1 daylonger than before
127HarrisburgPennsylvaniaThen15 daysNow16 days+1 daylonger than before
128LansingMichiganThen15 daysNow16 days+1 daylonger than before
129ColumbusOhioThen14 daysNow15 days+1 daylonger than before
130NashvilleTennesseeThen14 daysNow15 days+1 daylonger than before
131TrentonNew JerseyThen14 daysNow15 days+1 daylonger than before
132Santo DomingoDominican RepublicThen12 daysNow13 days+1 daylonger than before
133YerevanArmeniaThen52 daysNow52 days±0 daysunchanged
134MaseruLesothoThen44 daysNow44 days±0 daysunchanged
135SalemOregonThen41 daysNow41 days±0 daysunchanged
136BucharestRomaniaThen26 daysNow26 days±0 daysunchanged
137CheyenneWyomingThen25 daysNow25 days±0 daysunchanged
138OsloNorwayThen21 daysNow21 days±0 daysunchanged
139Saint PaulMinnesotaThen21 daysNow21 days±0 daysunchanged
140CopenhagenDenmarkThen20 daysNow20 days±0 daysunchanged
141VilniusLithuaniaThen18 daysNow18 days±0 daysunchanged
142MadisonWisconsinThen17 daysNow17 days±0 daysunchanged
143KingstonJamaicaThen16 daysNow16 days±0 daysunchanged
144AnnapolisMarylandThen15 daysNow15 days±0 daysunchanged
145AugustaMaineThen15 daysNow15 days±0 daysunchanged
146ConcordNew HampshireThen15 daysNow15 days±0 daysunchanged
147ReykjavikIcelandThen15 daysNow15 days±0 daysunchanged
148AlbanyNew YorkThen14 daysNow14 days±0 daysunchanged
149CastriesSaint LuciaThen12 daysNow12 days±0 daysunchanged
150ParamariboSurinameThen10 daysNow10 days±0 daysunchanged
151SuvaFijiThen9 daysNow9 days±0 daysunchanged
152Bandar Seri BegawanBruneiThen7 daysNow7 days±0 daysunchanged
153QuitoEcuadorThen5 daysNow5 days±0 daysunchanged
154DodomaTanzaniaThen171 daysNow170 days−1 dayshorter than before
155LisbonPortugalThen68 daysNow67 days−1 dayshorter than before
156PierreSouth DakotaThen28 daysNow27 days−1 dayshorter than before
157TiranaAlbaniaThen27 daysNow26 days−1 dayshorter than before
158SucreBoliviaThen25 daysNow24 days−1 dayshorter than before
159PodgoricaMontenegroThen24 daysNow23 days−1 dayshorter than before
160LondonUnited KingdomThen23 daysNow22 days−1 dayshorter than before
161TopekaKansasThen22 daysNow21 days−1 dayshorter than before
162Luxembourg CityLuxembourgThen21 daysNow20 days−1 dayshorter than before
163RigaLatviaThen18 daysNow17 days−1 dayshorter than before
164BasseterreSaint Kitts & NevisThen17 daysNow16 days−1 dayshorter than before
165FrankfortKentuckyThen16 daysNow15 days−1 dayshorter than before
166VaduzLiechtensteinThen16 daysNow15 days−1 dayshorter than before
167DoverDelawareThen15 daysNow14 days−1 dayshorter than before
168HartfordConnecticutThen15 daysNow14 days−1 dayshorter than before
169OttawaCanadaThen15 daysNow14 days−1 dayshorter than before
170JuneauAlaskaThen14 daysNow13 days−1 dayshorter than before
171Kuala LumpurMalaysiaThen9 daysNow8 days−1 dayshorter than before
172MonroviaLiberiaThen9 daysNow8 days−1 dayshorter than before
173NgerulmudPalauThen8 daysNow7 days−1 dayshorter than before
174PalikirMicronesiaThen7 daysNow6 days−1 dayshorter than before
175HoniaraSolomon IslandsThen5 daysNow4 days−1 dayshorter than before
176Oklahoma CityOklahomaThen27 daysNow25 days−2 daysshorter than before
177BudapestHungaryThen24 daysNow22 days−2 daysshorter than before
178BrusselsBelgiumThen22 daysNow20 days−2 daysshorter than before
179WarsawPolandThen22 daysNow20 days−2 daysshorter than before
180BratislavaSlovakiaThen21 daysNow19 days−2 daysshorter than before
181HanoiVietnamThen21 daysNow19 days−2 daysshorter than before
182Nuku'alofaTongaThen19 daysNow17 days−2 daysshorter than before
183Little RockArkansasThen18 daysNow16 days−2 daysshorter than before
184Washington D.C.United StatesThen17 daysNow15 days−2 daysshorter than before
185Washington D.C.District of ColumbiaThen17 daysNow15 days−2 daysshorter than before
186RaleighNorth CarolinaThen16 daysNow14 days−2 daysshorter than before
187IndianapolisIndianaThen15 daysNow13 days−2 daysshorter than before
188MontpelierVermontThen14 daysNow12 days−2 daysshorter than before
189SingaporeSingaporeThen10 daysNow8 days−2 daysshorter than before
190ApiaSamoaThen8 daysNow6 days−2 daysshorter than before
191LilongweMalawiThen134 daysNow131 days−3 daysshorter than before
192ManaguaNicaraguaThen95 daysNow92 days−3 daysshorter than before
193PretoriaSouth AfricaThen75 daysNow72 days−3 daysshorter than before
194TegucigalpaHondurasThen53 daysNow50 days−3 daysshorter than before
195AnkaraTurkeyThen42 daysNow39 days−3 daysshorter than before
196BangkokThailandThen40 daysNow37 days−3 daysshorter than before
197SofiaBulgariaThen28 daysNow25 days−3 daysshorter than before
198MbabaneEswatiniThen27 daysNow24 days−3 daysshorter than before
199PyongyangNorth KoreaThen26 daysNow23 days−3 daysshorter than before
200Baton RougeLouisianaThen21 daysNow18 days−3 daysshorter than before
201BerlinGermanyThen20 daysNow17 days−3 daysshorter than before
202BogotáColombiaThen19 daysNow16 days−3 daysshorter than before
203RoseauDominicaThen19 daysNow16 days−3 daysshorter than before
204BostonMassachusettsThen16 daysNow13 days−3 daysshorter than before
205VientianeLaosThen55 daysNow51 days−4 daysshorter than before
206Port VilaVanuatuThen24 daysNow20 days−4 daysshorter than before
207HelsinkiFinlandThen23 daysNow19 days−4 daysshorter than before
208ProvidenceRhode IslandThen17 daysNow13 days−4 daysshorter than before
209MajuroMarshall IslandsThen10 daysNow6 days−4 daysshorter than before
210TallinnEstoniaThen22 daysNow17 days−5 daysshorter than before
211ViennaAustriaThen22 daysNow17 days−5 daysshorter than before
212PragueCzech RepublicThen21 daysNow16 days−5 daysshorter than before
213BaghdadIraqThen181 daysNow175 days−6 daysshorter than before
214Port MoresbyPapua New GuineaThen25 daysNow19 days−6 daysshorter than before
215NouakchottMauritaniaThen207 daysNow200 days−7 daysshorter than before
216BishkekKyrgyzstanThen38 daysNow31 days−7 daysshorter than before
217RiyadhSaudi ArabiaThen229 daysNow221 days−8 daysshorter than before
218CanberraAustraliaThen36 daysNow28 days−8 daysshorter than before
219ColomboSri LankaThen23 daysNow15 days−8 daysshorter than before
220BrazzavilleRepublic of CongoThen93 daysNow84 days−9 daysshorter than before
221KinshasaDR CongoThen93 daysNow84 days−9 daysshorter than before
222AmmanJordanThen165 daysNow155 days−10 daysshorter than before
223NaypyidawMyanmarThen78 daysNow68 days−10 daysshorter than before
224Kuwait CityKuwaitThen200 daysNow189 days−11 daysshorter than before
225PraiaCape VerdeThen167 daysNow156 days−11 daysshorter than before
226São ToméSão Tomé & PríncipeThen67 daysNow56 days−11 daysshorter than before
227Guatemala CityGuatemalaThen65 daysNow53 days−12 daysshorter than before
228DamascusSyriaThen154 daysNow139 days−15 daysshorter than before
229JerusalemIsraelThen146 daysNow131 days−15 daysshorter than before
230RamallahPalestineThen127 daysNow112 days−15 daysshorter than before
231AthensGreeceThen70 daysNow54 days−16 daysshorter than before
232CairoEgyptThen257 daysNow240 days−17 daysshorter than before
233ManamaBahrainThen249 daysNow232 days−17 daysshorter than before
234New DelhiIndiaThen76 daysNow56 days−20 daysshorter than before
235LuandaAngolaThen154 daysNow133 days−21 daysshorter than before
236DohaQatarThen248 daysNow226 days−22 daysshorter than before
237ManilaPhilippinesThen75 daysNow48 days−27 daysshorter than before

Questions about dry spells

What counts as a dry spell here?

An unbroken run of days with less than 1mm of precipitation, measured within a single calendar year. 1mm is the conventional cutoff for measurable rain in daily climatology: below it, a day's total is dominated by dew, drizzle and gauge noise rather than by rain that usefully reaches the ground. Each capital's figure is the average of its longest run per year across an 11-year window, not a single record-breaking year, so one freak drought cannot carry the number.

Which capital has the longest dry spell?

Cairo, Egypt, at 240 days on average in 2015-2025, compared with 257 days in 1976-1986.

Are dry spells getting longer everywhere?

No, and that is the most interesting part of the data. Of the 245 capitals measured, 136 have longer dry spells than they did in 1976-1986 and 88 have shorter ones. That split matches the "wet gets wetter, dry gets drier" pattern climate models predict, which a formula reproducing on its own is a stronger signal than any single city's number.

Where does the data come from?

Daily precipitation totals from the ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through the Open-Meteo historical weather API and stored in full. Every capital shown here has a complete daily record back to 1976; capitals whose backfill is still running are left out entirely rather than shown with a partial figure.

Does a longer dry spell mean less rain overall?

Not necessarily. This measures how the rain is distributed in time, not how much of it falls. A city can receive the same annual total, or more, while delivering it in fewer, heavier bursts separated by longer dry gaps. That redistribution is what matters for reservoirs, soil, wildfire risk and drainage design, and it is invisible in an annual rainfall total.

How this is measured

A dry day is a day with less than 1mm of precipitation. A dry spell is the longest unbroken run of those days inside a single calendar year, so a run is never counted across a year boundary and every capital is scored the same way regardless of when its dry season falls. Each capital's "then" and "now" figures are the average of its longest yearly run across two 11-year windows, 1976 to 1986 and 2015 to 2025. Averaging over 11 years rather than picking record years means one exceptional drought cannot move a city up this table on its own.

The threshold is not arbitrary. 1mm in 24 hours is the conventional lower bound for measurable rain in daily climatology; below it, a day's recorded total is mostly dew, drizzle and instrument noise rather than rain that reaches the ground in any quantity that matters to soil, a reservoir or a roof.

Unlike most facts in this ledger, this one uses a fixed threshold rather than one drawn from each city's own distribution. That is a deliberate limitation worth stating: in a hyper-arid capital, where a whole year's rain arrives on a handful of days, the resulting "dry spell" can run to a large share of the year and the then-versus-now comparison becomes less meaningful than it is in a temperate climate. Read the top of this table as a description of rainfall concentration, not as a drought severity index.

Source data is the ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through the Open-Meteo historical weather API. Only capitals with a complete daily record back to 1976 appear here; the rest are omitted rather than shown with a partial figure.

Produced by Dennis and a bit of AI. Dennis drank the coffee, AI cleaned up the mess. Read the rest on the About page.