What's the weather like in the Sahara desert by season?

I've slept under the stars at Erg Chebbi in every season, and the desert is honestly four different places across the year. Spring and autumn are why I always steer people there: in March, April, May and again in October and November you get warm, clear days around 25–32°C — perfect for a camel trek at golden hour — and nights that cool to a comfortable 8–15°C, when a fleece and the camp blankets are all you need.

Summer is the season people underestimate. From June through August the dunes near Merzouga and Zagora hit 40–45°C in the early afternoon, and I've recorded 47°C on the open sand. It's a dry, furnace-like heat, not humid, but it's serious — we shift treks to dawn and dusk, keep everyone in the shade and on water from 11am to 4pm, and nobody walks the dunes at midday. Nights stay warm, often 25–28°C, so you sleep on top of the blankets.

Winter is the surprise that catches people out. December to February days are genuinely lovely — 18–22°C, brilliant blue skies — but the moment the sun drops the temperature falls off a cliff. Nights at the desert camps regularly hit 2–5°C and I've woken to frost on the tents and a thermometer reading 0°C. The Sahara is high (Merzouga sits around 800m) and the dry air holds no heat. If you come in winter, pack a proper warm layer, a hat and gloves for the evening — your luxury camp will have heavy blankets and often a brazier, but the cold is real.

My honest take: aim for April–May or October for the sweet spot of warm days and bearable nights. If your dates are fixed to summer, do a desert overnight rather than long midday treks, and if it's winter, embrace the bonfire-and-blanket magic but bring the layers I'd bring to a cold mountain night.