Albania's Climate Zones

Three broad zones

• The coastal belt — Mediterranean: hot dry summers, mild wet winters. Durrës, Vlorë, Sarandë.
• The inland plains and valleys — more continental: hotter summers, colder winters. Elbasan, Berat, Fier.
• The highlands and Alps — cold, with heavy winter snow and a short summer. Korçë, Peshkopi, Theth, Valbonë.

Rainfall

Albania is one of the wetter countries in the Mediterranean. Rainfall is heavily concentrated in autumn and winter and falls off almost completely in July and August. The northern mountains are much wetter than the south-east — a fact that matters because almost all the country's electricity is hydroelectric.

The sea

Sea temperature lags air temperature by about a month, which is why September swimming is often better than June swimming even though the air is cooler. The Ionian in the south is warmer and clearer than the Adriatic in the north.

How this Atlas measures it

Every place page carries monthly normals computed from thirty years of ERA5 reanalysis (1994–2023) via Open-Meteo, rather than repeated from a brochure. That means Sarandë and Theth can be compared on the same basis, and every figure carries the same stated period.