Geography and Climate
Casablanca is located in the Chawiya plain which has historically been the breadbasket of Morocco. Apart from the Atlantic coast, the Bouskoura forest is the only natural attraction in the city. The forest was planted in the 20th century and consists mostly of Eucalyptus, Palm and Pine trees. It is located halfway to the city's international airport.
The only watercourse in Casablanca is Oued Bouskoura, a small seasonal creek that until 1912 reached the Atlantic Ocean near the actual port. Most of Oued Bouskoura's bed has been covered due to urbanization and only the part south of El-Jadida road can now be seen. The closest permanent river to Casablanca is Oum Er-Rbia River 70 km (43.50 mi) to the south-east.
Casablanca has a very mild Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). Casablanca's climate is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Atlantic Ocean which tends to moderate temperature swings and produce a remarkably mild climate with little seasonal temperature variation and a lack of extreme heat and cold. Rainfall is negligible from May to September, but for the rest of the year it is adequate for rain-fed farming.
| Climate data for Casablanca | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
23.3 (73.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.4 (77.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
21.24 (70.24) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.8 (55.0) |
13.4 (56.1) |
14.1 (57.4) |
15.4 (59.7) |
17.5 (63.5) |
20.2 (68.4) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.7 (72.9) |
21.7 (71.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
16.1 (61.0) |
13.5 (56.3) |
17.42 (63.35) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) |
9.2 (48.6) |
9.9 (49.8) |
11.5 (52.7) |
14.0 (57.2) |
17.1 (62.8) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.5 (67.1) |
18.2 (64.8) |
15.2 (59.4) |
11.8 (53.2) |
9.3 (48.7) |
13.62 (56.51) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 62.2 (2.449) |
59.0 (2.323) |
50.7 (1.996) |
40.2 (1.583) |
18.8 (0.74) |
5.8 (0.228) |
0.7 (0.028) |
0.4 (0.016) |
4.9 (0.193) |
31.1 (1.224) |
74.4 (2.929) |
77.6 (3.055) |
425.8 (16.764) |
| Avg. rainy days | 9.8 | 9.3 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 6.2 | 9.7 | 10.2 | 73.9 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 189.1 | 189.2 | 241.8 | 261.0 | 294.5 | 285.0 | 303.8 | 294.5 | 258.0 | 235.6 | 192.0 | 182.9 | 2,927.4 |
| Source: Hong Kong Observatory | |||||||||||||
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