Eritrea
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
642km²
Area
379km
Coastline
123m
Highest point
1,955
People
32°C
Warmest sea
September
9km
To the mainland
When to go to Dahlak Kebir
Best for the beach from December to March.
The sea is warmest in September (32 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island
Dahlak Kebir is an island in Eritrea. It belongs to Dahlak Archipelago. It covers 642 km², with 379 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 123 m. About 1,955 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 9 km away.
Getting there
- Asmara International Airport (ASM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 135 km in a straight line
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 9 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From December to Marchbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Dahlak Kebir.
- 3beaches
- 1ferry terminals
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Dahlak Kebir in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Dahlak Kebir, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
1mountainPeakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
32.4°C
Khor Amrac
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 9 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 30 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 30 |
| Night low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 27 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 7 | 13 | 9 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 18 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 8 |
| Wet days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sun h/day | 6.6 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 7.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 18 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 18 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | +0.1 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2021 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.3 |
| 2024 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −1.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Yemen
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q787095) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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