Skip to content
islandyas
EN

Eritrea EritreaDahlak ArchipelagoIsland

Nora

101 km² of land in the Red Sea.

When to go

Nora seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
N 2 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

101km²

Area

75km

Coastline

37m

Highest point

373

People

32°C

Warmest sea

September

54km

To the mainland

When to go to Nora

Best for the beach from November 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).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

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.

Second largest island in the Dahlak Archipelago, Eritrea

Nora is an island in Eritrea. It belongs to Dahlak Archipelago. It covers 101 km², with 75 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 37 m. About 373 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 54 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Asmara International Airport (ASM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 147 km in a straight line
  • 54 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From November to Marchbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 3 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.

Nora101 km²
Malta247 km²
Santorini76 km²

10 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)272828303233343434333129
Night low (°C)252526272930323232302826
Sea (°C)262627283031323232322928
Rain (mm)4741992121913896
Wet days111530243221
Sun h/day6.97.68.69.79.99.28.28.28.79.18.68.0
Wind (km/h)191817161315161412141819

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.4−0.1−0.2−0.1+0.7±0.0−0.2−0.1+0.7+0.7+0.7+0.8
2021+0.5+0.5+0.6+0.3+0.4+0.7+0.2+0.3±0.0+0.2+0.7+0.4
2022+0.6+0.3+0.3+0.8+0.4+0.5+0.4+0.4+0.8+0.6+0.1−0.2
2023+0.7+0.8+0.7+0.5+1.0+1.3+1.1+1.7+1.2+1.5+1.1+0.3
2024+1.0+0.7+1.2+1.0+0.9+0.7+1.5+1.1+0.7+0.6+1.0+1.1
2025+0.7+0.9+0.6+0.3+0.1+0.6+1.0+0.6+0.3±0.0+0.1−1.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Nora von Waldstätten ROMY 2016
Manfred Werner - Tsui · CC BY-SA 3.0
Archaeological site Nora - Pula - Sardinia - Italy - 13
Norbert Nagel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Archaeological site Nora - Pula - Sardinia - Italy - 15
Norbert Nagel · CC BY-SA 3.0
At Nora, Italy 2024 050
Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net ). · CC BY-SA 4.0

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q1789052) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit