alt=A mountain near Senafe, Eritrea|thumb|268x268px|Massifs surrounding Senafe, Eritrea
Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea, on the west and northwest by Sudan, on the south by Ethiopia, and on the southeast by Djibouti. The country has a high central plateau that varies from above sea level. A coastal plain, western lowlands, and some 350 islands comprise the remainder of Eritrea's land mass.
Climate
thumb|Eritrea's climate according to Köppen
The climate of Eritrea is shaped by its diverse topography and its location within the tropics. The diversity in landscape and topography in the highlands and lowlands of Eritrea results in a diverse climate. The highlands have a temperate climate throughout the year, while most lowland zones are arid or semiarid.
The distribution of rainfall and vegetation types varies markedly throughout the country. Eritrean climate varies on the basis of seasonal and altitudinal differences. Based on variations in temperature Eritrea can be broadly divided into three major climate zones: a temperate zone, a subtropical climate zone and a tropical climate zone. According to the Köppen climate classification, most of Eritrea has either a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) or a hot desert climate (BWh), although temperatures are much moderated at the highest elevations.
In the central highlands, the hottest month is usually May to June with highs around . Winter is between December and February with lows at night that can be near freezing point. Asmara itself enjoys a pleasant climate all year round, although it can be quite cold at night in winter. There are two rainy seasons: the short rains in March and April and the main rains from late June to the beginning of September. The climate is usually sunny and dry as annual sunshine durations average around 3,000 hours and average annual rainfall shower around .
On the coast along the Red Sea, the summertime is long, from June to September and extremely hot with averages high temperatures ranging from , and it's even hotter in Denkalia. The wintertime is nearly non-existent. Average high temperatures remain above during the least hot month of the year, while average low temperatures exceed . The rainy season along the coast north of Denkalia falls during the winter months but rainy days still remain scarce; rainfall is even more rare in Denkalia Region. The climate is always sunny and dry in this zone and cloudy days are rare.
In the western lowlands, the high temperatures are comparable to those on the coast in the hottest months of April until June. December is the coolest month with averages low temperatures falling as low as . The rainy seasons are the same as for the highlands.
{{Weather box
|location = Asmara (1961–1990, extremes 1903–2012)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 22.3
|Feb high C = 23.8
|Mar high C = 25.1
|Apr high C = 25.1
|May high C = 25.0
|Jun high C = 24.9
|Jul high C = 21.6
|Aug high C = 21.5
|Sep high C = 22.9
|Oct high C = 21.7
|Nov high C = 21.5
|Dec high C = 21.5
|year high C = 23.1
|Jan mean C = 13.8
|Feb mean C = 14.9
|Mar mean C = 16.3
|Apr mean C = 17.0
|May mean C = 17.6
|Jun mean C = 17.6
|Jul mean C = 16.3
|Aug mean C = 16.1
|Sep mean C = 15.7
|Oct mean C = 14.9
|Nov mean C = 14.0
|Dec mean C = 13.2
|year mean C = 15.6
|Jan low C = 4.3
|Feb low C = 5.1
|Mar low C = 7.5
|Apr low C = 8.7
|May low C = 10.2
|Jun low C = 10.5
|Jul low C = 10.8
|Aug low C = 10.7
|Sep low C = 8.6
|Oct low C = 8.1
|Nov low C = 6.6
|Dec low C = 4.8
|year low C = 8.0
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 3.7
|Feb rain mm = 2.0
|Mar rain mm = 14.6
|Apr rain mm = 33.4
|May rain mm = 41.1
|Jun rain mm = 38.5
|Jul rain mm = 174.9
|Aug rain mm = 155.6
|Sep rain mm = 15.6
|Oct rain mm = 15.4
|Nov rain mm = 20.4
|Dec rain mm = 3.4
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan rain days = 0
|Feb rain days = 0
|Mar rain days = 2
|Apr rain days = 4
|May rain days = 5
|Jun rain days = 4
|Jul rain days = 13
|Aug rain days = 12
|Sep rain days = 2
|Oct rain days = 2
|Nov rain days = 2
|Dec rain days = 1
|Jan humidity = 54
|Feb humidity = 48
|Mar humidity = 46
|Apr humidity = 49
|May humidity = 48
|Jun humidity = 48
|Jul humidity = 76
|Aug humidity = 80
|Sep humidity = 59
|Oct humidity = 63
|Nov humidity = 66
|Dec humidity = 61
|year humidity = 58.2
|Jan sun = 291.4
|Feb sun = 260.4
|Mar sun = 275.9
|Apr sun = 264.0
|May sun = 257.3
|Jun sun = 219.0
|Jul sun = 151.9
|Aug sun = 158.1
|Sep sun = 213.0
|Oct sun = 272.8
|Nov sun = 276.0
|Dec sun = 282.1
|year sun = 2921.9
|Jand sun = 9.4
|Febd sun = 9.3
|Mard sun = 8.9
|Aprd sun = 8.8
|Mayd sun = 8.3
|Jund sun = 7.3
|Juld sun = 4.9
|Augd sun = 5.1
|Sepd sun = 7.1
|Octd sun = 8.8
|Novd sun = 9.2
|Decd sun = 9.1
|yeard sun =
|source 1 = NOAA<ref name= NOAAAsmara>{{cite web
|url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/E1/63021.TXT
|title = Asmara Climate Normals 1961–1990
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230318080204/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/E1/63021.TXT
|archive-date = 2023-03-18
|url-status = dead
|access-date = 13 January 2015}}</ref>
|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)<ref name = meteoclimat>
{{cite web
|url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1834
|title = Station Asmara
|publisher = Meteo Climat
|language = fr
|access-date = 22 October 2016}}</ref>
|date=January 2012
}}
{{Weather box
|location = Assab (1961–1990, extremes 1937–1990)
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan record high C = 37.0
|Feb record high C = 37.0
|Mar record high C = 40.0
|Apr record high C = 43.0
|May record high C = 43.2
|Jun record high C = 46.2
|Jul record high C = 49.0
|Aug record high C = 48.4
|Sep record high C = 46.8
|Oct record high C = 43.0
|Nov record high C = 39.0
|Dec record high C = 36.5
|year record high C = 49.0
|Jan high C = 31.3
|Feb high C = 31.7
|Mar high C = 33.8
|Apr high C = 36.0
|May high C = 37.0
|Jun high C = 38.5
|Jul high C = 41.2
|Aug high C = 40.9
|Sep high C = 38.1
|Oct high C = 36.5
|Nov high C = 33.9
|Dec high C = 31.6
|year high C = 35.5
|Jan mean C = 26.3
|Feb mean C = 26.7
|Mar mean C = 28.5
|Apr mean C = 30.5
|May mean C = 32.0
|Jun mean C = 33.1
|Jul mean C = 35.0
|Aug mean C = 34.6
|Sep mean C = 32.9
|Oct mean C = 31.2
|Nov mean C = 28.8
|Dec mean C = 26.9
|year mean C = 30.5
|Jan low C = 21.3
|Feb low C = 21.7
|Mar low C = 23.2
|Apr low C = 25.1
|May low C = 27.0
|Jun low C = 28.5
|Jul low C = 30.3
|Aug low C = 29.9
|Sep low C = 28.5
|Oct low C = 26.0
|Nov low C = 23.7
|Dec low C = 22.2
|year low C = 25.6
|Jan record low C = 11.9
|Feb record low C = 12.4
|Mar record low C = 13.7
|Apr record low C = 14.0
|May record low C = 14.4
|Jun record low C = 17.5
|Jul record low C = 19.6
|Aug record low C = 19.9
|Sep record low C = 16.0
|Oct record low C = 15.0
|Nov record low C = 14.5
|Dec record low C = 12.1
|year record low C = 11.9
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 4.0
|Feb rain mm = 6.7
|Mar rain mm = 1.8
|Apr rain mm = 3.6
|May rain mm = 1.7
|Jun rain mm = 0.2
|Jul rain mm = 6.9
|Aug rain mm = 2.8
|Sep rain mm = 1.1
|Oct rain mm = 1.0
|Nov rain mm = 4.5
|Dec rain mm = 4.8
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan rain days = 1
|Feb rain days = 1
|Mar rain days = 0
|Apr rain days = 0
|May rain days = 0
|Jun rain days = 0
|Jul rain days = 1
|Aug rain days = 0
|Sep rain days = 0
|Oct rain days = 0
|Nov rain days = 0
|Dec rain days = 0
|year rain days = 3
|Jan humidity = 62
|Feb humidity = 68
|Mar humidity = 61
|Apr humidity = 54
|May humidity = 58
|Jun humidity = 57
|Jul humidity = 50
|Aug humidity = 54
|Sep humidity = 62
|Oct humidity = 54
|Nov humidity = 55
|Dec humidity = 61
|year humidity = 58
|source 1 = NOAA,<ref name= AssabNOAA>{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/E1/63043.TXT
| title = Assab Climate Normals 1961–1990
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201101005849/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/E1/63043.TXT
| archive-date = 2020-11-01
| url-status = dead
| access-date = March 8, 2015}}</ref> Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1937–1970)<ref name = assabDWD>{{cite web
| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_630430_kt.pdf
| title = Klimatafel von Assab (Aseb) / Eritrea
| work = Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world
| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst
| language = de
| access-date = November 18, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190831075045/https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_630430_kt.pdf
| archive-date = August 31, 2019
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>
|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)<ref name = assabmeteoclimat>
{{cite web
| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=1833
| title = Station Assab
| publisher = Meteo Climat
|language = fr
| access-date = 22 October 2016}}</ref>
|date=November 2011
}}
Data
thumb|Topography of Eritrea
Location:
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan, also bordering Ethiopia.
Geographic coordinates:
Continent:
Africa
Area
total: 117,600 km2
country rank in the world: 99th
land: 101,000 km2
water: 16,600 km2
Area — comparative
slightly smaller than Malawi
Australia comparative: slightly more than half the size of Victoria
Canada comparative: approximately twice the size of Nova Scotia
United Kingdom comparative: slightly less than half the size of the United Kingdom
United States comparative: approximately the size of Ohio
EU comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Croatia
Land boundaries
total:
border countries
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Sudan
Note that the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia is disputed.
alt=The Dahlak Islands|thumb|The Dahlak Islands near Massawa, as seen from space.
Coastline
total
mainland on the Red Sea
islands in the Red Sea
Maritime claims
territorial sea:
Terrain
dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Ecoregions
Most of Eritrea's coast is part of the Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands semi-desert ecoregion. The southern part of the Red Sea coast, along with the Red Sea coast of Djibouti, has been described as the Eritrean coastal desert, a harsh sand and gravel coastal strip covered in dune grasses and shrubs that is important as a channel for the mass migration of birds of prey.
Elevation extremes
lowest point:
near Lake Kulul within the Afar Depression
highest point:
Amba Soira
Natural resources
gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly petroleum and natural gas, fish
Land use
arable land: 6.83%
permanent crops: 0.02%
other: 93.15% (2012 est.)
Irrigated land
(2003)
Total renewable water resources
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
total: /yr (5%/0%/95%)
per capita: /yr (2004)
Natural hazards
frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanic activity, and locust storms
Environment — current issues
deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare;
Environment — international agreements
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
Geography — note
strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993.
Extreme points
This is a list of the extreme points of Eritrea, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point - the point at which the border with Sudan enters the Red Sea, Northern Red Sea region
- Easternmost point - the point at which the border with Djibouti enters the Red Sea, Southern Red Sea Region
- Southernmost point - unnamed location on the border with Djibouti immediately east of the Djiboutian town of Dadda`to, Southern Red Sea Region
- Westernmost point - Abu Gamal mountain, Gash-Barka