The climate of the district is characterized by dryness for the major part of the year and a very hot summer. The low and highly variable rainfall renders the district liable to drought. The year may be divided broadly into four seasons. The hot season begins by about the middle of February and extends to the end of May The South-west monsoon is from June to end of September. October and November are the post monsoon or retreating monsoon months and the period from December to the middle of February is the cold season.
The only meteorological observatory in the district is at Raichur. The data of this observatory may be taken as representative of the conditions in the district. December is the coldest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 29.3 Degree C. (84.8 F) and the mean daily minimum at 17.7C (63.9F) The nights are generally cool in the season, but day temperatures sometimes reach 35 to 38 Degree C.The period from about the middle of February to May is one of continuous rise in temperatures, May is the hottest month, the mean daily maximum temperature being 39.8 (103.7 F) The heat is oppressive till the onset of the south-west monsoon by about the first week of June. Thereafter the weather becomes slightly cooler and continues to be so till the end of the South-west monsoon season. Day temperatures show a slight increase in October. From November, both day and night temperatures gradually decrease till December.
The highest maximum temperature ever recorded at Raichur was 45.6 degree Celsius (114.1 F) on 23 May 1928 and lowest minimum temperature of 7.1 degree Celsius (44.7 F) on Tuesday 11 January 2011, which is the lowest in the past 119 years as per the summary of observations recorded by the Indian Meteorological Department
