Extremely hot and particularly arid between June and August when the dusty Khamsin blows from the desert. Between October and April it is slightly cooler with occasional light rain; however, there is generally less than 150mm (6in) of rainfall annually.
Djibouti is part of the African continent, bordered to the northeast and east by the Red Sea, the southeast by Somalia, the southwest by Ethiopia and to the north by Eritrea. The country is a barren strip of land around the Gulf of Tadjoura, varying in width from 20km (12 miles) to 90km (56 miles), with a coastline of 300km (188 miles), much of it white sandy beaches. Inland is semi-desert and desert, with thorn bushes, steppes and volcanic mountain ranges.
