Geography and climate

Niš is situated at the 43°19' latitude north and 21°54' longitude east in the Nišava valley, near the spot where it joins the Južna Morava River. It is in Niš that the trunk road running from the north down the Morava River valley forks into two major lines: - the south one, leading to Thessalonica and Athens, - and the east one, leading towards Sofia and Istanbul, and further on, towards the Near East. The central city area is at 194m altitude above sea level (the Main City Square). The highest point in the city area is Sokolov kamen (Falcon's rock) on Suva Planina Mountain (1523m) while the lowest spot is at Trupale, near the mouth of the Nišava (173m). The city area covers 596.71 km².

The climate of the Niš area is moderate and continental, with an average temperature of 11.2°C. July is the warmest month of the year, with the average of 21.2°C. The coldest month is January, averaging at 0.2°C. The average of the annual rainfall is 567.25 mm/m². The average barometer value is 992.74 mb. There are 123 days with rain and 43 days with snow. On the average, the wind force is just below 3 Beaufort.