Atakor lies within the tropics (south of the Tropic of Cancer) and at high elevation. Precipitation is more common than in the surrounding desert and during winter it can occur in the form of snow; at Assekrem annual precipitation is about . In the past, precipitation was considerably higher than today, such as during the Villafranchian and the Paleolithic when nivation landforms developed above elevation, as well as moraines such as at Tahat and rock glaciers. A last wet period occurred during the Neolithic.