New Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة الجديدة al-Qāhira el-Gedīdah) is a new satellite city of Cairo[1]. Located in what was formerly desert, the master plan was created in 2001 by a Boston firm. It is the home of the new campus of the American University in Cairo, as well as the German University in Cairo, the Future University in Egypt (FUE) and the Canadian International College (CIC). New Cairo has been a means of escape for many from Egypt's upper-middle and upper classes from the noise and pollution of Cairo. Many of the residences are luxury villas and condominiums located in housing developments and gated communities.
One of the advantages of New Cairo is that its weather is much cooler than downtown Cairo, approximately 5 degrees Celsius lower. This makes New Cairo only slightly hot during summer, and quite cold during winter, when highs reach an average of around 14 degrees and lows around 1 degree. Frost is a regular winter phenomenon in New Cairo. Heavy fog is also common. Low winter temperatures are due in part to the altitude of new Cairo, which ranges between 250 meters and 350 meters above sea level. A rapid cooling at night which is characteristic of desert environments also occurs in New Cairo. The contrast to Cairo is also exaggerated due to Cairo's urban heat island effect.