The wind climatology of the Red Sea is described based on a 30‐year high‐resolution regional reanalysis generated using the Advanced Weather Research Forecasting model. The model was reinitialized on a daily basis with ERA‐Interim global data and regional observations were assimilated using a cyclic three‐dimensional variational approach. The reanalysis products were validated against buoy and scatterometers data. We describe the wind climatology and identify four major systems that determine the wind patterns in the Red Sea. Each system has a well‐defined origin, and consequently different characteristics along the year. After analysing the relevant features of the basin in terms of their climatology, we investigate possible long‐term trends in each system. It is found that there is a definite tendency towards lowering the strength of the wind speed, but at a different rate for different systems and periods of the year.

The wave climatology of the Red Sea is described based on a 30‐year hindcast generated using WAVEWATCH III configured on a 5‐km resolution grid and forced by Red Sea reanalysis surface winds from the advanced Weather Research and Forecasting model. The wave simulations have been validated using buoy and altimeter data. The four main wind systems in the Red Sea characterize the corresponding wave climatology. The dominant ones are the two opposite wave systems with different genesis, propagating along the axis of the basin. The highest waves are generated at the centre of the Red Sea as a consequence of the strong seasonal winds blowing from the Tokar Gap on the African side. There is a general long‐term trend toward lowering the values of the significant wave height over the whole basin, with a decreasing rate depending on the genesis of the individual systems.