Akola district lies between 19 degrees 51minutes and 21 degrees 16 minutes latitude and 76 degrees 38 minutes and 77 degrees 44 minutes longitude. In relief, the district shares a similarity of topographical arrangements as found in Buldhana district. It also falls into three physical units- a narrow northern strip in the Akot tahsil in the Satpura foot-hills, the Payanghat or Purna plains in the middle, occupying nearly half the district area in the tahsils of Akot, Balapur, Akola and Murtizapur and the Balaghat on the top of the Ajanta ranges comprising Washim and Mangrulpir tahsils to the south. The landscape in the district though not highly hilly, still offers interesting contrasts between the plateau and the plains, further enriched by a forested ghat country and a bad land topography joining the Mun river. The two main rivers of the district are the Purna River and the Penganga River, the other less important rivers being the tributaries of these two rivers. They are the Katepurna, Shahanur River, Morna, Mun, Nand, Man and Uma, which are the tributaries of the Purna, and the Adan River, the Arna and the Pus which are the tributaries of the Penganga.

The climate of this district is characterized by a hot summer and general dryness throughout the year except during the south-west monsoon season. The year may be divided into four seasons. The period from about the middle of November to the end of February constitutes the winter season. The summer season extends from March to June. This is followed by the south-west monsoon season which extends up to the end of September. October and November constitute the post-monsoon season. Temperature rises rapidly after February till May which is the hottest month of the year. In May, the mean daily maximum temperature at Akola is 42.4 degree Celsius and the mean daily minimum temperature is 27.5 degree Celsius. The heat in the summer season is intense during the day and the nights are comparatively tolerable. During the period from April to June, on individual days, the day temperature raises upto about 46 degree Celsius or 47 degree Celsius With the arrival of the south-west monsoon in the district by about mid-June there is an appreciable drop in the day temperature and the weather becomes pleasant. Both day and night temperature decreases rapidly from October till December, which is the coldest month in the year. The mean daily maximum temperature during this month is 29.3 degree Celsius and the mean daily minimum temperature is 11.9 degree Celsius. In the rear of the western disturbances, which move across north India in the winter months, cold waves affect the district at times and night temperatures may go down to about 2 to 4 degree Celsius. Except during the south-west monsoon season when the humidity is between 60 to 80 per cent, the air is generally dry over the district. The summer months are the driest when the relative humidity is even less than 20 per cent in the afternoons on many days.