Nagpur lies on the Deccan plateau of the Indian Peninsula. The underlying rock strata is covered with alluvial deposits resulting from the flood plain of the Kanhan River. In some places these give rise to granular sandy soil. However, in low lying areas which are poorly drained, the soil is alluvial clay with poor permeability characteristics. In eastern part of city crystalline metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, schist and granites are found. In the Northern part of the city, yellowish sand stones and clays of the lower Gondwana formations are found.

Nagpur city is dotted with many natural and man made lakes with Ambazari lake being the largest of all. Other natural lakes include Futala lake, Gorewada Lake and Telangkhedi lake. Sonegaon lake along with Gandhisagar lake are man-made lakes created by cities historical rulers. Nag river, Pilli river along with various canals form the natural drainage pattern for city.

Nagpur is the green-city of India. Nagpur has a mean altitude of 310 meters above sea level. Nagpur has a tropical wet and dry climate, with dry conditions prevailing for most of the year as it is located at centre of Indian peninsula far from Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea. Nagpur city receives an annual rainfall of 1,205 mm (47.44 in) from monsoon rains during June to September.[18] The highest recorded rainfall was 304 mm on July 14, 1994.[19] Summers are extremely hot lasting from March to June, with maximum temperatures in May. Winter lasts from November to January with temperatures dropping below 10°C (50°F). The highest recorded temperature in the city was 48.6 °C (119.5 °F) on 1954-05-26, while the lowest was 3 °C.