The climate in Afghanistan

Climate zone: Subtropics of the northern hemisphere

For several months of the year, it is warm to hot at temperatures continuously above 25 degrees Celsius, sometimes up to 37 degrees. The warmest and at the same time rainiest region is Northwest. The coldest is Central. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from June to September. Less attractive are the cold months from November to March.

Temperature records of the last 47 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1967 to December 2014 was reported by the Kandahar Airport weather station. In August 2009, the record temperature of 44.2 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 5 weather stations in Afghanistan below 1,790 meters altitude, was recorded in 1990 with an average temperature of 33.0 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 29.2 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 47 years was reported by the Herat weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -23.4 °C in January 2008. Herat lies at an altitude of 964 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1991 with an average temperature of 3.1 °C. In Afghanistan, it is usual to have about 4.5 degrees more at 7.6 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in March 1982. With 5.6 mm per day, the Herat weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 47 years.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 6 stations in Afghanistan itself. In 8 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.