The climate in Kazakhstan

Climate zone: Moderate zone of the northern hemisphere

The climate in Kazakhstan is varied and offers seasons with cold winters and warm summers. It rarely gets really warm up here. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Ongtüstik Qazaqstan. The coldest is Soltüstik Qazaqstan. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from May to September. Winter athletes will find their favorite weather conditions from November to March.

Temperature records of the last 69 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1954 to January 2023 was reported by the Kyzylorda weather station. In July 2021, the record temperature of 46.5 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 49 weather stations in Kazakhstan below 1,220 meters altitude, was recorded in 2021 with an average temperature of 21.7 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 20.3 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 28.8 °C.

The coldest day in these 69 years was reported by the Ruzaevka weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -41.1 °C in January 2006. Ruzaevka lies at an altitude of 227 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1969 with an average temperature of -14.3 °C. In Kazakhstan, it is usual to have about 6.8 degrees more at -7.5 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in April 2005. With 333.3 mm per day, the Petropavlovsk weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 69 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Petropavlovsk. The driest region is near Kazaly.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1989 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 3 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1989 to 2022, there were only these 3 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Kostanay, Karaganda, Almaty). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 1998 at 24.2 °C. January 2006 was the coldest month with an average temperature of -17.4 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 5.4 °C in the years after 1989 and about 6.5 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 34 years, it has increased by about 1.0 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 3 weather stations in Kazakhstan. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

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 49 stations in Kazakhstan itself. In 7 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.