Climate averages 1991–2020
Kabul weather
in January.
A cold, moderately wet month: the coolest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a cold month in Kabul: daytime highs average 2.6°C and nights cool to about -8.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 42 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 07 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Bagrām (50 km away). In January its highs average 4.3°C, 1.7°C warmer than Kabul, with 47 mm of rain.
Among the 14 cities listed in Afghanistan, Kabul ranks 12th of 14 for the warmest January highs and joint 6th of 14 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 14 cities is 7.6°C; Kabul is 5.0°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 1.1°C to 3.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 42 mm to 60 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Kabul climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 2.6°C-8.7°C | -8.7°C | 42 | 6.1 | 10.110 h |
| February | 3.7°C-6.8°C | -6.8°C | 60 | 8.0 | 10.911 h |
| March | 10.5°C-1.0°C | -1.0°C | 68 | 9.4 | 11.912 h |
| April | 18.5°C6.0°C | 6.0°C | 77 | 11.9 | 13.013 h |
| May | 24.5°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 52 | 11.6 | 13.914 h |
| June | 29.7°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 13 | 3.9 | 14.414 h |
| July | 32.4°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 9.0 | 1.8 | 14.214 h |
| August | 31.6°C18.7°C | 18.7°C | 4.0 | 1.1 | 13.413 h |
| September | 27.4°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 7.2 | 2.0 | 12.412 h |
| October | 20.7°C8.7°C | 8.7°C | 14 | 3.9 | 11.311 h |
| November | 13.4°C2.1°C | 2.1°C | 24 | 4.9 | 10.410 h |
| December | 7.3°C-4.7°C | -4.7°C | 24 | 4.1 | 9.910 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Bagrām in JanuaryAfghanistan · 50 kmHigh 4.3°C · Low -8.7°C · 47 mm rain
- Gardez in JanuaryAfghanistan · 104 kmHigh 0.2°C · Low -7.7°C · 42 mm precipitation
- Jalālābād in JanuaryAfghanistan · 118 kmHigh 13.7°C · Low 5.3°C · 26 mm rain
- Ghazni in JanuaryAfghanistan · 129 kmHigh -0.3°C · Low -12.9°C · 36 mm precipitation
- Khōst in JanuaryAfghanistan · 149 kmHigh 10.9°C · Low -2.1°C · 29 mm rain
- Baghlān in JanuaryAfghanistan · 183 kmHigh 9.2°C · Low -3.2°C · 55 mm rain
- Bannu in JanuaryPakistan · 217 kmHigh 16.6°C · Low 4.5°C · 21 mm rain
- Shabqadar in JanuaryPakistan · 221 kmHigh 16.5°C · Low 3.1°C · 39 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Kabul) is explained once on the Kabul year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.