Climate
Kabul has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with precipitation concentrated in the winter (almost exclusively falling as snow) and spring months. Temperatures are relatively cool compared to much of Southwest Asia, mainly due to the high altitude of the city. Summer has very low humidity, providing relief from the heat. Autumn features warm afternoons and sharply cooler evenings. Winters are cold, with a January daily average of −2.3 °C (27.9 °F). Spring is the wettest time of the year, though temperatures are generally amiable. Sunny conditions dominate year-round. The annual mean temperature is 12.1 °C (53.8 °F).
| Climate data for Kabul (1956–1983) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14 (57) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
28 (82) |
35 (95) |
37 (99) |
38 (100) |
40 (104) |
36 (97) |
32 (90) |
25 (77) |
19 (66) |
40 (104) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) |
5.5 (41.9) |
12.5 (54.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
30.2 (86.4) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.0 (89.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
22.4 (72.3) |
15.0 (59.0) |
8.3 (46.9) |
19.6 (67.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −7.1 (19.2) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
0.7 (33.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.8 (47.8) |
12.4 (54.3) |
15.3 (59.5) |
14.3 (57.7) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
4.3 (39.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −21 (−6) |
−21 (−6) |
−14 (7) |
−3 (27) |
1 (34) |
6 (43) |
11 (52) |
8 (46) |
2 (36) |
−3 (27) |
−15 (5) |
−15 (5) |
−21 (−6) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 34.3 (1.35) |
60.1 (2.366) |
67.9 (2.673) |
71.9 (2.831) |
23.4 (0.921) |
1.0 (0.039) |
6.2 (0.244) |
1.6 (0.063) |
1.7 (0.067) |
3.7 (0.146) |
18.6 (0.732) |
21.6 (0.85) |
312.0 (12.283) |
| Avg. rainy days | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 46 |
| Avg. snowy days | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .5 | 3.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 176.7 | 180.8 | 204.6 | 234.0 | 310.0 | 354.0 | 356.5 | 341.0 | 303.0 | 282.1 | 252.0 | 182.9 | 3,177.6 |
| Source: HKO | |||||||||||||
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Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“Nobody is so constituted as to be able to live everywhere and anywhere; and he who has great duties to perform, which lay claim to all his strength, has, in this respect, a very limited choice. The influence of climate upon the bodily functions ... extends so far, that a blunder in the choice of locality and climate is able not only to alienate a man from his actual duty, but also to withhold it from him altogether, so that he never even comes face to face with it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)