Climate
Gilgit experiences a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk). Weather conditions for Gilgit are dominated by its geographical location, a valley in a mountainous area, southwest of Karakoram range. The prevalent season of Gilgit is winter, occupying the valley eight to nine months a year.
Gilgit lacks significant rainfall, averaging in 120 to 240 millimetres (4.7 to 9.4 in) annually, as monsoon breaks against the southern range of Himalayas. Irrigation for land cultivation is obtained from the rivers, abundant with melting snow water from higher altitudes.
The summer season is brief and hot. The piercing sunrays may raise the temperature up to 40 °C (104 °F), yet it is always cool in the shade. As a result of this extremity in the weather, landslides and avalanches are frequent in the area.
| Climate data for Gilgit | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 9.3 (48.7) |
12.0 (53.6) |
17.9 (64.2) |
23.9 (75.0) |
28.4 (83.1) |
34.3 (93.7) |
36.1 (97.0) |
35.3 (95.5) |
31.6 (88.9) |
25.3 (77.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
11.0 (51.8) |
23.6 (74.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) |
2.5 (36.5) |
5.4 (41.7) |
9.4 (48.9) |
11.7 (53.1) |
15.2 (59.4) |
18.8 (65.8) |
18.1 (64.6) |
12.7 (54.9) |
6.6 (43.9) |
.6 (33.1) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 4.0 (0.157) |
6.0 (0.236) |
12.6 (0.496) |
23.0 (0.906) |
25.3 (0.996) |
6.1 (0.24) |
15.6 (0.614) |
15.5 (0.61) |
6.5 (0.256) |
8.4 (0.331) |
1.8 (0.071) |
4.1 (0.161) |
128.9 (5.075) |
| Source: | |||||||||||||
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