Balkh weather in October

In October, Balkh sees average daytime highs of 23°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 4 mm of rain across 1.1 wet days and about 11 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 26°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 80% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 36 min at the start of October to 10 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Balkh's 5th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Balkh's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 23°; 7th warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 6th coldest
Rainfall: 4 mm; 1.1 wet days
Daylight: 11 hours; 6:16 AM – 5:19 PM
Cloud cover: 18%; 5th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 4.41 kWh/m²
Travel score: 9.0; out of 10

Balkh is capital of Balkh District, Afghanistan.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← September Balkh year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 26°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical October day in Balkh reaches about 23°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 17°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 7°C cooler than September and about 7°C warmer than November.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	27	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	20	20
Avg low (°C)	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	26	13
3	26	12
4	26	12
5	26	12
6	25	12
7	25	12
8	25	11
9	25	11
10	24	11
11	24	11
12	24	11
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	23	10
16	23	10
17	23	10
18	23	10
19	23	10
20	22	9
21	22	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	21	9
27	21	9
28	21	9
29	21	8
30	20	8
31	20	8

How October really feels in Balkh

Once humidity and wind are folded in, October averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

October sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Balkh weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 7th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	10° / 1°	34	7.4	2.2	9.8	2.2
Feb	12° / 2°	40	8	2.2	10.6	3.2
Mar	17° / 7°	47	8.8	0.7	11.7	5.7
Apr	24° / 13°	34	5.9	0	12.9	7.5
May	30° / 17°	13	2.7	0	13.9	6.0
Jun	35° / 21°	1	0.2	0	14.5	3.2
Jul	37° / 23°	0	0.1	0	14.3	2.3
Aug	35° / 20°	0	0	0	13.4	3.8
Sep	30° / 15°	1	0.2	0	12.2	7.0
Oct	23° / 10°	4	1.1	0	11	9.0
Nov	16° / 5°	23	5.2	0.5	10	5.7
Dec	11° / 2°	25	5.6	1.5	9.5	3.0

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 80% of the time in October.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 6% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 14%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	95	95	95	94	93	93	93	92	91	91	91	90	89	89	89	89	87	87	87	85	85	84	82	82	80	79	77	76	75	74	72
Cloudier (%)	5	5	5	6	7	7	7	8	9	9	9	10	11	11	11	11	13	13	13	15	15	16	18	18	20	21	23	24	25	26	28

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	95	5
2	95	5
3	95	5
4	94	6
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	92	8
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	87	13
18	87	13
19	87	13
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	84	16
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	80	20
26	79	21
27	77	23
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	74	26
31	72	28

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitation

Balkh gets around 4 mm of rain over 1.1 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 4% and peaks near 10% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	6	7	7	8	8	9	10

	Rain chance (%)
1	2
2	2
3	2
4	2
5	2
6	2
7	2
8	2
9	2
10	2
11	2
12	2
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	4
20	4
21	4
22	4
23	5
24	5
25	6
26	7
27	7
28	8
29	8
30	9
31	10

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of October feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, October lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in October

Winds average 7 km/h in October, the calmest month.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 8 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	8	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	8	calm
25	8	calm
26	8	calm
27	8	calm
28	8	calm
29	8	calm
30	8	calm
31	8	calm

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 36 min at the start of October to 10 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 66 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 6:03 AM to 6:31 AM, and sunset from 5:40 PM to 5:01 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.6	11.6	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.3	11.3	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5
Sunrise (AM)	6:03	6:03	6:04	6:05	6:06	6:07	6:08	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:22	6:23	6:24	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:28	6:29	6:30	6:31
Sunset (PM)	5:40	5:39	5:37	5:36	5:34	5:33	5:31	5:30	5:28	5:27	5:26	5:24	5:23	5:21	5:20	5:19	5:17	5:16	5:15	5:14	5:12	5:11	5:10	5:09	5:07	5:06	5:05	5:04	5:03	5:02	5:01

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.6	6:03	5:40
2	11.6	6:03	5:39
3	11.5	6:04	5:37
4	11.5	6:05	5:36
5	11.5	6:06	5:34
6	11.4	6:07	5:33
7	11.4	6:08	5:31
8	11.4	6:09	5:30
9	11.3	6:10	5:28
10	11.3	6:11	5:27
11	11.2	6:11	5:26
12	11.2	6:12	5:24
13	11.2	6:13	5:23
14	11.1	6:14	5:21
15	11.1	6:15	5:20
16	11.0	6:16	5:19
17	11.0	6:17	5:17
18	11.0	6:18	5:16
19	10.9	6:19	5:15
20	10.9	6:20	5:14
21	10.9	6:21	5:12
22	10.8	6:22	5:11
23	10.8	6:23	5:10
24	10.7	6:24	5:09
25	10.7	6:25	5:07
26	10.7	6:26	5:06
27	10.6	6:27	5:05
28	10.6	6:28	5:04
29	10.6	6:29	5:03
30	10.5	6:30	5:02
31	10.5	6:31	5:01

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 4.41 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.45 kWh/m² to a high of 7.85 kWh/m² in July across the year — October's 4.41 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.6
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.2	Bright
2	5.1	Bright
3	5.1	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	5.0	Bright
6	4.9	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.6	Bright
13	4.5	Bright
14	4.5	Bright
15	4.5	Bright
16	4.4	Bright
17	4.4	Bright
18	4.3	Bright
19	4.3	Bright
20	4.2	Bright
21	4.2	Bright
22	4.1	Bright
23	4.1	Bright
24	4.0	Bright
25	4.0	Moderate
26	3.9	Moderate
27	3.9	Moderate
28	3.8	Moderate
29	3.7	Moderate
30	3.7	Moderate
31	3.6	Moderate

Planning a trip in October

Hazard calendar for Balkh

In seasonPeak

None of Balkh's seasonal hazards are active in October. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Balkh sees seasonal dust haze (April–May), heaviest in May.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is October a good time to visit Balkh?

Our two travel scores rate October for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

9.0

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

6.9

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

October is one of the better times to visit Balkh for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Balkh in October

From October's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In October, Balkh sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 10°C. Worth packing: light clothes.

light clothes

UV index in Balkh in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Balkh peaks around June 23 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	4	5	6	9	10	10	9	8	5	3	2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	5	High
Apr	6	High
May	9	Very high
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	9	Very high
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	3	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Air quality in Balkh in October

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where October falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Balkh is worst in April — around 35 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	22	25	32	35	33	25	26	24	28	27	27	25
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	22	Moderate
Feb	25	Moderate
Mar	32	Moderate
Apr	35	Poor
May	33	Moderate
Jun	25	Moderate
Jul	26	Moderate
Aug	24	Moderate
Sep	28	Moderate
Oct	27	Moderate
Nov	27	Moderate
Dec	25	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Balkh?

Balkh sits at 36.8°N, 66.9°E, 348 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Mazār-e Sharīf, 20 km away.

Topography around Balkh

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Balkh.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Balkh has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 24 m around an average of 347 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 315 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,463 m.

The land around Balkh is covered by cropland (68%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 3 km, cropland (67%) and bare terrain (21%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (60%) within 80 km.

3 km

24 m

cropland 68%

16 km

315 m

cropland 67%

80 km

2,463 m

bare terrain 60%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← September Balkh year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

October weather nearby: Mazār-e Sharīf 20 km · Termez 62 km · Khulm 72 km · Shibirghān 102 km · Sar-e Pul 105 km · Qarqīn 106 km · Sang-e Chārak 109 km · Aībak 114 km

Afghanistan travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / F; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 17% of US; price level, 2024
GDP per capita: $417; 2024
Happiness: 1.4 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 31%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 4; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 15.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 446
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Balkh (36.7563°, 66.8972°, elevation 348 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	26	13
3	26	12
4	26	12
5	26	12
6	25	12
7	25	12
8	25	11
9	25	11
10	24	11
11	24	11
12	24	11
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	23	10
16	23	10
17	23	10
18	23	10
19	23	10
20	22	9
21	22	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	21	9
27	21	9
28	21	9
29	21	8
30	20	8
31	20	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	95	5
2	95	5
3	95	5
4	94	6
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	92	8
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	87	13
18	87	13
19	87	13
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	84	16
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	80	20
26	79	21
27	77	23
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	74	26
31	72	28

	Rain chance (%)
1	2
2	2
3	2
4	2
5	2
6	2
7	2
8	2
9	2
10	2
11	2
12	2
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	4
20	4
21	4
22	4
23	5
24	5
25	6
26	7
27	7
28	8
29	8
30	9
31	10

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	26	13
3	26	12
4	26	12
5	26	12
6	25	12
7	25	12
8	25	11
9	25	11
10	24	11
11	24	11
12	24	11
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	23	10
16	23	10
17	23	10
18	23	10
19	23	10
20	22	9
21	22	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	21	9
27	21	9
28	21	9
29	21	8
30	20	8
31	20	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	95	5
2	95	5
3	95	5
4	94	6
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	92	8
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	87	13
18	87	13
19	87	13
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	84	16
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	80	20
26	79	21
27	77	23
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	74	26
31	72	28

	Rain chance (%)
1	2
2	2
3	2
4	2
5	2
6	2
7	2
8	2
9	2
10	2
11	2
12	2
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	4
20	4
21	4
22	4
23	5
24	5
25	6
26	7
27	7
28	8
29	8
30	9
31	10

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	27	13
2	26	13
3	26	12
4	26	12
5	26	12
6	25	12
7	25	12
8	25	11
9	25	11
10	24	11
11	24	11
12	24	11
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	23	10
16	23	10
17	23	10
18	23	10
19	23	10
20	22	9
21	22	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	21	9
27	21	9
28	21	9
29	21	8
30	20	8
31	20	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	95	5
2	95	5
3	95	5
4	94	6
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	92	8
9	91	9
10	91	9
11	91	9
12	90	10
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	87	13
18	87	13
19	87	13
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	84	16
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	80	20
26	79	21
27	77	23
28	76	24
29	75	25
30	74	26
31	72	28

	Rain chance (%)
1	2
2	2
3	2
4	2
5	2
6	2
7	2
8	2
9	2
10	2
11	2
12	2
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	4
20	4
21	4
22	4
23	5
24	5
25	6
26	7
27	7
28	8
29	8
30	9
31	10

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0