Istālif weather in May

In May, Istālif sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 139 mm of rain across 15.9 wet days and about 13.8 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 46% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 24 min at the start of May to 14 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Istālif's 9th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Istālif's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 139 mm; 15.9 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 48 min; 4:55 AM – 6:45 PM
Cloud cover: 45%; 9th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 7.39 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.5; out of 10

← April Istālif year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical May day in Istālif reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 12°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 7°C warmer than April and about 5°C cooler than June.

	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)	16	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

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

How May really feels in Istālif

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May 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

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

Istālif weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-2° / -14°	72	7.5	7.9	9.9	0.0
Feb	-1° / -12°	101	8.9	9.1	10.7	0.0
Mar	5° / -6°	128	11	8.6	11.7	0.3
Apr	12° / 1°	149	13.9	2.9	12.9	3.1
May	19° / 7°	139	15.9	0	13.8	5.5
Jun	24° / 10°	36	7.3	0	14.3	7.9
Jul	28° / 14°	14	2.4	0	14.1	8.3
Aug	27° / 13°	9	1.9	0	13.3	8.5
Sep	23° / 9°	20	3.9	0	12.2	8.6
Oct	16° / 4°	41	6.6	0.2	11.1	5.7
Nov	8° / -4°	54	6.9	3.8	10.2	1.7
Dec	1° / -11°	46	5.9	5.8	9.7	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 46% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 21% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 33%. Skies tend to open up 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 (%)	60	60	59	60	60	60	60	61	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	69	70	70	70	71	72	73	74	74	75	75	77	78	79
Cloudier (%)	40	40	41	40	40	40	40	39	39	38	37	36	35	34	33	32	31	31	30	30	30	29	28	27	26	26	25	25	23	22	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	60	40
5	60	40
6	60	40
7	60	40
8	61	39
9	61	39
10	62	38
11	63	37
12	64	36
13	65	35
14	66	34
15	67	33
16	68	32
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	73	27
25	74	26
26	74	26
27	75	25
28	75	25
29	77	23
30	78	22
31	79	21

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Istālif gets around 139 mm of rain over 15.9 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 51% and peaks near 56% on the wettest days. The odds ease 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 (%)	53	54	55	55	56	56	56	56	56	56	55	55	54	54	53	52	52	51	50	50	49	48	48	47	46	46	45	44	43	42	40

	Rain chance (%)
1	53
2	54
3	55
4	55
5	56
6	56
7	56
8	56
9	56
10	56
11	55
12	55
13	54
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	48
23	48
24	47
25	46
26	46
27	45
28	44
29	43
30	42
31	40

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May 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 (%)	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	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in May

Winds average 6 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 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)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
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	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 24 min at the start of May to 14 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 42 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:09 AM to 4:47 AM, and sunset from 6:32 PM to 6:55 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)	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:09	5:08	5:07	5:06	5:05	5:04	5:03	5:02	5:01	5:00	4:59	4:59	4:58	4:57	4:56	4:55	4:55	4:54	4:53	4:53	4:52	4:51	4:51	4:50	4:49	4:49	4:48	4:48	4:48	4:47	4:47
Sunset (PM)	6:32	6:33	6:34	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:38	6:39	6:40	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:45	6:45	6:46	6:47	6:48	6:48	6:49	6:50	6:51	6:51	6:52	6:53	6:53	6:54	6:55	6:55

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.4	5:09	6:32
2	13.4	5:08	6:33
3	13.4	5:07	6:34
4	13.5	5:06	6:35
5	13.5	5:05	6:36
6	13.5	5:04	6:36
7	13.6	5:03	6:37
8	13.6	5:02	6:38
9	13.6	5:01	6:39
10	13.7	5:00	6:40
11	13.7	4:59	6:41
12	13.7	4:59	6:41
13	13.7	4:58	6:42
14	13.8	4:57	6:43
15	13.8	4:56	6:44
16	13.8	4:55	6:45
17	13.8	4:55	6:45
18	13.9	4:54	6:46
19	13.9	4:53	6:47
20	13.9	4:53	6:48
21	13.9	4:52	6:48
22	14.0	4:51	6:49
23	14.0	4:51	6:50
24	14.0	4:50	6:51
25	14.0	4:49	6:51
26	14.1	4:49	6:52
27	14.1	4:48	6:53
28	14.1	4:48	6:53
29	14.1	4:48	6:54
30	14.1	4:47	6:55
31	14.1	4:47	6:55

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 7.39 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.3 kWh/m² to a high of 8.03 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 7.39 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.4	7.4	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.8
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	7.1	Intense
2	7.1	Intense
3	7.1	Intense
4	7.1	Intense
5	7.1	Intense
6	7.2	Intense
7	7.2	Intense
8	7.2	Intense
9	7.2	Intense
10	7.2	Intense
11	7.3	Intense
12	7.3	Intense
13	7.3	Intense
14	7.3	Intense
15	7.4	Intense
16	7.4	Intense
17	7.4	Intense
18	7.5	Intense
19	7.5	Intense
20	7.5	Intense
21	7.5	Intense
22	7.6	Intense
23	7.6	Intense
24	7.6	Intense
25	7.7	Intense
26	7.7	Intense
27	7.7	Intense
28	7.7	Intense
29	7.8	Intense
30	7.8	Intense
31	7.8	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Istālif

In seasonPeak

In May, Istālif sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Istālif's rainy season runs January–May, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Istālif?

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

5.5

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

2.4

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Istālif for sightseeing.

What to pack for Istālif in May

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

In May, Istālif sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 7°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer. About 16 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectiona warm layer

UV index in Istālif in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Istālif peaks around June 16 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	3	5	8	8	11	12	11	11	9	6	3	3
Level	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	3	Moderate
Feb	5	High
Mar	8	Very high
Apr	8	Very high
May	11	Extreme
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	3	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Istālif in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Istālif is worst in February — around 30 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (October, 16 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	30	30	25	23	24	22	20	18	16	16	20	26
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	30	Moderate
Feb	30	Moderate
Mar	25	Moderate
Apr	23	Moderate
May	24	Moderate
Jun	22	Moderate
Jul	20	Moderate
Aug	18	Moderate
Sep	16	Moderate
Oct	16	Moderate
Nov	20	Moderate
Dec	26	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Istālif?

Istālif sits at 34.8°N, 69.1°E, 1,891 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Charikar, 22 km away.

Topography around Istālif

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Istālif has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 797 m around an average of 1,906 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,025 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,203 m.

The land around Istālif is covered by bare terrain (34%) within 3 km, cropland (35%), bare terrain (30%) and grassland (27%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (48%) and grassland (40%) within 80 km.

3 km

797 m

bare terrain 34%

16 km

3,025 m

cropland 35%

80 km

4,203 m

bare terrain 48%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← April Istālif year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Charikar 22 km · Paghmān 30 km · Jabal os Saraj 35 km · Kabul 35 km · Bāzārak 67 km · Baraki Barak 97 km · Mehtar Lām 105 km · Bāmyān 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 Istālif (34.8327°, 69.0776°, elevation 1,891 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	16	4
2	17	5
3	17	5
4	17	5
5	17	5
6	17	5
7	18	5
8	18	6
9	18	6
10	18	6
11	18	6
12	18	6
13	19	6
14	19	7
15	19	7
16	19	7
17	19	7
18	19	7
19	19	7
20	20	7
21	20	7
22	20	7
23	20	7
24	20	8
25	20	8
26	20	8
27	21	8
28	21	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	60	40
5	60	40
6	60	40
7	60	40
8	61	39
9	61	39
10	62	38
11	63	37
12	64	36
13	65	35
14	66	34
15	67	33
16	68	32
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	73	27
25	74	26
26	74	26
27	75	25
28	75	25
29	77	23
30	78	22
31	79	21

	Rain chance (%)
1	53
2	54
3	55
4	55
5	56
6	56
7	56
8	56
9	56
10	56
11	55
12	55
13	54
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	48
23	48
24	47
25	46
26	46
27	45
28	44
29	43
30	42
31	40

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	60	40
5	60	40
6	60	40
7	60	40
8	61	39
9	61	39
10	62	38
11	63	37
12	64	36
13	65	35
14	66	34
15	67	33
16	68	32
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	73	27
25	74	26
26	74	26
27	75	25
28	75	25
29	77	23
30	78	22
31	79	21

	Rain chance (%)
1	53
2	54
3	55
4	55
5	56
6	56
7	56
8	56
9	56
10	56
11	55
12	55
13	54
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	48
23	48
24	47
25	46
26	46
27	45
28	44
29	43
30	42
31	40

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	60	40
5	60	40
6	60	40
7	60	40
8	61	39
9	61	39
10	62	38
11	63	37
12	64	36
13	65	35
14	66	34
15	67	33
16	68	32
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	70	30
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	73	27
25	74	26
26	74	26
27	75	25
28	75	25
29	77	23
30	78	22
31	79	21

	Rain chance (%)
1	53
2	54
3	55
4	55
5	56
6	56
7	56
8	56
9	56
10	56
11	55
12	55
13	54
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	48
23	48
24	47
25	46
26	46
27	45
28	44
29	43
30	42
31	40

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