Kandahār weather in January

In January, Kandahār sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 42 mm of precipitation across 5.5 wet days and about 10.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 60% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 hours at the start of January to 10 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Kandahār's 10th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kandahār's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 13°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 1°; 1st coldest
Precipitation: 42 mm; 5.5 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 06 min; 7:12 AM – 5:21 PM
Cloud cover: 36%; 10th clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 3.63 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.5; out of 10

Kandahār is city in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Density: 654/km²; people per km²

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

← December Kandahār year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month.

A typical January day in Kandahār reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°C overnight — a 12°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

	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)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

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

How January really feels in Kandahār

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Kandahār weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	13° / 1°	42	5.5	10.2	4.5
Feb	16° / 3°	48	5.7	10.8	5.7
Mar	22° / 8°	45	5.7	11.8	7.6
Apr	29° / 14°	13	2.7	12.8	6.8
May	35° / 19°	2	0.3	13.6	3.1
Jun	39° / 23°	2	0.1	14	0.5
Jul	41° / 26°	2	0.3	13.9	0.0
Aug	39° / 24°	0	0.1	13.2	0.6
Sep	35° / 18°	0	0	12.2	3.7
Oct	28° / 12°	1	0.2	11.2	8.0
Nov	21° / 6°	9	1.4	10.4	8.6
Dec	16° / 2°	22	2.4	10	6.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 60% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 28%. 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 (%)	79	78	77	76	76	74	74	73	72	71	71	71	71	70	69	69	69	69	68	69	69	70	69	70	70	70	71	71	71	71	71
Cloudier (%)	21	22	23	24	24	26	26	27	28	29	29	29	29	30	31	31	31	31	32	31	31	30	31	30	30	30	29	29	29	29	29

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	76	24
5	76	24
6	74	26
7	74	26
8	73	27
9	72	28
10	71	29
11	71	29
12	71	29
13	71	29
14	70	30
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	68	32
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	70	30
23	69	31
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Kandahār gets around 42 mm of rain and snow over 5.5 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 18% and peaks near 22% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. 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 (%)	11	11	12	12	13	13	14	15	15	16	16	16	17	17	18	18	19	19	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	22

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

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January 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 January

Winds average 8 km/h in January.

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

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:11 AM to 7:07 AM, and sunset from 5:09 PM to 5:34 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)	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.5
Sunrise (AM)	7:11	7:11	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:11	7:11	7:11	7:11	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:09	7:09	7:08	7:08	7:07	7:07
Sunset (PM)	5:09	5:10	5:11	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:14	5:14	5:15	5:16	5:17	5:18	5:18	5:19	5:20	5:21	5:22	5:23	5:23	5:24	5:25	5:26	5:27	5:28	5:29	5:30	5:30	5:31	5:32	5:33	5:34

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.0	7:11	5:09
2	10.0	7:11	5:10
3	10.0	7:12	5:11
4	10.0	7:12	5:12
5	10.0	7:12	5:12
6	10.0	7:12	5:13
7	10.0	7:12	5:14
8	10.0	7:12	5:14
9	10.0	7:12	5:15
10	10.1	7:12	5:16
11	10.1	7:12	5:17
12	10.1	7:12	5:18
13	10.1	7:12	5:18
14	10.1	7:12	5:19
15	10.1	7:12	5:20
16	10.1	7:12	5:21
17	10.2	7:12	5:22
18	10.2	7:12	5:23
19	10.2	7:11	5:23
20	10.2	7:11	5:24
21	10.2	7:11	5:25
22	10.3	7:11	5:26
23	10.3	7:10	5:27
24	10.3	7:10	5:28
25	10.3	7:10	5:29
26	10.3	7:09	5:30
27	10.4	7:09	5:30
28	10.4	7:08	5:31
29	10.4	7:08	5:32
30	10.4	7:07	5:33
31	10.5	7:07	5:34

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.63 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.54 kWh/m² to a high of 8.2 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 3.63 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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)	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.5	Moderate
2	3.5	Moderate
3	3.5	Moderate
4	3.5	Moderate
5	3.5	Moderate
6	3.5	Moderate
7	3.5	Moderate
8	3.5	Moderate
9	3.5	Moderate
10	3.5	Moderate
11	3.5	Moderate
12	3.5	Moderate
13	3.6	Moderate
14	3.6	Moderate
15	3.6	Moderate
16	3.6	Moderate
17	3.6	Moderate
18	3.6	Moderate
19	3.6	Moderate
20	3.7	Moderate
21	3.7	Moderate
22	3.7	Moderate
23	3.8	Moderate
24	3.8	Moderate
25	3.8	Moderate
26	3.8	Moderate
27	3.9	Moderate
28	3.9	Moderate
29	3.9	Moderate
30	4.0	Moderate
31	4.0	Bright

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Kandahār

In seasonPeak

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

Kandahār sees seasonal dust haze (July–August), heaviest in July.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is January a good time to visit Kandahār?

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

4.5

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Kandahār for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kandahār in January

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

In January, Kandahār sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 1°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Kandahār in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kandahār peaks around June 19 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	4	6	7	8	9	12	11	11	10	7	4	3
Level	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	6	High
Mar	7	Very high
Apr	8	Very high
May	9	Very high
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	7	Very high
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Kandahār in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Kandahār is worst in July — around 34 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.4× the cleanest month (November, 14 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)	17	20	22	25	26	20	34	30	26	22	14	15
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	17	Moderate
Feb	20	Moderate
Mar	22	Moderate
Apr	25	Moderate
May	26	Moderate
Jun	20	Moderate
Jul	34	Moderate
Aug	30	Moderate
Sep	26	Moderate
Oct	22	Moderate
Nov	14	Moderate
Dec	15	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Kandahār?

Kandahār sits at 31.6°N, 65.7°E, 1,007 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Gereshk, 110 km away.

Topography around Kandahār

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kandahār has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 56 m around an average of 1,010 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 809 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,877 m.

The land around Kandahār is covered by artificial surfaces (60%) and bare terrain (23%) within 3 km, bare terrain (46%) and cropland (44%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (89%) within 80 km.

3 km

56 m

artificial surfaces 60%

16 km

809 m

bare terrain 46%

80 km

1,877 m

bare terrain 89%

treesshrubscroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← December Kandahār year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

January weather nearby: Gereshk 110 km · Lashkar Gāh 127 km · Quetta 201 km · Khān Neshīn 218 km · Nīlī 238 km · Khāsh 277 km · Shahrak 307 km · Ghazni 333 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 Kandahār (31.6133°, 65.7101°, elevation 1,007 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	14	1
2	14	1
3	14	1
4	14	1
5	14	1
6	14	1
7	14	1
8	13	1
9	13	1
10	13	1
11	13	1
12	13	1
13	13	1
14	13	1
15	13	1
16	13	1
17	13	1
18	13	1
19	13	1
20	13	1
21	13	1
22	13	1
23	13	1
24	13	1
25	13	2
26	13	2
27	14	2
28	14	2
29	14	2
30	14	2
31	14	2

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	76	24
5	76	24
6	74	26
7	74	26
8	73	27
9	72	28
10	71	29
11	71	29
12	71	29
13	71	29
14	70	30
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	68	32
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	70	30
23	69	31
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	76	24
5	76	24
6	74	26
7	74	26
8	73	27
9	72	28
10	71	29
11	71	29
12	71	29
13	71	29
14	70	30
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	68	32
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	70	30
23	69	31
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	79	21
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	76	24
5	76	24
6	74	26
7	74	26
8	73	27
9	72	28
10	71	29
11	71	29
12	71	29
13	71	29
14	70	30
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	68	32
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	70	30
23	69	31
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

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

	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