Climate and average weather in Khōst

In Khōst, the summers are hot, showery, and clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: mid September to early December

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Khōst typically varies from -0°C to 33°C, and is rarely below -5°C or above 38°C. June is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Khōst for warm-weather activities is from mid September to early December.

Hottest
Jun
33°
Coldest
Jan
-0°
Wettest
Jul
152 mm
Driest
Dec
16 mm
Rain / yr
728 mm
115 wet days
Daylight
9.8–14.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,183 m
33.3°N
Clearest
Oct
20% cloud

Khōst is city in Khost Province, Afghanistan.

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

Khōst weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid September to early December.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Khōst, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 2 to September 9, with daily high temperatures above 28°C. The hottest month of the year in Khōst is June, with an average high of 33°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from December 6 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below 16°C. The coldest month of the year in Khōst is January, with an average low of -0°C and high of 12°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in May.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan120
Feb142
Mar197
Apr2512
May3017
Jun3321
Jul3022
Aug2921
Sep2818
Oct2412
Nov196
Dec152

How hot and cold Khōst really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Khōst feels like about 33°C (around July 6). About 66 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°C (around January 15), with roughly 68 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan1212-30
Feb141402
Mar191957
Apr24251212
May30301717
Jun33332021
Jul33302222
Aug31292121
Sep28281818
Oct24241212
Nov191956
Dec1515-12

Average hourly temperature in Khōst

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on June afternoons, near 33°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -0°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Khōst weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan12° / -0°2951.4103.9
Feb14° / 567.71.510.84.5
Mar19° / 7411.60.211.76.0
Apr25° / 12°7011.5012.86.7
May30° / 17°419.2013.75.2
Jun33° / 21°509.1014.23.9
Jul30° / 22°15218.60144.0
Aug29° / 21°14819.6013.24.6
Sep28° / 18°5011.6012.26.7
Oct24° / 12°244.9011.28.4
Nov19° / 173.5010.37.7
Dec15° / 162.70.39.85.8

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Khōst gets about 728 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from around Jun 18 to Sep 20, peaking in July at about 68% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 28.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 152 mm over about 19 wet days; December is the driest, with 16 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 31 · 68%Nov 28 · 8%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan165
Feb288
Mar3712
Apr3812
May309
Jun319
Jul5919
Aug6320
Sep3912
Oct175
Nov114
Dec93

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Khōst collects about 728 mm of rain across 115 wet days — roughly 61 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 152 mm, while December is the driest at just 16 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 51% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150175200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec29567470415015214850241716
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2951
Feb5682
Mar74120
Apr70120
May4190
Jun5090
Jul152190
Aug148200
Sep50120
Oct2450
Nov1740
Dec1630

Snow in Khōst

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Khōst averages about 3 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Dec 26 to Mar 5 — about 2.3 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.6 days of snow and an estimated 5 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 12 cm of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 4
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan16
Feb25
Mar00
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec01

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Khōst, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 10 and lasts for 2.0 months, ending around July 9. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 92% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 31 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around May 9. The cloudiest month is March, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 39% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 10 · 94%Mar 15 · 58%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7129
Feb6436
Mar6139
Apr6436
May8119
Jun919
Jul7129
Aug6733
Sep8911
Oct928
Nov8416
Dec7921

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 10, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.06:595:00
Feb10.86:425:28
Mar11.76:085:52
Apr12.85:266:15
May13.74:556:38
Jun14.24:456:56
Jul14.04:566:56
Aug13.25:176:32
Sep12.25:395:51
Oct11.26:015:10
Nov10.36:284:43
Dec9.86:524:41

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Khōst averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 26 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.2 months, from around Sep 6 to Jan 10. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 25 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is August, down near 13 sunny days — about 48% fewer than the October peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantOct 226 daysAug 110 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan18Bright
Feb15Bright
Mar14Mixed
Apr13Mixed
May18Bright
Jun22Bright
Jul14Mixed
Aug13Mixed
Sep21Bright
Oct25Brilliant
Nov22Bright
Dec22Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Khōst, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.7 months, from around June 11 to October 2. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 3 to June 10, and March is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 22 · 100%Aug 7 · 0%oppressivehumidcomfortabledrymuggycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar10000000
Apr9280000
May77194000
Jun4515191560
Jul341134472
Aug01642502
Sep918323470
Oct74187100
Nov9910000
Dec10000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Khōst is steady company: average speeds sit near 7 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeMay 24 · 8 km/hAug 7 · 6 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May8calm
Jun7calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Khōst

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Khōst's rainy season runs March–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Best time to visit Khōst

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Khōst throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late November, Khōst is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Khōst for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid September to early December, with a peak score in the third week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 21 · 8.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan4.0fair
Feb4.5fair
Mar6.0good
Apr6.6good
May5.2fair
Jun3.9fair
Jul4.0fair
Aug4.6fair
Sep6.6good
Oct8.3ideal
Nov7.7ideal
Dec5.8good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Khōst for hot-weather activities run from late April to early July and again from early September to late October, with a peak score in the first week of October.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 2 · 7.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Khōst, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around June (highs near 33°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 12°C), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In June, Khōst sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Khōst by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Khōst peaks around June 13 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near November 21 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highModerateJun 13UV 11Nov 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar7High
Apr8Very high
May11Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul10Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct7High
Nov2Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Khōst

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan1.50
Feb4.50
Mar62.5
Apr74
May8.56
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep74.5
Oct62
Nov00
Dec1.50

Air quality in Khōst by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Khōst is worst in June — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 1.7× the cleanest month (December, 24 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateJun 2239 µg/m³Dec 1524 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan25Moderate
Feb26Moderate
Mar25Moderate
Apr25Moderate
May28Moderate
Jun39Poor
Jul38Poor
Aug37Poor
Sep30Moderate
Oct25Moderate
Nov25Moderate
Dec24Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Khōst typically lasts about 336 days, from around January 30 to December 31 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 4 to December 4.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJan 3050%Mar 490%Dec 490%Dec 3150%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4431
Feb6928
Mar974
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov990
Dec7428

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Khōst banks about 2,922 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around June.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar83
Apr246
May416
Jun499
Jul502
Aug463
Sep380
Oct253
Nov80
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Khōst receives about 5.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.3 and 7.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 15 to Sep 29. The brightest month is May, averaging about 7.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.3 kWh/m² — roughly 54% less than the May peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 317.5 kWhDec 213.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.5Moderate
Feb4.2Bright
Mar5.3Bright
Apr6.4Intense
May7.3Intense
Jun7.2Intense
Jul6.0Bright
Aug5.5Bright
Sep5.4Bright
Oct4.8Bright
Nov3.8Moderate
Dec3.3Moderate

Where is Khōst?

Khōst sits at 33.3°N, 69.9°E, 1,183 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Gardez, 71 km away.

Markaz-e Woluswalī-ye ĀchīnBaraki BarakJalālābādGhazniKabulMehtar LāmPaghmān

Topography around Khōst

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Khōst has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 155 m around an average of 1,185 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 691 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,383 m.

The land around Khōst is covered by cropland (49%) and artificial surfaces (31%) within 3 km, bare terrain (40%) and cropland (28%) within 16 km, and grassland (33%), bare terrain (26%) and shrubs (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
155 m
16 km
691 m
80 km
4,383 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Gardez 71 km · Markaz-e Woluswalī-ye Āchīn 114 km · Baraki Barak 114 km · Jalālābād 130 km · Ghazni 141 km · Kabul 149 km · Mehtar Lām 150 km · Paghmān 165 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
Muslim 100%

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 Khōst (33.3395°, 69.9204°, elevation 1,183 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).