Khōst in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Khōst sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 101 mm of precipitation over about 15 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 61% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Khōst's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Khōst's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 14°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 1°C
- Precipitation
- 101 mm
- 15 wet days
- Avg wind
- 7 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.7
- 3rd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Khōst in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C.
A typical winter day in Khōst reaches about 14°C and drops to 1°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Khōst
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 68 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Khōst weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12° / -0° | 29 | 5 | 1.4 | 10 | 3.9 |
| Feb | 14° / 2° | 56 | 7.7 | 1.5 | 10.8 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 19° / 7° | 74 | 11.6 | 0.2 | 11.7 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 25° / 12° | 70 | 11.5 | 0 | 12.8 | 6.7 |
| May | 30° / 17° | 41 | 9.2 | 0 | 13.7 | 5.2 |
| Jun | 33° / 21° | 50 | 9.1 | 0 | 14.2 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 30° / 22° | 152 | 18.6 | 0 | 14 | 4.0 |
| Aug | 29° / 21° | 148 | 19.6 | 0 | 13.2 | 4.6 |
| Sep | 28° / 18° | 50 | 11.6 | 0 | 12.2 | 6.7 |
| Oct | 24° / 12° | 24 | 4.9 | 0 | 11.2 | 8.4 |
| Nov | 19° / 6° | 17 | 3.5 | 0 | 10.3 | 7.7 |
| Dec | 15° / 2° | 16 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 9.8 | 5.8 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 61% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Khōst gets around 101 mm of rain and snow over 15 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 7 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 hours in early December to 11 h 12 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.6 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Khōst
None of Khōst's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Khōst's rainy season runs March–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Khōst?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Khōst for sightseeing.
What to pack for Khōst in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Khōst sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 1°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 15 days see rain.
UV index in Khōst in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages 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 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 5 | Moderate |
| Mar | 7 | High |
| Apr | 8 | Very high |
| May | 11 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 10 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 7 | High |
| Nov | 2 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Khōst in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual 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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 24 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | Moderate |
| Feb | 26 | Moderate |
| Mar | 25 | Moderate |
| Apr | 25 | Moderate |
| May | 28 | Moderate |
| Jun | 39 | Poor |
| Jul | 38 | Poor |
| Aug | 37 | Poor |
| Sep | 30 | Moderate |
| Oct | 25 | Moderate |
| Nov | 25 | Moderate |
| Dec | 24 | Moderate |
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.
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.
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 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.