Qarqīn in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Qarqīn sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 93 mm of precipitation over about 19 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Qarqīn's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Qarqīn's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 12°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 3°C
- Precipitation
- 93 mm
- 19 wet days
- Avg wind
- 12 km/h
- Travel score
- 3.4
- 3rd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Qarqīn in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.
A typical winter day in Qarqīn reaches about 12°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Qarqīn
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 65 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Qarqīn 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 | 11° / 2° | 28 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 9.7 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 13° / 4° | 41 | 7.4 | 1.3 | 10.6 | 3.8 |
| Mar | 19° / 8° | 46 | 8.2 | 0.3 | 11.7 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 26° / 14° | 34 | 5.6 | 0 | 12.9 | 7.2 |
| May | 33° / 19° | 17 | 3.4 | 0 | 14 | 4.5 |
| Jun | 38° / 23° | 2 | 0.6 | 0 | 14.5 | 1.4 |
| Jul | 40° / 24° | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 14.3 | 0.3 |
| Aug | 38° / 22° | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.4 | 1.6 |
| Sep | 33° / 17° | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 12.3 | 5.2 |
| Oct | 25° / 12° | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 8.8 |
| Nov | 18° / 7° | 20 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 10 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 12° / 3° | 24 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 9.5 | 3.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Qarqīn gets around 93 mm of rain and snow over 19 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 12 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 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 2.7 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Qarqīn
None of Qarqīn's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Qarqīn sees seasonal dust haze (May), heaviest in May.
Is winter a good time to visit Qarqīn?
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 weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Qarqīn.
What to pack for Qarqīn in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Qarqīn sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. About 19 days see rain.
UV index in Qarqīn in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Qarqīn peaks around June 19 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 2 (low).
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 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | Very high |
| Oct | 4 | Moderate |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Moderate |
Air quality in Qarqīn 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 Qarqīn is worst in April — around 34 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), 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 | 23 | 32 | 34 | 31 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 23 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | Moderate |
| Feb | 23 | Moderate |
| Mar | 32 | Moderate |
| Apr | 34 | Moderate |
| May | 31 | Moderate |
| Jun | 25 | Moderate |
| Jul | 26 | Moderate |
| Aug | 24 | Moderate |
| Sep | 27 | Moderate |
| Oct | 26 | Moderate |
| Nov | 25 | Moderate |
| Dec | 23 | Moderate |
Where is Qarqīn?
Qarqīn sits at 37.4°N, 66.0°E, 263 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Magdanly, 44 km away.
Topography around Qarqīn
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Qarqīn.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Qarqīn has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 11 m around an average of 263 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 195 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,880 m.
The land around Qarqīn is covered by cropland (42%), water (22%) and bare terrain (21%) within 3 km, bare terrain (53%) and cropland (29%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (50%) and grassland (30%) 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 Qarqīn (37.4185°, 66.0436°, elevation 263 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.