Sar-e Pul in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Sar-e Pul sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 161 mm of precipitation over about 28 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 9°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Sar-e Pul's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Sar-e Pul's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
9°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-2°C
Precipitation
161 mm
28 wet days
Avg wind
6 km/h
Travel score
2.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Sar-e Pul in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C.

A typical winter day in Sar-e Pul reaches about 9°C and drops to -2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

-10°10°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Sar-e Pul

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
wind chill below the day's low

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

Sar-e Pul 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -3°549.45.19.81.5
Feb10° / -1°6510.84.710.62.3
Mar15° / 8412.32.211.74.5
Apr21° / 669.80.212.96.7
May27° / 13°284.6013.97.6
Jun32° / 17°20.6014.45.6
Jul33° / 19°00.1014.24.8
Aug32° / 17°00013.45.9
Sep27° / 12°10.3012.28.7
Oct21° / 81.8011.18.6
Nov15° / 376.61.110.15.0
Dec10° / -1°427.63.49.62.4

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Sar-e Pul gets around 161 mm of rain and snow over 28 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 6 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.9 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Sar-e Pul?

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.

2.1
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Sar-e Pul.

What to pack for Sar-e Pul in Winter

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

In winter, Sar-e Pul sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 28 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Sar-e Pul in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Sar-e Pul peaks around July 13 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateJul 13UV 10Jan 10UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May9Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Sar-e Pul in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Sar-e Pul is worst in May — around 28 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (December, 12 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMay 1027 µg/m³Dec 2312 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan12Moderate
Feb14Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr27Moderate
May28Moderate
Jun22Moderate
Jul22Moderate
Aug21Moderate
Sep23Moderate
Oct19Moderate
Nov15Moderate
Dec12Good
Location & terrain

Where is Sar-e Pul?

Sar-e Pul sits at 36.2°N, 65.9°E, 657 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Shibirghān, 53 km away.

BalkhMaymanaAndkhoyMazār-e SharīfQarqīnTermez

Topography around Sar-e Pul

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Sar-e Pul.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sar-e Pul has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 134 m around an average of 650 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 790 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,448 m.

The land around Sar-e Pul is covered by bare terrain (40%) and cropland (30%) within 3 km, bare terrain (43%) and grassland (37%) within 16 km, and grassland (50%) and bare terrain (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
134 m
16 km
790 m
80 km
3,448 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Winter weather nearby: Shibirghān 53 km · Sang-e Chārak 61 km · Balkh 105 km · Maymana 108 km · Andkhoy 109 km · Mazār-e Sharīf 119 km · Qarqīn 134 km · Termez 164 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 Sar-e Pul (36.2154°, 65.9325°, elevation 657 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.