Climate and average weather in Shibirghān

In Shibirghān, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late September to early November

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Shibirghān typically varies from 1°C to 39°C, and is rarely below -5°C or above 43°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Shibirghān for warm-weather activities are from mid April to late April and late September to early November.

Hottest
Jul
39°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Mar
53 mm
Driest
Aug
0 mm
Rain / yr
232 mm
46 wet days
Daylight
9.5–14.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
360 m
36.7°N
Clearest
Aug
3% cloud

Shibirghān is capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.

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

Shibirghān 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 late September to early November.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from May 15 to September 18, with daily high temperatures above 32°C. The hottest month of the year in Shibirghān is July, with an average high of 39°C and low of 24°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 19 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 15°C. The coldest month of the year in Shibirghān is January, with an average low of 1°C and high of 9°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 16°C) in September.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan91
Feb122
Mar187
Apr2513
May3218
Jun3722
Jul3924
Aug3722
Sep3217
Oct2411
Nov165
Dec102

How hot and cold Shibirghān 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, Shibirghān feels like about 39°C (around July 8). About 123 days a year carry some heat stress, and 18 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°C (around January 11), with roughly 85 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan99-31
Feb1212-12
Mar181857
Apr25251313
May32321818
Jun37372222
Jul39392424
Aug37372222
Sep32321617
Oct24241011
Nov161635
Dec1010-22

Average hourly temperature in Shibirghān

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 July afternoons, near 39°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

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

Shibirghān 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
Jan / 347.329.82.1
Feb12° / 428.11.710.63.1
Mar18° / 538.90.711.75.7
Apr25° / 13°356.1012.97.3
May32° / 18°153.1013.95.0
Jun37° / 22°20.6014.51.9
Jul39° / 24°00014.30.7
Aug37° / 22°00.1013.42.0
Sep32° / 17°10.1012.25.6
Oct24° / 11°41.1011.18.9
Nov16° / 214.70.4105.8
Dec10° / 275.71.59.52.8

Chance of rain

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

Shibirghān gets about 232 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from around Nov 8 to May 9, peaking in February at about 31% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 28.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 53 mm over about 9 wet days; August is the driest, with 0 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetFeb 10 · 31%Jun 28 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan237
Feb298
Mar289
Apr206
May103
Jun21
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct41
Nov155
Dec196

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Shibirghān collects about 232 mm of rain across 46 wet days — roughly 19 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 53 mm, while August is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 55% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3442533515200142127
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3472
Feb4282
Mar5391
Apr3560
May1530
Jun210
Jul000
Aug000
Sep100
Oct410
Nov2150
Dec2762

Snow in Shibirghān

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.

Shibirghān averages about 6 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 21 to Mar 21 — about 4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.8 days of snow and an estimated 8 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 25 cm of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 2
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan27
Feb28
Mar13
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec26

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Shibirghān, 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 11 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around November 1. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 2 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around May 10. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 31 · 100%Feb 19 · 43%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4951
Feb4456
Mar4852
Apr5743
May7921
Jun973
Jul991
Aug1000
Sep982
Oct8713
Nov6535
Dec5545

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 11, brings about 14 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 5 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.87:245:09
Feb10.67:035:40
Mar11.76:256:08
Apr12.95:396:35
May13.95:057:02
Jun14.54:527:22
Jul14.35:047:21
Aug13.45:296:53
Sep12.25:546:08
Oct11.16:215:23
Nov10.06:524:53
Dec9.57:184:48

Sunny days

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

Shibirghān averages about 20 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 30 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.6 months, from around May 16 to Nov 1. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 30 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 10 sunny days — about 66% fewer than the August peak.

05101520253035JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 2630 daysFeb 2310 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr13Mixed
May20Bright
Jun27Brilliant
Jul30Brilliant
Aug31Brilliant
Sep29Brilliant
Oct25Brilliant
Nov16Bright
Dec13Mixed

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 Shibirghān, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in May, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 2% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar9910
Apr84141
May84142
Jun9640
Jul9820
Aug9910
Sep10000
Oct10000
Nov10000
Dec10000

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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Shibirghān is typically light breeze, near 12 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 3.0 months, from around Jun 4 to Sep 3. The windiest month is July, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Sep 4 to Jan 27, with October the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeJul 23 · 14 km/hOct 7 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan12calm
Feb13light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May12calm
Jun13light breeze
Jul14light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep11calm
Oct11calm
Nov11calm
Dec11calm

Hazard calendar for Shibirghān

In seasonPeak

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

Shibirghān sees seasonal dust haze (April–May), heaviest in May.

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

Best time to visit Shibirghān

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late October, Shibirghān 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 Shibirghān for general outdoor tourist activities is from late September to early November, with a peak score in the third week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 15 · 9.2

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
Jan2.1poor
Feb3.2poor
Mar5.7good
Apr7.2good
May5.0fair
Jun1.9poor
Jul0.8poor
Aug2.1poor
Sep5.6good
Oct8.8ideal
Nov5.8good
Dec2.8poor

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 Shibirghān for hot-weather activities run from late April to late May and again from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 27 · 9.3

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 Shibirghān, 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 July (highs near 39°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 9°C), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Shibirghān sees daytime highs around 39°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Shibirghān 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 Shibirghān peaks around June 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 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 highModerateJun 23UV 9Jan 11UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Shibirghān

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 5.5 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)
Jan00
Feb3.50
Mar50
Apr6.52
May84.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54
Sep73.5
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Shibirghān 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 Shibirghān is worst in April — around 35 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (January, 21 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateApr 1634 µg/m³Jan 1621 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan21Moderate
Feb23Moderate
Mar32Moderate
Apr35Moderate
May31Moderate
Jun24Moderate
Jul26Moderate
Aug24Moderate
Sep26Moderate
Oct26Moderate
Nov26Moderate
Dec23Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Shibirghān is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 6 to November 18 (258 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 690%Nov 1890%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan5731
Feb6928
Mar954
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov9112
Dec6631

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. Shibirghān banks about 3,374 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar75
Apr267
May462
Jun594
Jul672
Aug609
Sep427
Oct230
Nov39
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.

Shibirghān receives about 5.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.4 and 8.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 30 to Sep 30. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 69% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 18.0 kWhDec 182.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.4Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr6.0Intense
May7.2Intense
Jun7.9Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug7.2Intense
Sep6.0Bright
Oct4.4Bright
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.4Moderate

Where is Shibirghān?

Shibirghān sits at 36.7°N, 65.8°E, 360 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Sar-e Pul, 53 km away.

QarqīnBalkhSang-e ChārakMaymanaMazār-e SharīfMagdanly

Topography around Shibirghān

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Shibirghān has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 25 m around an average of 359 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 309 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,632 m.

The land around Shibirghān is covered by artificial surfaces (48%) and cropland (28%) within 3 km, bare terrain (50%) and cropland (25%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (55%) and grassland (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
25 m
16 km
309 m
80 km
2,632 m
shrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Sar-e Pul 53 km · Andkhoy 64 km · Qarqīn 87 km · Balkh 102 km · Sang-e Chārak 110 km · Maymana 120 km · Mazār-e Sharīf 121 km · Magdanly 130 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 Shibirghān (36.6676°, 65.7529°, elevation 360 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).