Climate and average weather in Punakha
In Punakha, the summers are mild, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Punakha typically varies from -1°C to 20°C, and is rarely below -5°C or above 22°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Punakha for warm-weather activities are from late April to mid June and early September to mid November.
- Hottest
- Aug
- 20°
- Coldest
- Jan
- -1°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 735 mm
- Driest
- Nov
- 111 mm
- Rain / yr
- 3674 mm
- 302 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.3–13.7 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 1,293 m
- 27.6°N
- Clearest
- Oct
- 63% cloud
Punakha is city in Bhutan.
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Punakha 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 early September to mid November.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Punakha, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 5.6 months, from April 29 to October 14, with daily high temperatures above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Punakha is August, with an average high of 20°C and low of 14°C.
The cool season lasts 2.3 months, from December 17 to February 24, with daily high temperatures below 10°C. The coldest month of the year in Punakha is January, with an average low of -1°C and high of 8°C.
Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 |
| Avg low (°C) | -1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | -1 |
| Feb | 10 | 1 |
| Mar | 13 | 3 |
| Apr | 16 | 7 |
| May | 19 | 10 |
| Jun | 20 | 13 |
| Jul | 20 | 14 |
| Aug | 20 | 14 |
| Sep | 19 | 12 |
| Oct | 17 | 8 |
| Nov | 14 | 4 |
| Dec | 10 | 1 |
How hot and cold Punakha really feels
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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -1°C (around January 9), with roughly 42 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 |
| Air high (°C) | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Air low (°C) | -1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 8 | -1 | -1 |
| Feb | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar | 13 | 13 | 3 | 3 |
| Apr | 16 | 16 | 7 | 7 |
| May | 19 | 19 | 10 | 10 |
| Jun | 20 | 20 | 13 | 13 |
| Jul | 20 | 20 | 14 | 14 |
| Aug | 20 | 20 | 14 | 14 |
| Sep | 19 | 19 | 12 | 12 |
| Oct | 17 | 17 | 8 | 8 |
| Nov | 14 | 14 | 4 | 4 |
| Dec | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
Average hourly temperature in Punakha
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 August afternoons, near 20°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -1°C.
Punakha weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8° / -1° | 162 | 20.9 | 14.1 | 10.5 | 1.1 |
| Feb | 10° / 1° | 192 | 22.7 | 11.3 | 11 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 13° / 3° | 242 | 27.1 | 4.9 | 11.8 | 2.1 |
| Apr | 16° / 7° | 208 | 26.6 | 0.2 | 12.6 | 3.1 |
| May | 19° / 10° | 265 | 28.5 | 0 | 13.3 | 3.5 |
| Jun | 20° / 13° | 501 | 29.5 | 0 | 13.7 | 3.2 |
| Jul | 20° / 14° | 735 | 30.9 | 0 | 13.6 | 3.1 |
| Aug | 20° / 14° | 571 | 30.4 | 0 | 13 | 3.2 |
| Sep | 19° / 12° | 385 | 27.9 | 0 | 12.2 | 3.4 |
| Oct | 17° / 8° | 185 | 21.7 | 0 | 11.3 | 4.0 |
| Nov | 14° / 4° | 111 | 17.4 | 0.4 | 10.6 | 3.2 |
| Dec | 10° / 1° | 116 | 18.8 | 5.8 | 10.3 | 2.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Punakha gets about 3674 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 7.4 months, from around Feb 19 to Oct 1, peaking in June at about 100% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 7.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 735 mm over about 31 wet days; November is the driest, with 111 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 67 | 81 | 88 | 88 | 92 | 98 | 100 | 98 | 93 | 70 | 60 | 60 |
| Rain days | 21 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 22 | 17 | 19 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 21 |
| Feb | 81 | 23 |
| Mar | 88 | 27 |
| Apr | 88 | 27 |
| May | 92 | 29 |
| Jun | 98 | 30 |
| Jul | 100 | 31 |
| Aug | 98 | 30 |
| Sep | 93 | 28 |
| Oct | 70 | 22 |
| Nov | 60 | 17 |
| Dec | 60 | 19 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Punakha collects about 3674 mm of rain across 302 wet days — roughly 306 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 735 mm, while November is the driest at just 111 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 49% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 162 | 192 | 242 | 208 | 265 | 501 | 735 | 571 | 385 | 185 | 111 | 116 |
| Rain days | 21 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 22 | 17 | 19 |
| Snow days | 14 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 162 | 21 | 14 |
| Feb | 192 | 23 | 11 |
| Mar | 242 | 27 | 5 |
| Apr | 208 | 27 | 0 |
| May | 265 | 29 | 0 |
| Jun | 501 | 30 | 0 |
| Jul | 735 | 31 | 0 |
| Aug | 571 | 30 | 0 |
| Sep | 385 | 28 | 0 |
| Oct | 185 | 22 | 0 |
| Nov | 111 | 17 | 0 |
| Dec | 116 | 19 | 6 |
Snow in Punakha
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.
Punakha averages about 37 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 18 to Apr 6 — about 4.6 months.
January is snowiest, with roughly 13 days of snow and an estimated 74 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 169 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 14 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 74 | 60 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 74 |
| Feb | 11 | 60 |
| Mar | 5 | 16 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 1 |
| Dec | 6 | 18 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Punakha, 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 September 27 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around February 23. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around April 19 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around September 26. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 98% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 33 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 43 | 40 | 35 |
| Cloudier (%) | 67 | 74 | 78 | 78 | 84 | 94 | 98 | 97 | 86 | 57 | 60 | 65 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 67 |
| Feb | 26 | 74 |
| Mar | 22 | 78 |
| Apr | 22 | 78 |
| May | 16 | 84 |
| Jun | 6 | 94 |
| Jul | 2 | 98 |
| Aug | 3 | 97 |
| Sep | 14 | 86 |
| Oct | 43 | 57 |
| Nov | 40 | 60 |
| Dec | 35 | 65 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 5, brings about 13 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 3 h 24 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.5 | 11.0 | 11.8 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 10.6 | 10.3 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:57 | 6:44 | 6:16 | 5:41 | 5:16 | 5:09 | 5:18 | 5:35 | 5:50 | 6:06 | 6:27 | 6:49 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:23 | 5:46 | 6:04 | 6:20 | 6:38 | 6:53 | 6:54 | 6:34 | 6:00 | 5:25 | 5:04 | 5:05 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10.5 | 6:57 | 5:23 |
| Feb | 11.0 | 6:44 | 5:46 |
| Mar | 11.8 | 6:16 | 6:04 |
| Apr | 12.6 | 5:41 | 6:20 |
| May | 13.3 | 5:16 | 6:38 |
| Jun | 13.7 | 5:09 | 6:53 |
| Jul | 13.6 | 5:18 | 6:54 |
| Aug | 13.0 | 5:35 | 6:34 |
| Sep | 12.2 | 5:50 | 6:00 |
| Oct | 11.3 | 6:06 | 5:25 |
| Nov | 10.6 | 6:27 | 5:04 |
| Dec | 10.3 | 6:49 | 5:05 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Punakha averages about 3 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 9 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Sep 30 to Feb 27. The sunniest month is November, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).
The greyest month is June, down near 0 sunny days — about 97% fewer than the November peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 4 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 3 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 2 | Gloomy |
| May | 1 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 0 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 0 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 0 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 1 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 7 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 7 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 6 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
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 Punakha, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 4% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 84 | 24 | 2 | 7 | 41 | 94 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 74 | 92 | 89 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 84 | 16 | 0 |
| Jun | 24 | 74 | 2 |
| Jul | 2 | 92 | 6 |
| Aug | 7 | 89 | 4 |
| Sep | 41 | 58 | 0 |
| Oct | 94 | 6 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 |
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 Punakha is steady company: average speeds sit near 3 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | calm |
| Feb | 4 | calm |
| Mar | 3 | calm |
| Apr | 3 | calm |
| May | 3 | calm |
| Jun | 3 | calm |
| Jul | 3 | calm |
| Aug | 3 | calm |
| Sep | 3 | calm |
| Oct | 3 | calm |
| Nov | 3 | calm |
| Dec | 3 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Punakha
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Punakha's rainy season runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Punakha
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Punakha throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid September, Punakha is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.
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 times of year to visit Punakha for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to mid June and again from early September to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of October.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 2.0 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.1 | poor |
| Feb | 1.4 | poor |
| Mar | 2.1 | poor |
| Apr | 3.1 | poor |
| May | 3.4 | poor |
| Jun | 3.2 | poor |
| Jul | 3.1 | poor |
| Aug | 3.2 | poor |
| Sep | 3.4 | poor |
| Oct | 4.0 | fair |
| Nov | 3.2 | poor |
| Dec | 2.0 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Punakha for hot-weather activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of August.
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 Punakha, by month
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 August (highs near 20°C), the essentials are rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near 8°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.
In August, Punakha sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 14°C. Pack rain gear. About 30 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Punakha by month
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 Punakha peaks around July 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 5 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 5 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
| Level | Moderate | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | Moderate |
| Feb | 7 | High |
| Mar | 10 | Very high |
| Apr | 11 | Extreme |
| May | 13 | Extreme |
| Jun | 14 | Extreme |
| Jul | 15 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 9 | Very high |
| Nov | 6 | High |
| Dec | 5 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Punakha
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 July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 4.5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 7 | 5.5 | 4.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 2.5 | 5 | 6 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 6 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.5 | 0 |
| Feb | 6 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 7 | 5 |
| Apr | 8 | 6 |
| May | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 9 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 9 | 7 |
| Aug | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 7 | 4.5 |
| Nov | 5.5 | 2 |
| Dec | 4.5 | 0 |
Air quality in Punakha by month
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 Punakha is worst in February — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.4× the cleanest month (September, 4 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) | 7 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Level | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Good |
| Feb | 16 | Moderate |
| Mar | 15 | Moderate |
| Apr | 15 | Moderate |
| May | 10 | Good |
| Jun | 6 | Good |
| Jul | 4 | Good |
| Aug | 4 | Good |
| Sep | 4 | Good |
| Oct | 4 | Good |
| Nov | 5 | Good |
| Dec | 6 | Good |
Growing season
The growing season in Punakha typically lasts about 325 days, from around February 5 to December 26 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 13 to December 3.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 40 | 60 | 90 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 97 | 69 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 31 |
| Feb | 60 | 28 |
| Mar | 90 | 12 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 97 | 0 |
| Dec | 69 | 29 |
Growing degree days
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. Punakha banks about 1,036 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 132 | 191 | 213 | 212 | 170 | 77 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 41 |
| May | 132 |
| Jun | 191 |
| Jul | 213 |
| Aug | 212 |
| Sep | 170 |
| Oct | 77 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Punakha receives about 3.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.6 and 5.0 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around Feb 25 to Jun 22. The brightest month is May, averaging about 4.9 kWh/m² (bright).
The dimmest month is December, down near 2.7 kWh/m² — roughly 45% less than the May peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3.5 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4.3 | Bright |
| Apr | 5.0 | Bright |
| May | 4.8 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.1 | Bright |
| Jul | 3.3 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3.6 | Moderate |
| Sep | 3.7 | Moderate |
| Oct | 3.7 | Moderate |
| Nov | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2.6 | Moderate |
Where is Punakha?
Punakha sits at 27.6°N, 89.9°E, 1,293 m above sea level, in Bhutan. The nearest listed city is Thimphu, 27 km away.
Topography around Punakha
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Punakha.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Punakha has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,103 m around an average of 1,495 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,669 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,227 m.
The land around Punakha is covered by trees (62%) and grassland (21%) within 3 km, trees (88%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) within 80 km.
Bhutan travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / D / F / G / M
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 23% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $4,493
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.1 / 10
- World Happiness, 2018
- Safe drinking water
- 66%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 2.5
- per 100k, 2020
- Road deaths
- 16.2
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Lower middle
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 473
- 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 Punakha (27.5914°, 89.8774°, elevation 1,293 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).