Balad in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Balad sees average daytime highs around 18°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 98 mm of rain over about 16 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 18°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 57% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Balad's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Balad's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 18°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 8°C
- Rainfall
- 98 mm
- 16 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 6.6
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Balad in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 18°C.
A typical winter day in Balad reaches about 18°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Balad
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Balad 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 | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16° / 7° | 36 | 6 | 10 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 19° / 8° | 29 | 4.4 | 10.7 | 7.1 |
| Mar | 24° / 12° | 27 | 4.4 | 11.7 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 31° / 18° | 16 | 2.8 | 12.8 | 5.8 |
| May | 37° / 23° | 4 | 1.4 | 13.7 | 1.8 |
| Jun | 42° / 28° | 0 | 0 | 14.2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 45° / 31° | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 45° / 30° | 0 | 0 | 13.3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 41° / 26° | 0 | 0.1 | 12.2 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 34° / 20° | 12 | 1.7 | 11.1 | 3.8 |
| Nov | 24° / 13° | 28 | 3.7 | 10.2 | 8.1 |
| Dec | 18° / 8° | 34 | 5.2 | 9.8 | 6.8 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 57% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Balad gets around 98 mm of rain over 16 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 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 min 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 3.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Balad
None of Balad's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Balad sees seasonal dust haze (March–September), heaviest in May.
Is winter a good time to visit Balad?
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 Balad for sightseeing.
What to pack for Balad in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Balad sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 16 days see rain.
UV index in Balad 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 Balad peaks around June 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 3 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 8 | Very high |
| Jun | 10 | Very high |
| Jul | 5 | Moderate |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 5 | Moderate |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Balad 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 Balad is worst in December — around 90 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), 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) | 88 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 79 | 68 | 65 | 68 | 72 | 85 | 82 | 90 |
| Level | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 88 | Unhealthy |
| Feb | 85 | Unhealthy |
| Mar | 84 | Unhealthy |
| Apr | 79 | Unhealthy |
| May | 79 | Unhealthy |
| Jun | 68 | Unhealthy |
| Jul | 65 | Unhealthy |
| Aug | 68 | Unhealthy |
| Sep | 72 | Unhealthy |
| Oct | 85 | Unhealthy |
| Nov | 82 | Unhealthy |
| Dec | 90 | Unhealthy |
Where is Balad?
Balad sits at 34.0°N, 44.1°E, 53 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Ad Dujayl, 20 km away.
Topography around Balad
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Balad.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Balad has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 13 m around an average of 48 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 28 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 224 m.
The land around Balad is covered by cropland (37%), trees (27%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, cropland (64%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (46%) and cropland (36%) within 80 km.
Iraq travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 4
- Do Not Travel
- Power plugs
- Type C / D / G
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 38% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $5,410
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.2 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 60%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 9.5
- per 100k, 2013
- Road deaths
- 27.3
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Very low
- EF EPI 406
- 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 Balad (34.0149°, 44.1457°, elevation 53 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.