Karbala in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Karbala sees average daytime highs around 18°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 51 mm of rain over about 10 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 64% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
18°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
8°C
Rainfall
51 mm
10 wet days
Avg wind
12 km/h
Travel score
7.0
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Karbala in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 18°C.

A typical winter day in Karbala reaches about 18°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

10°20°30°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Karbala

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.

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

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Karbala 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 daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan16° / 204.110.16.3
Feb19° / 15310.87.6
Mar25° / 13°132.511.88.6
Apr31° / 18°112.312.85.7
May37° / 24°30.613.71.8
Jun42° / 28°0014.10.0
Jul44° / 30°0013.90.0
Aug44° / 29°0013.20.0
Sep41° / 26°0012.20.3
Oct34° / 20°40.911.24.0
Nov24° / 13°192.910.38.3
Dec18° / 173.19.97.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 64% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Karbala gets around 51 mm of rain over 10 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%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 12 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 hours in early December to 11 h 12 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 3.6 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Karbala

In seasonPeak

None of Karbala's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Karbala sees seasonal dust haze (March–October), heaviest in May.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Karbala?

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.

7.0
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
2.4
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Karbala for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Karbala in Winter

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

In winter, Karbala sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Karbala 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 Karbala peaks around June 15 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highHighHighModerateJun 15UV 10Jan 12UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul7Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Karbala 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 Karbala is worst in May — around 77 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyMay 1376 µg/m³Jul 2260 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan68Unhealthy
Feb68Unhealthy
Mar73Unhealthy
Apr72Unhealthy
May77Unhealthy
Jun64Unhealthy
Jul60Unhealthy
Aug61Unhealthy
Sep65Unhealthy
Oct70Unhealthy
Nov63Unhealthy
Dec70Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Karbala?

Karbala sits at 32.6°N, 44.0°E, 32 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Al Hindīyah, 20 km away.

Al MaḩmūdīyahAl-Qāsim

Topography around Karbala

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Karbala has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 19 m around an average of 32 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 178 m.

The land around Karbala is covered by artificial surfaces (76%) within 3 km, bare terrain (49%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (59%) and cropland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
19 m
16 km
57 m
80 km
178 m
treesshrubscroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Al Hindīyah 20 km · Saddat al Hindīyah 26 km · Al-Musayab 31 km · Al Maḩāwīl 36 km · Al Hillah 41 km · Nāḩiyat al Iskandarīyah 43 km · Al Maḩmūdīyah 59 km · Al-Qāsim 71 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
Christian 1%

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 Karbala (32.616°, 44.0249°, elevation 32 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.