Balqash weather in January

In January, Balqash sees average daytime highs of -9°C and overnight lows near -14°C, with 10 mm of precipitation across 4 wet days and about 8.8 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -9°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Balqash's 12th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Balqash's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-9°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-14°
1st coldest
Precipitation
10 mm
4 wet days
Daylight
8 h 42 min
8:48 AM – 5:31 PM
Cloud cover
66%
12th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
12th windiest
Solar energy
1.73 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Balqash is city in Kazakhstan.

Density
354/km²
people per km²
Founded
1932

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -9°C through the month.

A typical January day in Balqash reaches about -9°C in the afternoon and slips back to -14°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -16°C and -2°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-25°-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-8-13
2-8-13
3-8-13
4-8-13
5-8-13
6-8-13
7-8-13
8-8-13
9-8-13
10-8-13
11-8-14
12-9-14
13-9-14
14-9-14
15-9-14
16-9-14
17-9-14
18-9-14
19-9-14
20-9-14
21-9-14
22-9-14
23-9-14
24-9-14
25-9-14
26-9-14
27-9-14
28-9-14
29-9-14
30-9-14
31-8-14

How January really feels in Balqash

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Balqash weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-9° / -14°1043.98.80.0
Feb-6° / -12°103.22.7100.0
Mar / -5°143.91.111.60.1
Apr12° / 112.80.313.33.6
May21° / 13°143.3014.87.9
Jun27° / 19°154015.67.5
Jul29° / 21°153.3015.36.9
Aug27° / 19°62.20148.2
Sep20° / 13°41.1012.48.1
Oct11° / 103.20.210.63.6
Nov / -3°164.11.59.20.1
Dec-6° / -11°133.63.38.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 65%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13466
23367
33367
43268
53268
63169
73169
83169
93169
103169
113169
123169
133268
143268
153268
163367
173367
183565
193565
203664
213862
223862
233961
243961
253961
263961
273961
283862
293862
303763
313763

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Balqash gets around 10 mm of rain and snow over 4 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 13% and peaks near 16% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11513
21513
31513
41613
51613
61513
71514
81514
91514
101514
111513
121413
131413
141313
151313
161313
171213
181213
191213
201213
211113
221112
231112
241112
251012
261012
271011
281011
291011
301011
311011

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 15 km/h in January, the calmest month.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 15 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2415light breeze
2515light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:51 AM to 8:35 AM, and sunset from 5:15 PM to 5:52 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.48:515:15
28.48:515:16
38.48:515:17
48.48:515:18
58.58:515:19
68.58:515:20
78.58:515:21
88.58:515:22
98.58:515:23
108.68:505:24
118.68:505:25
128.68:505:26
138.68:495:27
148.78:495:29
158.78:485:30
168.78:485:31
178.88:475:32
188.88:465:34
198.88:465:35
208.98:455:36
218.98:445:38
228.98:445:39
239.08:435:40
249.08:425:42
259.08:415:43
269.18:405:45
279.18:395:46
289.28:385:47
299.28:375:49
309.28:365:50
319.38:355:52

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.73 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.34 kWh/m² to a high of 7.17 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.73 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.4Dim
21.4Dim
31.4Dim
41.4Dim
51.4Dim
61.5Dim
71.5Dim
81.5Dim
91.5Dim
101.5Dim
111.6Dim
121.6Dim
131.6Dim
141.6Dim
151.7Dim
161.7Dim
171.7Dim
181.8Dim
191.8Dim
201.8Dim
211.9Dim
221.9Dim
231.9Dim
242.0Dim
252.0Dim
262.0Moderate
272.0Moderate
282.1Moderate
292.1Moderate
302.1Moderate
312.2Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Balqash?

Our two travel scores rate January for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Balqash.

What to pack for Balqash in January

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

In January, Balqash sees daytime highs around -9°C and nights near -14°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Balqash in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Balqash peaks around August 10 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highVery highModerateLowAug 10UV 7Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7High
Jul7Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Balqash in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Balqash is worst in April — around 46 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 6.3× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModeratePoorModerateGoodApr 1743 µg/m³Dec 228 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb11Good
Mar17Moderate
Apr46Poor
May23Moderate
Jun18Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep16Moderate
Oct21Moderate
Nov13Moderate
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Balqash?

Balqash sits at 46.8°N, 75.0°E, 372 m above sea level, in Kazakhstan. The nearest listed city is Ushtobe, 292 km away.

UshtobeTaldykorganAbayKaragandyTekeliShakhtinskSaranKonayev

Topography around Balqash

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Balqash has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 72 m around an average of 369 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 428 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,084 m.

The land around Balqash is covered by bare terrain (35%), artificial surfaces (28%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and water (29%) within 16 km, and grassland (60%) and water (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
72 m
16 km
428 m
80 km
1,084 m
shrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
January weather nearby: Ushtobe 292 km · Taldykorgan 332 km · Abay 348 km · Karagandy 357 km · Tekeli 364 km · Shakhtinsk 364 km · Saran 365 km · Konayev 369 km

Kazakhstan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 33% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$14,692
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
92%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2.6
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 417
Religion
Muslim 69%Christian 17%non-believers 2%Buddhism 0%

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 Balqash (46.8455°, 74.9821°, elevation 372 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).