Qulsary in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Qulsary sees average daytime highs around -3°C and overnight lows near -10°C, with 48 mm of precipitation over about 13 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -3°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
-3°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-10°C
Precipitation
48 mm
13 wet days
Avg wind
17 km/h
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Qulsary in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -3°C.

A typical winter day in Qulsary reaches about -3°C and drops to -10°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-20°-10°10°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Qulsary

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
90 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Qulsary 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 daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-4° / -10°154.74.48.80.0
Feb-2° / -10°143.63.1100.0
Mar / -3°194.51.811.61.1
Apr18° / 254.80.213.36.1
May26° / 13°254.9014.87.5
Jun31° / 18°183.7015.65.2
Jul34° / 21°112.7015.33.8
Aug32° / 19°61.40144.9
Sep25° / 12°92.6012.48.1
Oct16° / 163.80.210.65.6
Nov / -3°184.11.49.20.6
Dec-2° / -8°194.63.98.40.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Qulsary gets around 48 mm of rain and snow over 13 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 17 km/h across winter.

0510152025DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 36 min in early December to 10 h 42 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 1.6 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Qulsary?

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.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Qulsary.

What to pack for Qulsary in Winter

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

In winter, Qulsary sees daytime highs around -3°C and nights near -10°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

Sea temperature near Qulsary in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 2°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 69 km away) is warmest in July at about 26°C and coldest in February near 1°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 29 to Sep 11 — about 3.5 months when the water holds above 20°C.

0°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan1Bracing
Feb1Bracing
Mar2Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May18Cool
Jun23Refreshing
Jul26Warm
Aug25Warm
Sep19Cool
Oct12Bracing
Nov6Bracing
Dec3Bracing

UV index in Qulsary in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Qulsary peaks around June 18 at about 8 (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 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 18UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May7High
Jun8Very high
Jul7Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Qulsary 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 Qulsary is worst in April — around 24 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (January, 11 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateApr 1323 µg/m³Jan 1311 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb15Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr24Moderate
May18Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct18Moderate
Nov16Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Qulsary?

Qulsary sits at 47.0°N, 54.0°E, -14 m above sea level, in Kazakhstan. The nearest listed city is Atyrau, 163 km away.

EmbiKandyagashShalkarZhanaozenMangistauAktau

Topography around Qulsary

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Qulsary has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 14 m around an average of -11 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 23 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 238 m.

The land around Qulsary is covered by artificial surfaces (44%), grassland (29%) and bare terrain (23%) within 3 km, grassland (79%) within 16 km, and grassland (80%) and bare terrain (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
14 m
16 km
23 m
80 km
238 m
shrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Atyrau 163 km · Balykshi 164 km · Embi 372 km · Kandyagash 376 km · Shalkar 403 km · Zhanaozen 412 km · Mangistau 420 km · Aktau 428 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 Qulsary (46.9531°, 54.0198°, elevation -14 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.