Shymkent weather in January

In January, Shymkent sees average daytime highs of 4°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 70 mm of precipitation across 10.8 wet days and about 9.3 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 4°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 hours at the start of January to 9 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Shymkent's 12th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Shymkent's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-5°
1st coldest
Precipitation
70 mm
10.8 wet days
Daylight
9 h 12 min
8:54 AM – 6:08 PM
Cloud cover
66%
12th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
1.98 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Shymkent is city in Kazakhstan.

Density
3,458/km²
people per km²
Founded
1101

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 4°C through the month.

A typical January day in Shymkent reaches about 4°C in the afternoon and slips back to -5°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -3°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-10°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
15-4
25-4
34-4
44-4
54-4
64-4
74-4
84-4
94-5
104-5
114-5
124-5
134-5
144-5
153-5
163-5
173-5
184-5
194-5
204-5
214-5
224-5
234-5
244-5
254-4
264-4
274-4
284-4
295-4
305-4
315-4

How January really feels in Shymkent

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Shymkent weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -5°7010.86.79.30.0
Feb / -3°7910.3510.30.6
Mar13° / 8511.62.211.63.5
Apr20° / 9411.40.313.16.1
May25° / 14°649.1014.47.1
Jun31° / 18°275.50155.5
Jul33° / 20°122.6014.84.4
Aug32° / 18°81.4013.75.2
Sep27° / 13°102012.38.1
Oct20° / 355.10.310.87.2
Nov12° / 638.52.19.63.1
Dec / -3°689.4590.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% 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 63%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13961
23961
33961
43961
53862
63862
73862
83664
93664
103664
113664
123664
133664
143664
153664
163763
173664
183763
193862
203862
213862
223862
233862
243763
253763
263862
273763
283763
293763
303565
313565

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Shymkent gets around 70 mm of rain and snow over 10.8 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 34% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 7 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13219
23219
33219
43219
53220
63320
73320
83320
93421
103421
113421
123421
133421
143422
153422
163422
173422
183422
193522
203522
213522
223522
233622
243622
253622
263622
273722
283722
293722
303721
313721

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 7 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 8 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
318calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours at the start of January to 9 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 42 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:56 AM to 8:44 AM, and sunset from 5:53 PM to 6:26 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.08:565:53
29.08:565:54
39.08:565:55
49.08:565:56
59.08:565:57
69.08:565:58
79.08:565:59
89.18:565:59
99.18:566:00
109.18:566:01
119.18:566:02
129.18:556:03
139.28:556:04
149.28:556:06
159.28:546:07
169.28:546:08
179.38:546:09
189.38:536:10
199.38:536:11
209.38:526:12
219.48:526:13
229.48:516:15
239.48:506:16
249.58:506:17
259.58:496:18
269.58:486:19
279.68:486:21
289.68:476:22
299.68:466:23
309.78:456:24
319.78:446:26

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.98 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.69 kWh/m² to a high of 7.44 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.98 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.7Dim
21.8Dim
31.8Dim
41.8Dim
51.8Dim
61.8Dim
71.8Dim
81.8Dim
91.8Dim
101.9Dim
111.9Dim
121.9Dim
131.9Dim
141.9Dim
151.9Dim
162.0Dim
172.0Dim
182.0Moderate
192.0Moderate
202.1Moderate
212.1Moderate
222.1Moderate
232.1Moderate
242.1Moderate
252.2Moderate
262.2Moderate
272.2Moderate
282.2Moderate
292.3Moderate
302.3Moderate
312.3Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Shymkent

In seasonPeak

In January, Shymkent sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Shymkent's rainy season runs November–May, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is January a good time to visit Shymkent?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Shymkent.

What to pack for Shymkent in January

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

In January, Shymkent sees daytime highs around 4°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Shymkent in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Shymkent peaks around June 12 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 12UV 8Jan 10UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul7Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec2Low

Air quality in Shymkent 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 Shymkent is worst in May — around 24 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (December, 14 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMay 1224 µg/m³Dec 2314 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan14Moderate
Feb16Moderate
Mar22Moderate
Apr23Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun21Moderate
Jul20Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct21Moderate
Nov16Moderate
Dec14Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Shymkent?

Shymkent sits at 42.3°N, 69.6°E, 520 m above sea level, in Kazakhstan. The nearest listed city is Aksu, 22 km away.

Topography around Shymkent

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Shymkent has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 98 m around an average of 524 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 387 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,913 m.

The land around Shymkent is covered by artificial surfaces (87%) within 3 km, cropland (52%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 16 km, and grassland (60%) and cropland (33%) within 80 km.

3 km
98 m
16 km
387 m
80 km
3,913 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
January weather nearby: Aksu 22 km · Lenger 27 km · Turar Ryskulov 66 km · Arys 66 km · Iskandar 84 km · G‘azalkent 85 km · Chirchiq 94 km · Saryaghash 101 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 Shymkent (42.3099°, 69.6004°, elevation 520 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).