Climate and average weather in Gjakovë

In Gjakovë, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early May to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gjakovë typically varies from -3°C to 28°C, and is rarely below -10°C or above 34°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Gjakovë for warm-weather activities is from early May to mid October.

Hottest
Aug
28°
Coldest
Jan
-3°
Wettest
Dec
87 mm
Driest
Aug
38 mm
Rain / yr
782 mm
123 wet days
Daylight
8.9–15.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
362 m
42.4°N
Clearest
Aug
34% cloud

Gjakovë is city in Kosovo.

Density
161/km²
people per km²

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

Gjakovë weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early May to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Gjakovë, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.5 months, from June 2 to September 16, with daily high temperatures above 23°C. The hottest month of the year in Gjakovë is August, with an average high of 28°C and low of 15°C.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 22 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 9°C. The coldest month of the year in Gjakovë is January, with an average low of -3°C and high of 5°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in August.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan5-3
Feb7-2
Mar111
Apr165
May219
Jun2513
Jul2815
Aug2815
Sep2311
Oct177
Nov112
Dec6-2

How hot and cold Gjakovë really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -5°C (around February 2), with roughly 109 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in February.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan55-3-3
Feb77-4-2
Mar111101
Apr161645
May212199
Jun25251313
Jul28281515
Aug28281515
Sep23231111
Oct171777
Nov111122
Dec66-2-2

Average hourly temperature in Gjakovë

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 28°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -3°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Gjakovë weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -3°639.85.99.30.0
Feb / -2°64105.610.30.9
Mar11° / 7811.43.911.62.8
Apr16° / 7512.71.113.14.6
May21° / 7513.2014.46.0
Jun25° / 13°53110156.8
Jul28° / 15°518.9014.86.6
Aug28° / 15°387.5013.76.7
Sep23° / 11°568.1012.37.2
Oct17° / 6590.410.85.7
Nov11° / 7810.22.29.62.8
Dec / -2°8711.25.190.3

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Gjakovë gets about 782 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from around Feb 4 to Jun 23, peaking in April at about 45% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 22.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 87 mm over about 11 wet days; August is the driest, with 38 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 14 · 45%Aug 22 · 22%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3210
Feb3610
Mar3611
Apr4313
May4213
Jun3711
Jul299
Aug258
Sep278
Oct299
Nov3410
Dec3611

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gjakovë collects about 782 mm of rain across 123 wet days — roughly 65 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 87 mm, while August is the driest at just 38 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec636478757553513856657887
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan63106
Feb64106
Mar78114
Apr75131
May75130
Jun53110
Jul5190
Aug3880
Sep5680
Oct6590
Nov78102
Dec87115

Snow in Gjakovë

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Gjakovë averages about 24 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 19 to Apr 25 — about 6.2 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 29 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 150 cm of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 30
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan629
Feb634
Mar424
Apr113
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct02
Nov219
Dec530

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Gjakovë, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 28 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around October 2. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 3 and lasts for 7.8 months, ending around May 27. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 58% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 18 · 83%Feb 26 · 40%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4654
Feb4258
Mar4555
Apr4852
May5248
Jun7030
Jul8020
Aug8119
Sep6337
Oct5446
Nov4555
Dec4357

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 13, brings about 15 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.37:114:24
Feb10.36:445:01
Mar11.65:595:37
Apr13.15:046:13
May14.44:226:47
Jun15.04:067:11
Jul14.84:197:08
Aug13.74:506:34
Sep12.35:245:41
Oct10.85:584:48
Nov9.66:374:10
Dec9.07:074:02

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Gjakovë averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 20 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.7 months, from around Jun 8 to Sep 27. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 19 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is February, down near 8 sunny days — about 55% fewer than the August peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 1420 daysFeb 268 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May9Mixed
Jun13Mixed
Jul18Bright
Aug19Bright
Sep13Mixed
Oct12Mixed
Nov10Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Gjakovë, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 8% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 27 · 100%Aug 3 · 86%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May9460
Jun62335
Jul49429
Aug51418
Sep81181
Oct9730
Nov10000
Dec10000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Gjakovë is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmMar 14 · 5 km/hNov 9 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Best time to visit Gjakovë

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gjakovë throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid May, Gjakovë is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gjakovë for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to mid October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 4 · 7.4

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.9poor
Mar2.8poor
Apr4.6fair
May6.0good
Jun6.8good
Jul6.6good
Aug6.7good
Sep7.2good
Oct5.7good
Nov2.8poor
Dec0.4poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gjakovë for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 17 · 7.8

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Gjakovë, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 28°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 5°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Gjakovë sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 15°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gjakovë by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gjakovë peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 9Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr8Very high
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Gjakovë

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar5.50
Apr73.5
May7.53.5
Jun8.55
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep60
Oct3.50
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Gjakovë typically lasts about 273 days, from around March 4 to December 1 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 9 to October 24.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 450%Apr 990%Oct 2490%Dec 150%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2531
Feb3328
Mar6431
Apr949
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct958
Nov6930
Dec3531

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Gjakovë banks about 1,438 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr23
May153
Jun273
Jul357
Aug358
Sep212
Oct62
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Gjakovë receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.5 and 6.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 20 to Sep 20. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 76% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 246.6 kWhDec 181.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.6Moderate
Mar3.9Moderate
Apr5.1Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.5Intense
Jul6.5Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov2.0Dim
Dec1.5Dim

Where is Gjakovë?

Gjakovë sits at 42.4°N, 20.4°E, 362 m above sea level, in Kosovo. The nearest listed city is Orahovac, 19 km away.

OrahovacDeçanPrizrenSuva RekaPejëLlazicëKukësDragash

Topography around Gjakovë

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gjakovë has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 107 m around an average of 372 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,201 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,696 m.

The land around Gjakovë is covered by cropland (39%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, trees (39%), grassland (34%) and cropland (23%) within 16 km, and trees (55%) and grassland (31%) within 80 km.

3 km
107 m
16 km
1,201 m
80 km
2,696 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Orahovac 19 km · Deçan 21 km · Prizren 31 km · Suva Reka 32 km · Pejë 33 km · Llazicë 34 km · Kukës 34 km · Dragash 43 km

Kosovo travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 41% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$7,899
2025
Homicide rate
1.9
per 100k, 2021
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
Religion
Muslim 96%Roman Catholic 2%Orthodox 2%other 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 Gjakovë (42.3803°, 20.4308°, elevation 362 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).