Bishkek in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Bishkek sees average daytime highs around -2°C and overnight lows near -9°C, with 157 mm of precipitation over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -2°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Bishkek's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Bishkek's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- -2°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -9°C
- Precipitation
- 157 mm
- 29 wet days
- Avg wind
- 7 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Bishkek in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -2°C.
A typical winter day in Bishkek reaches about -2°C and drops to -9°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Bishkek
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.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Bishkek 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -4° / -11° | 45 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 0.0 |
| Feb | -2° / -9° | 61 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 5° / -4° | 113 | 15.4 | 10.1 | 11.6 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 12° / 2° | 173 | 16.8 | 8.9 | 13.1 | 2.6 |
| May | 16° / 6° | 167 | 18.9 | 6.7 | 14.4 | 4.1 |
| Jun | 21° / 10° | 138 | 21.2 | 1.3 | 15.1 | 4.8 |
| Jul | 23° / 13° | 128 | 20.2 | 0.1 | 14.8 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 22° / 11° | 100 | 17.4 | 0.4 | 13.8 | 5.9 |
| Sep | 18° / 7° | 90 | 16.1 | 3.9 | 12.3 | 5.1 |
| Oct | 11° / 1° | 81 | 11.4 | 6.8 | 10.8 | 2.8 |
| Nov | 4° / -5° | 67 | 9.7 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 0.3 |
| Dec | -2° / -9° | 51 | 9.4 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Bishkek gets around 157 mm of rain and snow over 29 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 7 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.8 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Bishkek?
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.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Bishkek.
What to pack for Bishkek in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Bishkek sees daytime highs around -2°C and nights near -9°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 29 days see rain.
UV index in Bishkek in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bishkek peaks around May 20 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 5 | High |
| May | 10 | Very high |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 4 | Moderate |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Air quality in Bishkek in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Bishkek is worst in May — around 47 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.9× the cleanest month (December, 16 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Bishkek's WHO annual average of 33.1 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 18 | 24 | 39 | 45 | 47 | 42 | 40 | 36 | 37 | 32 | 21 | 16 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | Moderate |
| Feb | 24 | Moderate |
| Mar | 39 | Poor |
| Apr | 45 | Poor |
| May | 47 | Poor |
| Jun | 42 | Poor |
| Jul | 40 | Poor |
| Aug | 36 | Poor |
| Sep | 37 | Poor |
| Oct | 32 | Moderate |
| Nov | 21 | Moderate |
| Dec | 16 | Moderate |
Where is Bishkek?
Bishkek sits at 42.9°N, 74.6°E, 767 m above sea level, in Kyrgyzstan. The nearest listed city is Lebedinovka, 7.0 km away.
Topography around Bishkek
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Bishkek.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Bishkek has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 118 m around an average of 765 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 855 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,311 m.
The land around Bishkek is covered by artificial surfaces (86%) within 3 km, cropland (46%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 16 km, and grassland (55%) and cropland (29%) within 80 km.
Kyrgyzstan travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 33% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $3,081
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 74%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.7
- per 100k, 2020
- Road deaths
- 12.7
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Lower middle
- World Bank
- English
- Very low
- EF EPI 443
- Religion
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 Bishkek (42.87°, 74.59°, elevation 767 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.