Karakol weather in May

In May, Karakol sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 101 mm of precipitation across 16.2 wet days and about 14.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 11°C in the first days to 13°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 48 min at the start of May to 14 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Karakol's 12th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Karakol's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 12°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 1°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 101 mm; 16.2 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 24 min; 5:30 AM – 7:55 PM
Cloud cover: 64%; 12th clearest
Wind: 5 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 6.53 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.8; out of 10

Karakol is city in Kyrgyzstan.

Density: 1,755/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1869

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

← April Karakol year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 11°C in the first days to 13°C by the end.

A typical May day in Karakol reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 7°C and 17°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14
Avg low (°C)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	0
2	11	0
3	11	0
4	11	0
5	11	0
6	11	0
7	11	0
8	11	0
9	11	1
10	12	1
11	12	1
12	12	1
13	12	1
14	12	1
15	12	1
16	12	1
17	12	1
18	12	2
19	12	2
20	12	2
21	13	2
22	13	2
23	13	2
24	13	2
25	13	2
26	13	2
27	13	3
28	13	3
29	13	3
30	13	3
31	14	3

How May really feels in Karakol

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 18 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Karakol weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-8° / -18°	23	5.8	8.5	9.2	0.0
Feb	-5° / -15°	23	6.4	8.4	10.3	0.0
Mar	1° / -9°	37	9.2	10.4	11.6	0.0
Apr	8° / -3°	70	12.6	10.8	13.1	1.3
May	12° / 1°	101	16.2	9.3	14.4	2.8
Jun	16° / 5°	94	18.3	3.4	15.1	3.9
Jul	18° / 7°	97	18.6	0.5	14.8	4.9
Aug	18° / 7°	95	18	0.9	13.7	5.0
Sep	14° / 2°	78	16.4	6.3	12.3	3.8
Oct	8° / -5°	65	12.7	11.1	10.8	1.2
Nov	-0° / -12°	42	9.3	9.9	9.6	0.0
Dec	-6° / -16°	30	7.1	9.6	8.9	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 60%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	41	41	39	39	39	38	39	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	41	41	41	41	41	41	42	41	41	41	40	41	41	41	41	40	40
Cloudier (%)	59	59	61	61	61	62	61	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	59	59	59	59	59	59	58	59	59	59	60	59	59	59	59	60	60

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	40	60
15	41	59
16	41	59
17	41	59
18	41	59
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	42	58
22	41	59
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	40	60
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Karakol gets around 101 mm of rain and snow over 16.2 wet days in May, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 53% and peaks near 55% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	48	49	49	50	50	51	51	51	51	52	52	52	53	53	53	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	55	55
Snow chance (%)	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	30	29	29	28	27	25	24	23

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	48	32
2	49	32
3	49	32
4	50	32
5	50	31
6	51	31
7	51	31
8	51	30
9	51	30
10	52	30
11	52	30
12	52	30
13	53	30
14	53	31
15	53	31
16	54	31
17	54	31
18	54	31
19	54	31
20	54	31
21	54	31
22	54	31
23	54	31
24	54	30
25	54	29
26	54	29
27	54	28
28	54	27
29	54	25
30	55	24
31	55	23

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

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

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in May

Winds average 5 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	5	calm
18	5	calm
19	5	calm
20	5	calm
21	5	calm
22	5	calm
23	5	calm
24	5	calm
25	5	calm
26	5	calm
27	5	calm
28	5	calm
29	5	calm
30	5	calm
31	5	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 48 min at the start of May to 14 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:49 AM to 5:18 AM, and sunset from 7:38 PM to 8:09 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	13.8	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.9
Sunrise (AM)	5:49	5:47	5:46	5:45	5:43	5:42	5:41	5:39	5:38	5:37	5:36	5:35	5:34	5:32	5:31	5:30	5:29	5:28	5:27	5:26	5:26	5:25	5:24	5:23	5:22	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:19	5:19	5:18
Sunset (PM)	7:38	7:40	7:41	7:42	7:43	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:47	7:49	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:58	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:05	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:09

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.8	5:49	7:38
2	13.9	5:47	7:40
3	13.9	5:46	7:41
4	14.0	5:45	7:42
5	14.0	5:43	7:43
6	14.0	5:42	7:44
7	14.1	5:41	7:45
8	14.1	5:39	7:46
9	14.2	5:38	7:47
10	14.2	5:37	7:49
11	14.2	5:36	7:50
12	14.3	5:35	7:51
13	14.3	5:34	7:52
14	14.3	5:32	7:53
15	14.4	5:31	7:54
16	14.4	5:30	7:55
17	14.4	5:29	7:56
18	14.5	5:28	7:57
19	14.5	5:27	7:58
20	14.5	5:26	7:59
21	14.6	5:26	8:00
22	14.6	5:25	8:01
23	14.6	5:24	8:02
24	14.7	5:23	8:03
25	14.7	5:22	8:04
26	14.7	5:22	8:05
27	14.8	5:21	8:06
28	14.8	5:20	8:07
29	14.8	5:19	8:08
30	14.8	5:19	8:09
31	14.9	5:18	8:09

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.53 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.06 kWh/m² to a high of 6.67 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 6.53 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	6.3	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.3	Intense
2	6.3	Intense
3	6.4	Intense
4	6.4	Intense
5	6.4	Intense
6	6.4	Intense
7	6.4	Intense
8	6.4	Intense
9	6.4	Intense
10	6.5	Intense
11	6.5	Intense
12	6.5	Intense
13	6.5	Intense
14	6.5	Intense
15	6.5	Intense
16	6.5	Intense
17	6.5	Intense
18	6.5	Intense
19	6.6	Intense
20	6.6	Intense
21	6.6	Intense
22	6.6	Intense
23	6.6	Intense
24	6.6	Intense
25	6.6	Intense
26	6.6	Intense
27	6.6	Intense
28	6.7	Intense
29	6.7	Intense
30	6.7	Intense
31	6.7	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Karakol

In seasonPeak

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

Karakol's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Karakol?

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

2.8

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Karakol.

What to pack for Karakol in May

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

In May, Karakol sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 1°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer. About 16 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectiona warm layer

UV index in Karakol in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Karakol peaks around July 19 at about 10 (extreme) — 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 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	3	5	6	11	9	11	10	7	4	3	2
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Very high	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	11	Extreme
Jun	9	Very high
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	7	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	3	Moderate
Dec	2	Low

Air quality in Karakol in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Karakol is worst in April — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 7.4× the cleanest month (December, 3 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	4	6	17	23	20	16	14	15	12	10	4	3
Level	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	4	Good
Feb	6	Good
Mar	17	Moderate
Apr	23	Moderate
May	20	Moderate
Jun	16	Moderate
Jul	14	Moderate
Aug	15	Moderate
Sep	12	Good
Oct	10	Good
Nov	4	Good
Dec	3	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Karakol?

Karakol sits at 42.5°N, 78.4°E, 1,770 m above sea level, in Kyrgyzstan. The nearest listed city is Kyzyl-Suu, 36 km away.

Topography around Karakol

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Karakol has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 175 m around an average of 1,750 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,009 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,020 m.

The land around Karakol is covered by artificial surfaces (53%) and cropland (22%) within 3 km, grassland (46%) and cropland (36%) within 16 km, and grassland (44%) within 80 km.

3 km

175 m

artificial surfaces 53%

16 km

2,009 m

grassland 46%

80 km

4,020 m

grassland 44%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen

← April Karakol year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Kyzyl-Suu 36 km · Esik 123 km · Shelek 123 km · Talgar 130 km · Almaty 147 km · Otegen Batyra 152 km · Burunday 158 km · Balykchy 181 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 Karakol (42.4905°, 78.392°, elevation 1,770 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	0
2	11	0
3	11	0
4	11	0
5	11	0
6	11	0
7	11	0
8	11	0
9	11	1
10	12	1
11	12	1
12	12	1
13	12	1
14	12	1
15	12	1
16	12	1
17	12	1
18	12	2
19	12	2
20	12	2
21	13	2
22	13	2
23	13	2
24	13	2
25	13	2
26	13	2
27	13	3
28	13	3
29	13	3
30	13	3
31	14	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	40	60
15	41	59
16	41	59
17	41	59
18	41	59
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	42	58
22	41	59
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	40	60
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	48	32
2	49	32
3	49	32
4	50	32
5	50	31
6	51	31
7	51	31
8	51	30
9	51	30
10	52	30
11	52	30
12	52	30
13	53	30
14	53	31
15	53	31
16	54	31
17	54	31
18	54	31
19	54	31
20	54	31
21	54	31
22	54	31
23	54	31
24	54	30
25	54	29
26	54	29
27	54	28
28	54	27
29	54	25
30	55	24
31	55	23

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	0
2	11	0
3	11	0
4	11	0
5	11	0
6	11	0
7	11	0
8	11	0
9	11	1
10	12	1
11	12	1
12	12	1
13	12	1
14	12	1
15	12	1
16	12	1
17	12	1
18	12	2
19	12	2
20	12	2
21	13	2
22	13	2
23	13	2
24	13	2
25	13	2
26	13	2
27	13	3
28	13	3
29	13	3
30	13	3
31	14	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	40	60
15	41	59
16	41	59
17	41	59
18	41	59
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	42	58
22	41	59
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	40	60
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	48	32
2	49	32
3	49	32
4	50	32
5	50	31
6	51	31
7	51	31
8	51	30
9	51	30
10	52	30
11	52	30
12	52	30
13	53	30
14	53	31
15	53	31
16	54	31
17	54	31
18	54	31
19	54	31
20	54	31
21	54	31
22	54	31
23	54	31
24	54	30
25	54	29
26	54	29
27	54	28
28	54	27
29	54	25
30	55	24
31	55	23

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	0
2	11	0
3	11	0
4	11	0
5	11	0
6	11	0
7	11	0
8	11	0
9	11	1
10	12	1
11	12	1
12	12	1
13	12	1
14	12	1
15	12	1
16	12	1
17	12	1
18	12	2
19	12	2
20	12	2
21	13	2
22	13	2
23	13	2
24	13	2
25	13	2
26	13	2
27	13	3
28	13	3
29	13	3
30	13	3
31	14	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	40	60
15	41	59
16	41	59
17	41	59
18	41	59
19	41	59
20	41	59
21	42	58
22	41	59
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	40	60
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	48	32
2	49	32
3	49	32
4	50	32
5	50	31
6	51	31
7	51	31
8	51	30
9	51	30
10	52	30
11	52	30
12	52	30
13	53	30
14	53	31
15	53	31
16	54	31
17	54	31
18	54	31
19	54	31
20	54	31
21	54	31
22	54	31
23	54	31
24	54	30
25	54	29
26	54	29
27	54	28
28	54	27
29	54	25
30	55	24
31	55	23

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100