Altai weather in May

In May, Altai sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 25 mm of precipitation across 6.7 wet days and about 14.7 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Altai's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Altai's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 3°; 9th coldest
Precipitation: 25 mm; 6.7 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 48 min; 5:08 AM – 7:55 PM
Cloud cover: 53%; 10th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 1st windiest
Solar energy: 7 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.6; out of 10

Altai is Capital city of Govi-Altai Province, Mongolia.

Density: 8/km²; people per km²

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

← April Altai 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 12°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical May day in Altai reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°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 20°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 7°C warmer than April and about 6°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	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6

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

How May really feels in Altai

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 16 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.

Altai weather by month

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

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-12° / -20°	1	0.2	0.6	8.8	0.0
Feb	-8° / -18°	2	0.8	1.5	10	0.0
Mar	-1° / -11°	9	2.8	3.5	11.6	0.0
Apr	8° / -3°	17	5.2	3.7	13.3	1.4
May	14° / 3°	25	6.7	2.6	14.7	4.6
Jun	20° / 9°	44	8.6	0.3	15.5	6.4
Jul	22° / 12°	56	9.4	0	15.2	6.7
Aug	20° / 9°	42	7.6	0.2	14	6.8
Sep	14° / 3°	18	4.9	1.5	12.4	4.8
Oct	6° / -5°	11	3.7	3.7	10.7	0.8
Nov	-4° / -13°	5	1.8	2.1	9.2	0.0
Dec	-10° / -18°	2	0.6	1	8.5	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 24% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 42%.

	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 (%)	59	58	58	58	58	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	58	59	59	58	59	59	58	58	58	58	58	57	56	56	56	56
Cloudier (%)	41	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	42	41	41	42	41	41	42	42	42	42	42	43	44	44	44	44

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	58	42
3	58	42
4	58	42
5	58	42
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	59	41
12	59	41
13	59	41
14	59	41
15	59	41
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	59	41
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	57	43
28	56	44
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Altai gets around 25 mm of rain and snow over 6.7 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 21% and peaks near 23% on the wettest days, and about 3 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 (%)	19	20	20	21	21	21	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21
Snow chance (%)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	4	4

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

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 12 km/h in May, the windiest month of the year.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 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)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	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	12	light breeze
2	12	light breeze
3	12	light breeze
4	12	light breeze
5	12	light breeze
6	12	light breeze
7	12	light breeze
8	12	light breeze
9	12	light breeze
10	12	light breeze
11	12	light breeze
12	12	calm
13	12	calm
14	12	calm
15	12	calm
16	12	calm
17	12	calm
18	12	calm
19	12	calm
20	12	calm
21	12	calm
22	12	calm
23	12	calm
24	12	calm
25	12	calm
26	12	calm
27	12	calm
28	12	calm
29	12	calm
30	11	calm
31	11	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:29 AM to 4:54 AM, and sunset from 7:35 PM to 8:11 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)	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.3	15.3
Sunrise (AM)	5:29	5:28	5:26	5:24	5:23	5:21	5:20	5:18	5:17	5:16	5:14	5:13	5:12	5:10	5:09	5:08	5:07	5:06	5:04	5:03	5:02	5:01	5:00	4:59	4:58	4:57	4:57	4:56	4:55	4:54	4:54
Sunset (PM)	7:35	7:36	7:38	7:39	7:40	7:42	7:43	7:44	7:46	7:47	7:48	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:53	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:58	7:59	8:00	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:05	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:10	8:11

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.1	5:29	7:35
2	14.1	5:28	7:36
3	14.2	5:26	7:38
4	14.2	5:24	7:39
5	14.3	5:23	7:40
6	14.3	5:21	7:42
7	14.4	5:20	7:43
8	14.4	5:18	7:44
9	14.5	5:17	7:46
10	14.5	5:16	7:47
11	14.6	5:14	7:48
12	14.6	5:13	7:50
13	14.7	5:12	7:51
14	14.7	5:10	7:52
15	14.7	5:09	7:53
16	14.8	5:08	7:55
17	14.8	5:07	7:56
18	14.9	5:06	7:57
19	14.9	5:04	7:58
20	14.9	5:03	7:59
21	15.0	5:02	8:00
22	15.0	5:01	8:02
23	15.0	5:00	8:03
24	15.1	4:59	8:04
25	15.1	4:58	8:05
26	15.1	4:57	8:06
27	15.2	4:57	8:07
28	15.2	4:56	8:08
29	15.2	4:55	8:09
30	15.3	4:54	8:10
31	15.3	4:54	8:11

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 7 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.76 kWh/m² to a high of 7 kWh/m² in May across the year — May's 7 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)	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2
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	6.7	Intense
2	6.7	Intense
3	6.7	Intense
4	6.8	Intense
5	6.8	Intense
6	6.8	Intense
7	6.8	Intense
8	6.8	Intense
9	6.9	Intense
10	6.9	Intense
11	6.9	Intense
12	6.9	Intense
13	7.0	Intense
14	7.0	Intense
15	7.0	Intense
16	7.0	Intense
17	7.0	Intense
18	7.0	Intense
19	7.1	Intense
20	7.1	Intense
21	7.1	Intense
22	7.1	Intense
23	7.1	Intense
24	7.1	Intense
25	7.1	Intense
26	7.1	Intense
27	7.2	Intense
28	7.2	Intense
29	7.2	Intense
30	7.2	Intense
31	7.2	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Altai?

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

4.6

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.4

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Altai for sightseeing.

What to pack for Altai in May

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

In May, Altai sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 3°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer. About 7 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layer

UV index in Altai in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 8 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Altai peaks around July 17 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 1 (low).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	2	3	6	8	8	10	8	5	3	1	1
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Moderate
Mar	3	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	5	High
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Air quality in Altai 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 Altai is worst in June — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.1× the cleanest month (December, 5 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)	10	13	15	13	18	22	14	18	9	8	8	5
Level	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	10	Good
Feb	13	Moderate
Mar	15	Moderate
Apr	13	Moderate
May	18	Moderate
Jun	22	Moderate
Jul	14	Moderate
Aug	18	Moderate
Sep	9	Good
Oct	8	Good
Nov	8	Good
Dec	5	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Altai?

Altai sits at 46.4°N, 96.3°E, 2,156 m above sea level, in Mongolia. The nearest listed city is Uliastay, 159 km away.

Topography around Altai

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Altai has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 147 m around an average of 2,168 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,074 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,683 m.

The land around Altai is covered by bare terrain (51%) and grassland (39%) within 3 km, grassland (67%) and bare terrain (32%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (54%) and grassland (46%) within 80 km.

3 km

147 m

bare terrain 51%

16 km

1,074 m

grassland 67%

80 km

2,683 m

bare terrain 54%

treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

May weather nearby: Uliastay 159 km · Bayanhongor 343 km · Khovd 393 km · Tsetserleg 413 km · Mörön 465 km · Bogd 498 km · Arvayheer 500 km · Ulaangom 507 km

Mongolia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type C / E / F; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 34% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $7,108; 2025
Happiness: 5.9 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 43%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 5.9; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 21; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 447
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 Altai (46.3722°, 96.2583°, elevation 2,156 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	12	1
3	12	1
4	12	1
5	12	1
6	12	1
7	12	1
8	13	1
9	13	2
10	13	2
11	13	2
12	13	2
13	14	2
14	14	3
15	14	3
16	14	3
17	14	3
18	15	3
19	15	4
20	15	4
21	15	4
22	15	4
23	16	4
24	16	5
25	16	5
26	16	5
27	17	5
28	17	6
29	17	6
30	17	6
31	17	6

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	58	42
3	58	42
4	58	42
5	58	42
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	59	41
12	59	41
13	59	41
14	59	41
15	59	41
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	59	41
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	57	43
28	56	44
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	58	42
3	58	42
4	58	42
5	58	42
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	59	41
12	59	41
13	59	41
14	59	41
15	59	41
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	59	41
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	57	43
28	56	44
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	58	42
3	58	42
4	58	42
5	58	42
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	59	41
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	59	41
12	59	41
13	59	41
14	59	41
15	59	41
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	59	41
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	57	43
28	56	44
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

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

	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