Climate and average weather in Bulgan

In Bulgan, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: mid May to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Bulgan typically varies from -25°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -32°C or above 29°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

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

Hottest
Jul
23°
Coldest
Jan
-25°
Wettest
Jul
79 mm
Driest
Jan
2 mm
Rain / yr
352 mm
69 wet days
Daylight
8.0–16.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,204 m
48.8°N
Clearest
Jan
31% cloud

Bulgan 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 mid May to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.7 months, from May 3 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 14°C. The hottest month of the year in Bulgan is July, with an average high of 23°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 21 to February 20, with daily high temperatures below -6°C. The coldest month of the year in Bulgan is January, with an average low of -25°C and high of -13°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in May.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-13-25
Feb-8-22
Mar1-13
Apr10-3
May173
Jun2210
Jul2313
Aug2110
Sep163
Oct7-5
Nov-4-15
Dec-11-22

How hot and cold Bulgan 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 -33°C (around January 19), with roughly 238 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 170 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-13-13-32-25
Feb-8-8-29-22
Mar11-18-13
Apr1010-8-3
May171703
Jun2222910
Jul23231313
Aug21211010
Sep161613
Oct77-9-5
Nov-4-4-21-15
Dec-11-11-29-22

Average hourly temperature in Bulgan

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 July afternoons, near 23°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -25°C.

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

Bulgan 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-13° / -25°20.61.28.50.0
Feb-8° / -22°31.21.99.80.0
Mar / -13°103.13.911.60.0
Apr10° / -3°225.94.513.42.5
May17° / 377.92.4155.6
Jun22° / 10°5910.50.115.96.5
Jul23° / 13°7912.9015.56.4
Aug21° / 10°7611.2014.26.3
Sep16° / 367.21.212.45.4
Oct / -5°174.43.710.51.5
Nov-4° / -15°82.63.38.90.0
Dec-11° / -22°31.21.58.10.0

Chance of rain

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

Bulgan gets about 352 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.7 months, from around Apr 12 to Oct 2, peaking in July at about 42% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 20.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 79 mm over about 13 wet days; January is the driest, with 2 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 16 · 42%Jan 20 · 1%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan21
Feb41
Mar103
Apr196
May268
Jun3511
Jul4213
Aug3611
Sep247
Oct154
Nov93
Dec41

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Bulgan collects about 352 mm of rain across 69 wet days — roughly 29 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 79 mm, while January is the driest at just 2 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 61% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec23102237597976361783
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan211
Feb312
Mar1034
Apr2265
May3782
Jun59110
Jul79130
Aug76110
Sep3671
Oct1744
Nov833
Dec312

Snow in Bulgan

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.

Bulgan averages about 24 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 8 to Jun 4 — about 8.9 months.

April is snowiest, with roughly 4 days of snow and an estimated 17 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 80 cm of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonApr 10
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan12
Feb26
Mar413
Apr517
May29
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep15
Oct415
Nov310
Dec24

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Bulgan, 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 September 9 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 6. The clearest month is January, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 77% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 7 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around September 8. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 30 · 79%Jun 25 · 40%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7723
Feb7129
Mar5743
Apr4951
May4852
Jun4456
Jul4456
Aug5050
Sep6238
Oct6733
Nov6931
Dec7327

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 19, brings about 16 hours of light; the shortest, around December 19, only 8 hours — a swing of roughly 8 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.59:015:29
Feb9.88:256:16
Mar11.67:297:02
Apr13.46:237:49
May15.05:318:33
Jun15.95:089:04
Jul15.55:248:59
Aug14.26:048:15
Sep12.46:507:11
Oct10.57:356:07
Nov8.98:245:18
Dec8.19:005:04

Sunny days

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

Bulgan averages about 13 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 21 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.9 months, from around Sep 11 to Mar 9. The sunniest month is January, with roughly 20 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is June, down near 7 sunny days — about 63% fewer than the January peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJan 2821 daysJun 217 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan20Bright
Feb16Bright
Mar12Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May8Mixed
Jun7Gloomy
Jul7Gloomy
Aug10Mixed
Sep13Mixed
Oct16Bright
Nov17Bright
Dec19Bright

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 Bulgan, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 2% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May10000
Jun9640
Jul76212
Aug9091
Sep10000
Oct10000
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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Bulgan is typically calm, near 9 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 3.6 months, from around Feb 22 to Jun 10. The windiest month is April, averaging about 11 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jun 11 to Nov 23, with July the calmest month at about 7 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeApr 30 · 11 km/hJul 19 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar10calm
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun9calm
Jul7calm
Aug8calm
Sep8calm
Oct9calm
Nov9calm
Dec9calm

Best time to visit Bulgan

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid September, Bulgan is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Bulgan for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 8 · 6.6

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
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.1poor
Apr2.4poor
May5.5good
Jun6.5good
Jul6.4good
Aug6.3good
Sep5.4fair
Oct1.5poor
Nov0.0poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Bulgan for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 5.1

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 Bulgan, 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 July (highs near 23°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -13°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Bulgan sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Bulgan 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 Bulgan peaks around July 16 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 8Dec 20UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7High
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Bulgan

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 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 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
Mar20
Apr60
May7.53
Jun83.5
Jul84.5
Aug73
Sep4.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Bulgan typically lasts about 149 days, from around May 1 to September 26 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 27 to September 11.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonApr 610%May 150%May 2790%Sep 1190%Sep 2650%Oct 1310%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb028
Mar231
Apr2330
May7526
Jun990
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep7819
Oct1231
Nov130
Dec031

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. Bulgan banks about 646 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May24
Jun173
Jul246
Aug179
Sep25
Oct0
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.

Bulgan receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.4 and 6.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 11 to Sep 20. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 77% less than the May peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 316.7 kWhDec 191.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.8Dim
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.4Bright
Apr5.6Bright
May6.5Intense
Jun6.5Intense
Jul5.9Bright
Aug5.3Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov1.9Dim
Dec1.4Dim

Where is Bulgan?

Bulgan sits at 48.8°N, 103.5°E, 1,204 m above sea level, in Mongolia. The nearest listed city is Erdenet, 47 km away.

DarhanDzüünharaaTsetserlegSühbaatarMörönUlaanbaatarKyakhta

Topography around Bulgan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bulgan has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 210 m around an average of 1,241 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,028 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,348 m.

The land around Bulgan is covered by grassland (89%) within 3 km, grassland (86%) within 16 km, and grassland (76%) and trees (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
210 m
16 km
1,028 m
80 km
1,348 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces
Nearby: Erdenet 47 km · Darhan 189 km · Dzüünharaa 214 km · Tsetserleg 214 km · Sühbaatar 249 km · Mörön 261 km · Ulaanbaatar 267 km · Kyakhta 271 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
Buddhist 52%no religion 41%Muslim 3%Shaman 3%

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 Bulgan (48.8125°, 103.5347°, elevation 1,204 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).