Pokhara in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Pokhara sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 405 mm of precipitation over about 49 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 14°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Pokhara's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Pokhara's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
14°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
3°C
Precipitation
405 mm
49 wet days
Avg wind
4 km/h
Travel score
3.6
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Pokhara in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C.

A typical winter day in Pokhara reaches about 14°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

-5°10°15°20°DecJanFeb

Pokhara 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan13° / 13015.710.43.3
Feb15° / 17019.2113.6
Mar19° / 15919.711.84.8
Apr22° / 16316.512.75.7
May23° / 13°38223.513.44.9
Jun24° / 18°6892813.83.9
Jul24° / 19°112730.713.63.5
Aug24° / 19°96629.8133.6
Sep24° / 17°60327.512.24.0
Oct21° / 12°19719.111.35.4
Nov18° / 14716.210.65.0
Dec15° / 10514.510.24.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Pokhara gets around 405 mm of rain and snow over 49 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 4 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 min in early December to 11 h 18 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.8 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Pokhara

In seasonPeak

None of Pokhara's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Pokhara's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Pokhara?

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.

3.6
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.1
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Pokhara.

What to pack for Pokhara in Winter

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

In winter, Pokhara sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 3°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 49 days see rain.

rain geara warm layer

UV index in Pokhara in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Pokhara peaks around August 12 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 5 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighExtremeVery highModerateAug 12UV 13Dec 22UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan5Moderate
Feb6High
Mar11Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul13Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct9Very high
Nov5High
Dec5Moderate

Air quality in Pokhara in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Pokhara is worst in January — around 55 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.1× the cleanest month (July, 13 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Pokhara's WHO annual average of 36.1 µg/m³.

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorJan 1854 µg/m³Jul 2214 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan55Unhealthy
Feb51Poor
Mar48Poor
Apr48Poor
May36Poor
Jun28Moderate
Jul13Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep19Moderate
Oct30Moderate
Nov41Poor
Dec49Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Pokhara?

Pokhara sits at 28.3°N, 84.0°E, 1,008 m above sea level, in Nepal. The nearest listed city is Bāgluṅ, 36 km away.

TānsenChitwanButwālSiddharthanagarLumbiniHetauda

Topography around Pokhara

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Pokhara has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 784 m around an average of 1,094 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,119 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,986 m.

The land around Pokhara is covered by trees (58%) within 3 km, trees (76%) within 16 km, and trees (61%) within 80 km.

3 km
784 m
16 km
3,119 m
80 km
7,986 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Winter weather nearby: Bāgluṅ 36 km · Wāliṅ 38 km · Tānsen 61 km · Chitwan 80 km · Butwāl 82 km · Siddharthanagar 99 km · Lumbini 115 km · Hetauda 140 km

Nepal travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / D / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 24% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,536
2025
Happiness
5.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
16%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2.1
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
16.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 514
Religion
Hindu 81%Buddhist 8%Muslim 5%Kirat 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 Pokhara (28.2669°, 83.9685°, elevation 1,008 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.