Climate and average weather in Islamabad
In Islamabad, the summers are sweltering, fairly dry, and clear and the winters are mild and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Islamabad typically varies from 5°C to 36°C, and is rarely below 2°C or above 41°C. June is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Islamabad for warm-weather activities are from mid March to early April and mid October to late December.
- Hottest
- Jun
- 36°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 5°
- Wettest
- Aug
- 164 mm
- Driest
- Oct
- 29 mm
- Rain / yr
- 976 mm
- 103 wet days
- Daylight
- 9.8–14.2 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 579 m
- 33.7°N
- Clearest
- Oct
- 21% cloud
Islamabad is capital city of Pakistan.
- Air quality
- High
- PM2.5 32.3 µg/m³ · 2020
- Density
- 664/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1960
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Islamabad 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 October to late December.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Islamabad, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 4.9 months, from April 30 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 31°C. The hottest month of the year in Islamabad is June, with an average high of 36°C and low of 25°C.
The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from December 3 to February 27, with daily high temperatures below 20°C. The coldest month of the year in Islamabad is January, with an average low of 5°C and high of 16°C.
Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 13°C) in May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 16 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 23 | 18 |
| Avg low (°C) | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | 5 |
| Feb | 18 | 8 |
| Mar | 23 | 12 |
| Apr | 28 | 17 |
| May | 34 | 21 |
| Jun | 36 | 25 |
| Jul | 34 | 25 |
| Aug | 32 | 25 |
| Sep | 32 | 22 |
| Oct | 28 | 17 |
| Nov | 23 | 11 |
| Dec | 18 | 7 |
How hot and cold Islamabad really feels
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 hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Islamabad feels like about 39°C (around July 10). About 144 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 16 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 34 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 33 | 28 | 22 | 18 |
| Air high (°C) | 16 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 23 | 18 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 4 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 6 |
| Air low (°C) | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | 16 | 4 | 5 |
| Feb | 18 | 18 | 7 | 8 |
| Mar | 23 | 23 | 12 | 12 |
| Apr | 28 | 28 | 17 | 17 |
| May | 34 | 34 | 21 | 21 |
| Jun | 37 | 36 | 25 | 25 |
| Jul | 38 | 34 | 25 | 25 |
| Aug | 37 | 32 | 25 | 25 |
| Sep | 33 | 32 | 22 | 22 |
| Oct | 28 | 28 | 17 | 17 |
| Nov | 22 | 23 | 11 | 11 |
| Dec | 18 | 18 | 6 | 7 |
Average hourly temperature in Islamabad
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 June afternoons, near 36°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 5°C.
Islamabad weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16° / 5° | 70 | 6.6 | 10 | 5.6 |
| Feb | 18° / 8° | 115 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 6.0 |
| Mar | 23° / 12° | 124 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 28° / 17° | 82 | 8.6 | 12.8 | 6.1 |
| May | 34° / 21° | 37 | 7.6 | 13.7 | 3.4 |
| Jun | 36° / 25° | 61 | 7.7 | 14.2 | 2.2 |
| Jul | 34° / 25° | 163 | 18 | 14 | 2.8 |
| Aug | 32° / 25° | 164 | 17.8 | 13.3 | 3.4 |
| Sep | 32° / 22° | 69 | 8.4 | 12.2 | 4.7 |
| Oct | 28° / 17° | 29 | 3.3 | 11.2 | 7.3 |
| Nov | 23° / 11° | 30 | 3.2 | 10.3 | 8.4 |
| Dec | 18° / 7° | 31 | 3.3 | 9.8 | 7.1 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Islamabad gets about 976 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 2.9 months, from around Jun 20 to Sep 14, peaking in August at about 65% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 25.
August is the wettest month by volume, with 164 mm over about 18 wet days; October is the driest, with 29 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 21 | 31 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 27 | 58 | 57 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Rain days | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 7 |
| Feb | 31 | 9 |
| Mar | 33 | 10 |
| Apr | 29 | 9 |
| May | 24 | 8 |
| Jun | 27 | 8 |
| Jul | 58 | 18 |
| Aug | 57 | 18 |
| Sep | 28 | 8 |
| Oct | 11 | 3 |
| Nov | 10 | 3 |
| Dec | 12 | 3 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Islamabad collects about 976 mm of rain across 103 wet days — roughly 81 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 164 mm, while October is the driest at just 29 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 46% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 70 | 115 | 124 | 82 | 37 | 61 | 163 | 164 | 69 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Rain days | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 7 |
| Feb | 115 | 9 |
| Mar | 124 | 10 |
| Apr | 82 | 9 |
| May | 37 | 8 |
| Jun | 61 | 8 |
| Jul | 163 | 18 |
| Aug | 164 | 18 |
| Sep | 69 | 8 |
| Oct | 29 | 3 |
| Nov | 30 | 3 |
| Dec | 31 | 3 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Islamabad, 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 August 15 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around December 11. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 92% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around December 12 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around May 8. The cloudiest month is March, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 44% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 65 | 57 | 56 | 63 | 80 | 90 | 76 | 77 | 92 | 90 | 81 | 75 |
| Cloudier (%) | 35 | 43 | 44 | 37 | 20 | 10 | 24 | 23 | 8 | 10 | 19 | 25 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 35 |
| Feb | 57 | 43 |
| Mar | 56 | 44 |
| Apr | 63 | 37 |
| May | 80 | 20 |
| Jun | 90 | 10 |
| Jul | 76 | 24 |
| Aug | 77 | 23 |
| Sep | 92 | 8 |
| Oct | 90 | 10 |
| Nov | 81 | 19 |
| Dec | 75 | 25 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 7, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.0 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 12.8 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:17 | 7:00 | 6:25 | 5:43 | 5:12 | 5:01 | 5:12 | 5:34 | 5:56 | 6:19 | 6:46 | 7:11 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:17 | 5:45 | 6:10 | 6:33 | 6:56 | 7:15 | 7:15 | 6:50 | 6:08 | 5:27 | 5:00 | 4:57 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10.0 | 7:17 | 5:17 |
| Feb | 10.7 | 7:00 | 5:45 |
| Mar | 11.7 | 6:25 | 6:10 |
| Apr | 12.8 | 5:43 | 6:33 |
| May | 13.7 | 5:12 | 6:56 |
| Jun | 14.2 | 5:01 | 7:15 |
| Jul | 14.0 | 5:12 | 7:15 |
| Aug | 13.3 | 5:34 | 6:50 |
| Sep | 12.2 | 5:56 | 6:08 |
| Oct | 11.2 | 6:19 | 5:27 |
| Nov | 10.3 | 6:46 | 5:00 |
| Dec | 9.8 | 7:11 | 4:57 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Islamabad averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 12 and 25 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.5 months, from around Aug 20 to Jan 2. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 24 sunny days (brilliant).
The greyest month is March, down near 12 sunny days — about 47% fewer than the September peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 17 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 21 | 20 |
| Sky | Bright | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Brilliant | Brilliant | Bright | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Bright |
| Feb | 12 | Mixed |
| Mar | 13 | Mixed |
| Apr | 13 | Mixed |
| May | 17 | Bright |
| Jun | 21 | Bright |
| Jul | 18 | Bright |
| Aug | 17 | Bright |
| Sep | 23 | Brilliant |
| Oct | 25 | Brilliant |
| Nov | 21 | Bright |
| Dec | 20 | Bright |
Humidity comfort
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 Islamabad, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around June 5 to October 7. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 97% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 8 to June 4, and February is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 89 | 51 | 36 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 97 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 11 | 38 | 40 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 29 | 3 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 22 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 53 | 57 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 89 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 51 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 36 | 40 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 18 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 3 |
| Jul | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 53 | 27 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 57 | 33 |
| Sep | 3 | 9 | 20 | 34 | 31 | 2 |
| Oct | 53 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov | 97 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.
Wind in Islamabad is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | calm |
| Feb | 7 | calm |
| Mar | 7 | calm |
| Apr | 8 | calm |
| May | 8 | calm |
| Jun | 7 | calm |
| Jul | 6 | calm |
| Aug | 5 | calm |
| Sep | 6 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 6 | calm |
| Dec | 6 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Islamabad
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Islamabad sees seasonal dust haze (June–August), heaviest in June.
Best time to visit Islamabad
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Islamabad throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid December, Islamabad 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 times of year to visit Islamabad for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid March to early April and again from mid October to late December, with a peak score in the first week of November.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 6.0 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 7.1 |
| Rating | good | good | good | good | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | good | ideal | good |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.6 | good |
| Feb | 6.1 | good |
| Mar | 6.8 | good |
| Apr | 6.0 | good |
| May | 3.4 | poor |
| Jun | 2.2 | poor |
| Jul | 2.7 | poor |
| Aug | 3.4 | poor |
| Sep | 4.7 | fair |
| Oct | 7.3 | good |
| Nov | 8.4 | ideal |
| Dec | 7.1 | good |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Islamabad for hot-weather activities run from mid April to early May and again from mid September to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of October.
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 Islamabad, by month
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 June (highs near 36°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 16°C), pack a warm layer.
In June, Islamabad sees daytime highs around 36°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Islamabad by month
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 Islamabad peaks around May 22 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 2 (moderate).
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 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 10 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | Very high |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 2 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Islamabad
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 May the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 4 | 0 |
| Mar | 6 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 6 | 0 |
| May | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 7.5 | 4.5 |
| Sep | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 5 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Air quality in Islamabad by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Islamabad is worst in January — around 48 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.3× the cleanest month (May, 21 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Islamabad's WHO annual average of 32.3 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 48 | 41 | 33 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 33 | 43 | 48 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | Poor |
| Feb | 41 | Poor |
| Mar | 33 | Moderate |
| Apr | 25 | Moderate |
| May | 21 | Moderate |
| Jun | 23 | Moderate |
| Jul | 23 | Moderate |
| Aug | 23 | Moderate |
| Sep | 25 | Moderate |
| Oct | 33 | Moderate |
| Nov | 43 | Poor |
| Dec | 48 | Poor |
Growing season
Islamabad is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 98 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
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. Islamabad banks about 4,184 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 16 | 81 | 227 | 376 | 545 | 609 | 603 | 568 | 505 | 387 | 199 | 68 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 16 |
| Feb | 81 |
| Mar | 227 |
| Apr | 376 |
| May | 545 |
| Jun | 609 |
| Jul | 603 |
| Aug | 568 |
| Sep | 505 |
| Oct | 387 |
| Nov | 199 |
| Dec | 68 |
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.
Islamabad receives about 5.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.0 and 7.4 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Mar 18 to Oct 3. The brightest month is May, averaging about 7.2 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is January, down near 3.2 kWh/m² — roughly 55% less than the May peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 3.2 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.2 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3.8 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5.0 | Bright |
| Apr | 6.3 | Intense |
| May | 7.2 | Intense |
| Jun | 7.1 | Intense |
| Jul | 5.8 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.3 | Bright |
| Sep | 5.3 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.7 | Bright |
| Nov | 3.6 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3.1 | Moderate |
Where is Islamabad?
Islamabad sits at 33.7°N, 73.0°E, 579 m above sea level, in Pakistan. The nearest listed city is Murree, 38 km away.
What Islamabad looks like
Topography around Islamabad
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Islamabad.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Islamabad has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 504 m around an average of 613 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,135 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,726 m.
The land around Islamabad is covered by trees (51%) and artificial surfaces (42%) within 3 km, trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (27%) within 16 km, and trees (35%) and cropland (32%) within 80 km.
Pakistan travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 3
- Reconsider Travel
- Power plugs
- Type C / D / G / M
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 24% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $1,596
- 2025
- Happiness
- 4.9 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 45%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 4.3
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 13
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Lower middle
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 493
- 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 Islamabad (33.7215°, 73.0433°, elevation 579 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).