Climate and average weather in Smolensk

In Smolensk, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid May to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Smolensk typically varies from -8°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -21°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 Smolensk for warm-weather activities is from mid May to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
23°
Coldest
Jan
-8°
Wettest
Jul
93 mm
Driest
Mar
38 mm
Rain / yr
695 mm
131 wet days
Daylight
6.9–17.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
238 m
54.8°N
Clearest
Jul
62% cloud

Smolensk is city and administrative center of Smolensk Oblast in central Russia.

Density
1,984/km²
people per km²
Founded
~863 CE

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

Smolensk 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 Smolensk, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from May 9 to September 12, with daily high temperatures above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Smolensk is July, with an average high of 23°C and low of 14°C.

The cool season lasts 3.7 months, from November 18 to March 9, with daily high temperatures below 2°C. The coldest month of the year in Smolensk is January, with an average low of -8°C and high of -3°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in May.

-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-3-8
Feb-2-8
Mar3-4
Apr112
May188
Jun2111
Jul2314
Aug2212
Sep168
Oct93
Nov2-2
Dec-2-6

How hot and cold Smolensk 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 -16°C (around January 30), with roughly 191 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 100 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-3-3-14-8
Feb-2-2-14-8
Mar33-9-4
Apr1111-22
May181858
Jun21211111
Jul23231414
Aug22221212
Sep161658
Oct99-13
Nov22-7-2
Dec-2-2-12-6

Average hourly temperature in Smolensk

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 -8°C.

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

Smolensk 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-3° / -8°4210.5117.60.0
Feb-3° / -8°399.79.99.30.0
Mar / -4°389.16.511.50.0
Apr11° / 429.41.613.72.6
May18° / 7412.30.115.85.3
Jun21° / 11°8013016.95.9
Jul23° / 14°9313.5016.56.3
Aug22° / 12°7411.7014.76.3
Sep16° / 609.50.112.54.9
Oct / 6411.31.710.21.7
Nov / -2°481058.20.0
Dec-2° / -6°4110.69.87.10.0

Chance of rain

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

Smolensk gets about 695 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 2.9 months, from around May 8 to Aug 2, peaking in July at about 46% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Mar 25.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 93 mm over about 14 wet days; March is the driest, with 38 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 11 · 46%Mar 25 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3411
Feb3510
Mar299
Apr329
May3912
Jun4413
Jul4314
Aug3712
Sep3310
Oct3611
Nov3410
Dec3411

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Smolensk collects about 695 mm of rain across 131 wet days — roughly 58 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 93 mm, while March is the driest at just 38 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 35% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec423938427480937460644841
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan421111
Feb391010
Mar3897
Apr4292
May74120
Jun80130
Jul93140
Aug74120
Sep60100
Oct64112
Nov48105
Dec411110

Snow in Smolensk

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.

Smolensk averages about 46 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 5 to Apr 29 — about 6.8 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 11 days of snow and an estimated 39 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 169 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 29
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1139
Feb1038
Mar725
Apr25
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct25
Nov526
Dec1032

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Smolensk, 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 March 18 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around September 28. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 44% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 29 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around March 17. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 92% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 29 · 47%Jan 10 · 7%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan991
Feb1585
Mar2575
Apr3466
May4159
Jun4060
Jul4456
Aug4258
Sep2971
Oct2080
Nov1189
Dec892

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 22, brings about 17 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around December 21, only 6 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 10 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan7.69:154:47
Feb9.38:275:46
Mar11.57:186:45
Apr13.75:587:46
May15.84:538:43
Jun16.94:229:22
Jul16.54:419:13
Aug14.75:348:18
Sep12.56:336:59
Oct10.27:325:42
Nov8.28:344:40
Dec7.19:184:17

Sunny days

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

Smolensk averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.7 months, from around Mar 17 to Oct 5. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is January, down near 1 sunny days — about 81% fewer than the July peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedJul 298 daysJan 151 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb2Gloomy
Mar4Gloomy
Apr6Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul7Gloomy
Aug7Gloomy
Sep5Gloomy
Oct4Gloomy
Nov2Gloomy
Dec1Gloomy

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 Smolensk, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 2.9 months, from around June 3 to August 29. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 24% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around August 30 to June 2, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 4 · 100%Jul 22 · 74%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May92810
Jun6821110
Jul4531213
Aug5829121
Sep91810
Oct99100
Nov100000
Dec100000

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 Smolensk is typically light breeze, near 13 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Sep 30 to Apr 8. The windiest month is January, averaging about 15 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 9 to Sep 29, with July the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 26 · 15 km/hJul 26 · 11 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan15light breeze
Feb14light breeze
Mar14light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May12calm
Jun11calm
Jul11calm
Aug11calm
Sep12light breeze
Oct13light breeze
Nov14light breeze
Dec14light breeze

Best time to visit Smolensk

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Smolensk is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Smolensk for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to mid September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 2 · 6.7

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
Apr2.6poor
May5.3fair
Jun5.9good
Jul6.2good
Aug6.3good
Sep4.8fair
Oct1.7poor
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 Smolensk for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 5.4

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 Smolensk, 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 -3°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Smolensk sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 14°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Smolensk 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 Smolensk peaks around July 12 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 12UV 6Dec 18UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug5Moderate
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Smolensk

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 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 2 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
Mar00
Apr30
May5.50
Jun7.50
Jul7.52
Aug60
Sep3.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Smolensk by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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 Smolensk is worst in April — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.9× the cleanest month (January, 4 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1317 µg/m³Jan 114 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb5Good
Mar15Moderate
Apr18Moderate
May10Good
Jun10Good
Jul12Good
Aug10Good
Sep8Good
Oct6Good
Nov5Good
Dec4Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Smolensk typically lasts about 211 days, from around April 7 to November 3 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 1 to September 29.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonApr 750%May 190%Sep 2990%Nov 350%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1331
Feb1428
Mar2231
Apr6830
May961
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep973
Oct7331
Nov3630
Dec1731

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. Smolensk banks about 787 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02004006008001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May79
Jun185
Jul254
Aug213
Sep56
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.

Smolensk receives about 2.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.4 and 5.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Mar 20 to Sep 13. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.5 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.4 kWh/m² — roughly 93% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 75.5 kWhDec 180.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.6Dim
Feb1.3Dim
Mar2.6Moderate
Apr4.1Bright
May5.1Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul5.3Bright
Aug4.3Bright
Sep2.7Moderate
Oct1.4Dim
Nov0.6Dim
Dec0.4Dim

Where is Smolensk?

Smolensk sits at 54.8°N, 32.1°E, 238 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Yartsevo, 52 km away.

Topography around Smolensk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Smolensk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 102 m around an average of 225 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 120 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 153 m.

The land around Smolensk is covered by artificial surfaces (51%) and trees (41%) within 3 km, trees (45%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) and grassland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
102 m
16 km
120 m
80 km
153 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Yartsevo 52 km · Safonovo 84 km · Horki 88 km · Roslavl’ 106 km · Desnogorsk 106 km · Orsha 110 km · Krychaw 120 km · Vitebsk 126 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 2%

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 Smolensk (54.7783°, 32.0509°, elevation 238 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).