Climate and average weather in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy

In Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy typically varies from -26°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -40°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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy for warm-weather activities is from late May to late August.

Hottest
Jul
23°
Coldest
Jan
-26°
Wettest
Aug
69 mm
Driest
Feb
13 mm
Rain / yr
455 mm
108 wet days
Daylight
6.5–17.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
392 m
56.6°N
Clearest
Jun
65% cloud

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy is human settlement in Nizhneilimsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.

Density
279/km²
people per km²
Founded
1948

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

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy 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 late May to late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.1 months, from May 13 to September 13, with daily high temperatures above 13°C. The hottest month of the year in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy is July, with an average high of 23°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.2 months, from November 18 to February 22, with daily high temperatures below -11°C. The coldest month of the year in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy is January, with an average low of -26°C and high of -19°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 12°C) in June.

-40°-20°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-18-26
Feb-13-23
Mar-4-15
Apr5-6
May142
Jun219
Jul2313
Aug2010
Sep123
Oct2-5
Nov-9-17
Dec-17-24

How hot and cold Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy 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 -34°C (around January 6), with roughly 246 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 184 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-18-18-34-26
Feb-13-13-30-23
Mar-4-4-21-15
Apr55-11-6
May1414-12
Jun212189
Jul23231313
Aug2020910
Sep121203
Oct22-10-5
Nov-9-9-24-17
Dec-17-17-33-24

Average hourly temperature in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy

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 -26°C.

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

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy 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-19° / -26°155.797.20.0
Feb-13° / -23°134.77.29.10.0
Mar-4° / -15°185.88.511.40.0
Apr / -6°278.36.413.90.4
May14° / 4511.51.916.13.7
Jun21° / 5711017.36.2
Jul23° / 13°6711.4016.86.6
Aug20° / 10°6911.4014.96.1
Sep12° / 5311.61.212.53.0
Oct / -5°3810.28.7100.1
Nov-10° / -17°309.3127.90.0
Dec-17° / -24°237.5116.60.0

Chance of rain

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

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy gets about 455 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 6.8 months, from around Apr 20 to Nov 12, peaking in September at about 40% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 2.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 69 mm over about 11 wet days; February is the driest, with 13 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 2 · 40%Feb 2 · 16%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan186
Feb175
Mar196
Apr288
May3712
Jun3711
Jul3611
Aug3711
Sep3812
Oct3410
Nov309
Dec258

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy collects about 455 mm of rain across 108 wet days — roughly 38 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 69 mm, while February is the driest at just 13 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec151318274557676953383023
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1569
Feb1357
Mar1869
Apr2786
May45122
Jun57110
Jul67110
Aug69110
Sep53121
Oct38109
Nov30912
Dec23811

Snow in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy

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.

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy averages about 66 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 7 to May 28 — about 8.7 months.

November is snowiest, with roughly 12 days of snow and an estimated 35 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 195 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonNov 2
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan923
Feb722
Mar924
Apr622
May24
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep14
Oct926
Nov1235
Dec1135

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy, 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 May 13 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around September 24. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 40% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 25 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 22. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 5 · 43%Nov 28 · 11%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan1783
Feb2179
Mar2476
Apr2377
May2872
Jun4060
Jul4060
Aug3862
Sep2773
Oct1981
Nov1486
Dec1486

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 18, brings about 17 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 6 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 11 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan7.29:384:48
Feb9.18:455:51
Mar11.47:316:55
Apr13.96:068:01
May16.14:569:03
Jun17.34:219:47
Jul16.84:429:36
Aug14.95:408:35
Sep12.56:447:12
Oct10.07:475:50
Nov7.98:554:42
Dec6.69:434:17

Sunny days

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

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.1 months, from around May 22 to Sep 22. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is November, down near 3 sunny days — about 58% fewer than the August peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedAug 58 daysNov 292 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan3Gloomy
Feb4Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr4Gloomy
May4Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul7Gloomy
Aug7Gloomy
Sep5Gloomy
Oct3Gloomy
Nov3Gloomy
Dec3Gloomy

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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 14% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 5 · 100%Jul 15 · 83%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May100000
Jun831440
Jul5729141
Aug791830
Sep99100
Oct100000
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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 3.4 months, from around Feb 16 to May 30. The windiest month is April, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 31 to Sep 25, with July the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeApr 10 · 12 km/hJul 14 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan10calm
Feb10calm
Mar11calm
Apr12calm
May11calm
Jun9calm
Jul8calm
Aug9calm
Sep10calm
Oct11calm
Nov11calm
Dec11calm

Best time to visit Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late August, Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy 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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late August, with a peak score in the second week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 11 · 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
Mar0.0poor
Apr0.5poor
May3.7fair
Jun6.2good
Jul6.6good
Aug6.0good
Sep3.0poor
Oct0.2poor
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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy, 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 -19°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy 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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy peaks around June 20 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 20UV 6Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr4Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul5High
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). 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
Apr3.50
May60
Jun7.50
Jul70
Aug60
Sep10
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy 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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy is worst in July — around 44 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 37.0× the cleanest month (December, 1 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModeratePoorModerateGoodJul 1742 µg/m³Dec 171 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan3Good
Feb4Good
Mar5Good
Apr8Good
May11Good
Jun24Moderate
Jul44Poor
Aug26Moderate
Sep25Moderate
Oct12Good
Nov3Good
Dec1Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy typically lasts about 141 days, from around May 9 to September 26 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 28 to September 8.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonApr 1210%May 950%May 2890%Sep 890%Sep 2650%Oct 2010%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb028
Mar231
Apr1530
May6727
Jun990
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep7522
Oct1731
Nov430
Dec131

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. Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy banks about 578 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
May6
Jun158
Jul247
Aug162
Sep5
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.

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy receives about 3.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.4 and 6.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 11. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.0 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.5 kWh/m² — roughly 92% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 146.0 kWhDec 200.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.7Dim
Feb1.5Dim
Mar3.1Moderate
Apr4.7Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.0Bright
Jul5.6Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep2.9Moderate
Oct1.6Dim
Nov0.8Dim
Dec0.5Dim

Where is Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy?

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy sits at 56.6°N, 104.1°E, 392 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Ust’-Kut, 104 km away.

Topography around Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 579 m around an average of 489 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 609 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 821 m.

The land around Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy is covered by trees (71%) within 3 km, trees (91%) within 16 km, and trees (97%) within 80 km.

3 km
579 m
16 km
609 m
80 km
821 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Ust’-Kut 104 km · Bratsk 163 km · Ust’-Ilimsk 181 km · Vikhorevka 189 km · Chunskiy 282 km · Sayansk 300 km · Tulun 316 km · Zima 324 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 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy (56.5767°, 104.1297°, elevation 392 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).