Climate and average weather in Khorugh

In Khorugh, the summers are mild, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are frigid, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid July to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Khorugh typically varies from -21°C to 15°C, and is rarely below -29°C or above 19°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

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

Hottest
Aug
15°
Coldest
Jan
-21°
Wettest
Mar
106 mm
Driest
Sep
22 mm
Rain / yr
791 mm
139 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
2,089 m
37.5°N
Clearest
Sep
25% cloud

Khorugh is city in Tajikistan.

Founded
1932

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

Khorugh 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 July to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.7 months, from June 9 to September 30, with daily high temperatures above 8°C. The hottest month of the year in Khorugh is August, with an average high of 15°C and low of 5°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 18 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below -9°C. The coldest month of the year in Khorugh is January, with an average low of -21°C and high of -15°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in October.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-15-21
Feb-12-19
Mar-6-15
Apr-1-10
May4-5
Jun10-1
Jul145
Aug155
Sep121
Oct2-9
Nov-8-17
Dec-14-20

How hot and cold Khorugh 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 -22°C (around January 3), with roughly 273 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 180 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-15-15-21-21
Feb-12-12-19-19
Mar-6-6-15-15
Apr-1-1-10-10
May44-5-5
Jun1010-1-1
Jul141455
Aug151555
Sep111211
Oct22-9-9
Nov-8-8-18-17
Dec-14-14-20-20

Average hourly temperature in Khorugh

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 August afternoons, near 15°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -21°C.

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

Khorugh 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-15° / -21°7112.314.39.70.0
Feb-12° / -19°9113.615.310.60.0
Mar-6° / -15°10614.915.911.70.0
Apr-1° / -10°9713.614.112.90.0
May / -5°7612.411.7140.1
Jun10° / -1°6213.83.214.51.9
Jul14° / 5313.20.314.34.2
Aug15° / 308.80.113.45.1
Sep12° / 225.8212.33.5
Oct / -10°438.28.1110.2
Nov-8° / -18°6710.611.4100.0
Dec-14° / -21°721213.39.50.0

Chance of rain

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

Khorugh gets about 791 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 6.4 months, from around Jan 10 to Jul 23, peaking in June at about 52% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 15.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 106 mm over about 15 wet days; September is the driest, with 22 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 27 · 52%Sep 15 · 18%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4012
Feb4814
Mar4815
Apr4514
May4012
Jun4614
Jul4313
Aug289
Sep206
Oct278
Nov3511
Dec3912

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Khorugh collects about 791 mm of rain across 139 wet days — roughly 66 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 106 mm, while September is the driest at just 22 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec7191106977662533022436772
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan711214
Feb911415
Mar1061516
Apr971414
May761212
Jun62143
Jul53130
Aug3090
Sep2262
Oct4388
Nov671111
Dec721213

Snow in Khorugh

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.

Khorugh averages about 110 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 1 to Jul 8 — about 10.2 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 16 days of snow and an estimated 114 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 694 cm of snow.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 14
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1473
Feb15114
Mar16127
Apr1497
May1270
Jun312
Jul01
Aug00
Sep28
Oct845
Nov1173
Dec1375

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Khorugh, 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 15 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around November 3. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 88% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 4 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around May 14. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 13 · 90%Feb 6 · 31%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3565
Feb3268
Mar3466
Apr4456
May5743
Jun6832
Jul7723
Aug8515
Sep8812
Oct7129
Nov4951
Dec4060

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 14, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.77:335:13
Feb10.67:115:45
Mar11.76:326:14
Apr12.95:456:43
May14.05:107:10
Jun14.54:577:31
Jul14.35:097:30
Aug13.45:347:02
Sep12.36:016:15
Oct11.06:285:29
Nov10.07:014:57
Dec9.57:274:53

Sunny days

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

Khorugh averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 23 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.0 months, from around Jul 11 to Nov 10. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 22 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is March, down near 7 sunny days — about 69% fewer than the September peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 1423 daysMar 137 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan8Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr9Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun10Mixed
Jul14Mixed
Aug19Bright
Sep22Bright
Oct17Bright
Nov11Mixed
Dec9Mixed

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 Khorugh, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)
Jan100
Feb100
Mar100
Apr100
May100
Jun100
Jul100
Aug100
Sep100
Oct100
Nov100
Dec100

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 Khorugh is steady company: average speeds sit near 3 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmJul 29 · 3 km/hMay 19 · 2 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan3calm
Feb3calm
Mar2calm
Apr2calm
May2calm
Jun3calm
Jul3calm
Aug3calm
Sep3calm
Oct3calm
Nov3calm
Dec3calm

Best time to visit Khorugh

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early September, Khorugh 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 Khorugh for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 11 · 5.2

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
Apr0.0poor
May0.1poor
Jun1.9poor
Jul4.2fair
Aug5.0fair
Sep3.5poor
Oct0.3poor
Nov0.0poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Khorugh rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDectemperaturecloudsprecipitation

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 Khorugh, 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 August (highs near 15°C), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -15°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Khorugh sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 5°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Khorugh 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 Khorugh peaks around May 18 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateMay 18UV 15Jan 1UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb6High
Mar8Very high
Apr12Extreme
May15Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep10Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Khorugh

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 May the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7.5 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)
Jan20
Feb5.50
Mar6.53.5
Apr8.56
May9.57.5
Jun9.57.5
Jul97
Aug8.56.5
Sep7.55
Oct5.51.5
Nov40
Dec20

Air quality in Khorugh 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 Khorugh is worst in July — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.0× the cleanest month (December, 5 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1321 µg/m³Dec 195 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb6Good
Mar9Good
Apr11Good
May15Moderate
Jun20Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov6Good
Dec5Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Khorugh typically lasts about 93 days, from around June 20 to September 20 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from July 5 to September 6.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJun 310%Jun 2050%Jul 590%Sep 690%Sep 2050%Oct 1210%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb028
Mar031
Apr130
May431
Jun4130
Jul964
Aug990
Sep6325
Oct931
Nov030
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. Khorugh banks about 10 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul4
Aug6
Sep0
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.

Khorugh receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.8 and 8.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 14 to Sep 26. The brightest month is May, averaging about 7.9 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.9 kWh/m² — roughly 64% less than the May peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 288.0 kWhDec 192.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.2Moderate
Feb4.2Bright
Mar5.8Bright
Apr7.3Intense
May7.9Intense
Jun7.8Intense
Jul7.3Intense
Aug6.9Intense
Sep6.1Intense
Oct4.7Bright
Nov3.5Moderate
Dec2.8Moderate

Where is Khorugh?

Khorugh sits at 37.5°N, 71.6°E, 2,089 m above sea level, in Tajikistan. The nearest listed city is Bahārak, 79 km away.

BahārakIshqoshimJurmFayzabadRustāqKŭlobChubekHulbuk

Topography around Khorugh

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Khorugh has very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,802 m around an average of 2,622 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,967 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,678 m.

The land around Khorugh is covered by grassland (54%) and bare terrain (27%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and bare terrain (38%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (45%) and grassland (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,802 m
16 km
2,967 m
80 km
4,678 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Nearby: Bahārak 79 km · Ishqoshim 85 km · Jurm 94 km · Fayzabad 96 km · Rustāq 158 km · Kŭlob 163 km · Chubek 163 km · Hulbuk 172 km

Tajikistan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F / I
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 28% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,637
2025
Happiness
5.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
65%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
15.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 409
Religion
Muslim 98%

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 Khorugh (37.4904°, 71.5534°, elevation 2,089 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).