Climate and average weather in Karakoçan

In Karakoçan, the summers are hot, dry, and clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early September to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Karakoçan typically varies from -8°C to 32°C, and is rarely below -17°C or above 36°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Karakoçan for warm-weather activities are from late May to early July and early September to mid October.

Hottest
Aug
32°
Coldest
Jan
-8°
Wettest
Apr
133 mm
Driest
Aug
4 mm
Rain / yr
880 mm
101 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,087 m
39.0°N
Clearest
Aug
13% cloud

Karakoçan is district in Elazığ, Turkey.

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

Karakoçan 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 early September to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Karakoçan, 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 6 to September 25, with daily high temperatures above 25°C. The hottest month of the year in Karakoçan is August, with an average high of 32°C and low of 16°C.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 28 to March 11, with daily high temperatures below 6°C. The coldest month of the year in Karakoçan is January, with an average low of -8°C and high of -0°C.

Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 16°C) in August.

-20°-10°10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan0-8
Feb2-7
Mar7-3
Apr142
May207
Jun2712
Jul3216
Aug3216
Sep2711
Oct196
Nov10-1
Dec3-6

How hot and cold Karakoçan 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 hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Karakoçan feels like about 33°C (around August 1). About 31 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -12°C (around January 18), with roughly 161 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 46 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan00-11-8
Feb22-10-7
Mar77-5-3
Apr141402
May202067
Jun26271112
Jul32321616
Aug32321616
Sep27271111
Oct191946
Nov1010-3-1
Dec23-9-6

Average hourly temperature in Karakoçan

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 32°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -8°C.

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

Karakoçan 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-0° / -8°1111111.29.60.0
Feb / -7°10311.310.610.50.0
Mar / -3°12413.98.711.70.9
Apr14° / 133152.4133.5
May20° / 10013.30.114.16.1
Jun27° / 12°224.8014.77.8
Jul32° / 16°51.7014.55.6
Aug32° / 16°41.1013.55.4
Sep27° / 11°162.2012.38.1
Oct19° / 667.60.2116.8
Nov10° / -1°888.22.89.92.5
Dec / -6°10811.19.69.30.0

Chance of rain

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

Karakoçan gets about 880 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 6.4 months, from around Nov 20 to Jun 2, peaking in April at about 51% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 13.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 133 mm over about 15 wet days; August is the driest, with 4 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 29 · 51%Aug 13 · 3%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3511
Feb4111
Mar4514
Apr5015
May4213
Jun175
Jul62
Aug41
Sep82
Oct238
Nov288
Dec3611

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Karakoçan collects about 880 mm of rain across 101 wet days — roughly 73 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 133 mm, while August is the driest at just 4 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1111031241331002254166688108
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1111111
Feb1031111
Mar124149
Apr133152
May100130
Jun2250
Jul520
Aug410
Sep1620
Oct6680
Nov8883
Dec1081110

Snow in Karakoçan

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.

Karakoçan averages about 46 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 27 to May 2 — about 6.2 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 11 days of snow and an estimated 83 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 362 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 31
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1183
Feb11100
Mar961
Apr213
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov319
Dec1087

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Karakoçan, 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 20 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around October 20. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 99% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 21 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around May 19. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 54% 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 28 · 99%Dec 31 · 43%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb4654
Mar4753
Apr4852
May6337
Jun9010
Jul991
Aug991
Sep946
Oct7327
Nov5743
Dec4654

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 9, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.66:434:16
Feb10.56:204:49
Mar11.75:395:20
Apr13.04:505:51
May14.14:136:20
Jun14.73:596:42
Jul14.54:116:40
Aug13.54:386:10
Sep12.35:075:22
Oct11.05:364:34
Nov9.96:104:00
Dec9.36:383:54

Sunny days

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

Karakoçan averages about 17 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around May 29 to Oct 18. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 28 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is March, down near 10 sunny days — about 65% fewer than the August peak.

05101520253035JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 928 daysMar 319 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May13Mixed
Jun22Bright
Jul28Brilliant
Aug29Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct18Bright
Nov14Mixed
Dec11Mixed

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 Karakoçan, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in June, 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 (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul982
Aug991
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

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 Karakoçan is typically calm, near 6 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.7 months, from around May 13 to Oct 2. The windiest month is July, averaging about 8 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Oct 3 to May 12, with February the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeJul 1 · 8 km/hFeb 19 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May7calm
Jun8calm
Jul8calm
Aug8calm
Sep7calm
Oct6calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Hazard calendar for Karakoçan

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Karakoçan's rainy season runs October–May, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Best time to visit Karakoçan

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early October, Karakoçan 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 Karakoçan for general outdoor tourist activities run from late May to early July and again from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 22 · 8.6

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
Mar0.9poor
Apr3.5fair
May6.1good
Jun7.7ideal
Jul5.7good
Aug5.5fair
Sep8.0ideal
Oct6.8good
Nov2.5poor
Dec0.1poor

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 Karakoçan for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 5 · 9.1

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 Karakoçan, 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 32°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -0°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Karakoçan sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Karakoçan 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 Karakoçan peaks around August 14 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highVery highModerateAug 14UV 10Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul9Very high
Aug10Extreme
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Karakoçan

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 August 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb20
Mar20
Apr6.52.5
May84.5
Jun8.56
Jul8.55.5
Aug85.5
Sep74
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Karakoçan 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 Karakoçan is worst in May — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (December, 12 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMay 1222 µg/m³Dec 2212 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan12Moderate
Feb17Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May23Moderate
Jun18Moderate
Jul12Good
Aug13Moderate
Sep13Moderate
Oct16Moderate
Nov14Moderate
Dec12Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Karakoçan typically lasts about 221 days, from around April 3 to November 9 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 27 to October 24.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 1110%Apr 350%Apr 2790%Oct 2490%Nov 950%Jan 310%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan831
Feb1128
Mar2831
Apr7227
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct947
Nov4230
Dec1631

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. Karakoçan banks about 1,592 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr1
May106
Jun271
Jul426
Aug436
Sep273
Oct80
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.

Karakoçan receives about 5.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.0 and 7.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 28 to Sep 28. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.7 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.1 kWh/m² — roughly 73% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 37.9 kWhDec 182.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.5Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May6.7Intense
Jun7.7Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug7.1Intense
Sep5.8Bright
Oct4.0Moderate
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.0Moderate

Where is Karakoçan?

Karakoçan sits at 39.0°N, 40.0°E, 1,087 m above sea level, in Turkey. The nearest listed city is Kovancılar, 30 km away.

Topography around Karakoçan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Karakoçan has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 403 m around an average of 1,153 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,192 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,707 m.

The land around Karakoçan is covered by cropland (49%) and grassland (37%) within 3 km, grassland (65%) and cropland (26%) within 16 km, and grassland (72%) within 80 km.

3 km
403 m
16 km
1,192 m
80 km
2,707 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Kovancılar 30 km · Bingöl 41 km · Tunceli 45 km · Genç 51 km · Elazığ 76 km · Lice 76 km · Ergani 80 km · Cimin 89 km

Turkey travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 41% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$18,599
2025
Happiness
5.3 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
3.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
6.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 488
Religion
Muslim 100%other 0%

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 Karakoçan (38.9518°, 40.0271°, elevation 1,087 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).