Climate and average weather in Chernobyl
In Chernobyl, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Chernobyl typically varies from -6°C to 25°C, and is rarely below -17°C or above 32°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 Chernobyl for warm-weather activities is from late April to late September.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 25°
- Coldest
- Jan
- -6°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 77 mm
- Driest
- Feb
- 33 mm
- Rain / yr
- 597 mm
- 116 wet days
- Daylight
- 7.6–16.4 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 0 m
- 51.3°N
- Clearest
- Aug
- 52% cloud
Chernobyl is partially abandoned city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.
- Density
- 63/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1193
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Chernobyl 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 April to late September.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Chernobyl, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 9 to September 15, with daily high temperatures above 19°C. The hottest month of the year in Chernobyl is July, with an average high of 25°C and low of 16°C.
The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 20 to March 7, with daily high temperatures below 4°C. The coldest month of the year in Chernobyl is January, with an average low of -6°C and high of -2°C.
Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | -2 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Avg low (°C) | -6 | -5 | -1 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | -4 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | -2 | -6 |
| Feb | 0 | -5 |
| Mar | 5 | -1 |
| Apr | 14 | 5 |
| May | 20 | 11 |
| Jun | 24 | 14 |
| Jul | 25 | 16 |
| Aug | 25 | 15 |
| Sep | 19 | 10 |
| Oct | 12 | 5 |
| Nov | 5 | 1 |
| Dec | 0 | -4 |
How hot and cold Chernobyl 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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -13°C (around January 29), with roughly 166 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) — 64 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | -2 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Air high (°C) | -2 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -12 | -11 | -6 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 2 | -4 | -9 |
| Air low (°C) | -6 | -5 | -1 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | -4 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -2 | -2 | -12 | -6 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 | -11 | -5 |
| Mar | 5 | 5 | -6 | -1 |
| Apr | 14 | 14 | 2 | 5 |
| May | 20 | 20 | 10 | 11 |
| Jun | 24 | 24 | 14 | 14 |
| Jul | 25 | 25 | 16 | 16 |
| Aug | 25 | 25 | 15 | 15 |
| Sep | 19 | 19 | 9 | 10 |
| Oct | 12 | 12 | 2 | 5 |
| Nov | 5 | 5 | -4 | 1 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 | -9 | -4 |
Average hourly temperature in Chernobyl
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 25°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -6°C.
Chernobyl weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -2° / -6° | 36 | 8.9 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 0.0 |
| Feb | -0° / -5° | 33 | 8.4 | 6.4 | 9.6 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 5° / -1° | 40 | 9.8 | 5 | 11.5 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 14° / 5° | 42 | 9 | 0.6 | 13.5 | 4.0 |
| May | 20° / 11° | 59 | 11.2 | 0 | 15.3 | 6.2 |
| Jun | 24° / 14° | 65 | 11 | 0 | 16.3 | 6.8 |
| Jul | 25° / 16° | 77 | 12.5 | 0 | 15.9 | 6.5 |
| Aug | 25° / 15° | 58 | 9.4 | 0 | 14.4 | 7.0 |
| Sep | 19° / 10° | 55 | 8.5 | 0 | 12.4 | 6.1 |
| Oct | 12° / 5° | 47 | 8.8 | 0.2 | 10.4 | 3.1 |
| Nov | 5° / 1° | 41 | 8.6 | 3.2 | 8.7 | 0.3 |
| Dec | -0° / -4° | 44 | 9.7 | 6.2 | 7.7 | 0.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Chernobyl gets about 597 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 3.1 months, from around May 2 to Aug 4, peaking in July at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 12.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 77 mm over about 13 wet days; February is the driest, with 33 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 29 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 35 | 37 | 40 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 32 |
| Rain days | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 9 |
| Feb | 31 | 8 |
| Mar | 31 | 10 |
| Apr | 30 | 9 |
| May | 35 | 11 |
| Jun | 37 | 11 |
| Jul | 40 | 13 |
| Aug | 30 | 9 |
| Sep | 28 | 9 |
| Oct | 28 | 9 |
| Nov | 29 | 9 |
| Dec | 32 | 10 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Chernobyl collects about 597 mm of rain across 116 wet days — roughly 50 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 77 mm, while February is the driest at just 33 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 36 | 33 | 40 | 42 | 59 | 65 | 77 | 58 | 55 | 47 | 41 | 44 |
| Rain days | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Snow days | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 9 | 7 |
| Feb | 33 | 8 | 6 |
| Mar | 40 | 10 | 5 |
| Apr | 42 | 9 | 1 |
| May | 59 | 11 | 0 |
| Jun | 65 | 11 | 0 |
| Jul | 77 | 13 | 0 |
| Aug | 58 | 9 | 0 |
| Sep | 55 | 9 | 0 |
| Oct | 47 | 9 | 0 |
| Nov | 41 | 9 | 3 |
| Dec | 44 | 10 | 6 |
Snow in Chernobyl
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.
Chernobyl averages about 29 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 26 to Apr 16 — about 5.7 months.
February is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 24 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 114 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 25 | 24 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 27 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 25 |
| Feb | 6 | 24 |
| Mar | 5 | 19 |
| Apr | 1 | 2 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 1 |
| Nov | 3 | 16 |
| Dec | 6 | 27 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Chernobyl, 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 25 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around September 29. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 57% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around September 30 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around March 24. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 88% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 14 | 18 | 29 | 42 | 49 | 51 | 56 | 57 | 43 | 30 | 15 | 12 |
| Cloudier (%) | 86 | 82 | 71 | 58 | 51 | 49 | 44 | 43 | 57 | 70 | 85 | 88 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 86 |
| Feb | 18 | 82 |
| Mar | 29 | 71 |
| Apr | 42 | 58 |
| May | 49 | 51 |
| Jun | 51 | 49 |
| Jul | 56 | 44 |
| Aug | 57 | 43 |
| Sep | 43 | 57 |
| Oct | 30 | 70 |
| Nov | 15 | 85 |
| Dec | 12 | 88 |
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 19, brings about 16 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 7 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 8 h 48 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.2 | 9.6 | 11.5 | 13.5 | 15.3 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.4 | 10.4 | 8.7 | 7.7 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 8:05 | 7:24 | 6:23 | 5:12 | 4:15 | 3:49 | 4:07 | 4:52 | 5:42 | 6:32 | 7:27 | 8:05 |
| Sunset (PM) | 4:12 | 5:03 | 5:54 | 6:47 | 7:35 | 8:09 | 8:03 | 7:15 | 6:05 | 4:56 | 4:02 | 3:45 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.2 | 8:05 | 4:12 |
| Feb | 9.6 | 7:24 | 5:03 |
| Mar | 11.5 | 6:23 | 5:54 |
| Apr | 13.5 | 5:12 | 6:47 |
| May | 15.3 | 4:15 | 7:35 |
| Jun | 16.3 | 3:49 | 8:09 |
| Jul | 15.9 | 4:07 | 8:03 |
| Aug | 14.4 | 4:52 | 7:15 |
| Sep | 12.4 | 5:42 | 6:05 |
| Oct | 10.4 | 6:32 | 4:56 |
| Nov | 8.7 | 7:27 | 4:02 |
| Dec | 7.7 | 8:05 | 3:45 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Chernobyl averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 12 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 6.5 months, from around Mar 22 to Oct 6. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).
The greyest month is November, down near 3 sunny days — about 77% fewer than the August peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 3 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 5 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 8 | Mixed |
| May | 9 | Mixed |
| Jun | 9 | Mixed |
| Jul | 10 | Mixed |
| Aug | 11 | Mixed |
| Sep | 8 | Mixed |
| Oct | 6 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 3 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 2 | Gloomy |
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 Chernobyl, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 3.1 months, from around May 28 to August 30. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 40% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around August 31 to May 27, and April 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 | 100 | 100 | 83 | 52 | 26 | 42 | 82 | 97 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 27 | 34 | 32 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 30 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 83 | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Jun | 52 | 27 | 20 | 2 |
| Jul | 26 | 34 | 30 | 10 |
| Aug | 42 | 32 | 22 | 4 |
| Sep | 82 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| Oct | 97 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 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.
Across the year, average wind speed in Chernobyl is typically light breeze, near 13 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Oct 15 to Apr 13. The windiest month is January, averaging about 15 km/h (light breeze).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 14 to Oct 14, with August the calmest month at about 11 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| Feels | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | calm | calm | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | light breeze |
| Feb | 15 | light breeze |
| Mar | 15 | light breeze |
| Apr | 13 | light breeze |
| May | 12 | light breeze |
| Jun | 12 | light breeze |
| Jul | 11 | calm |
| Aug | 11 | calm |
| Sep | 13 | light breeze |
| Oct | 13 | light breeze |
| Nov | 14 | light breeze |
| Dec | 14 | light breeze |
Best time to visit Chernobyl
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Chernobyl throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid May, Chernobyl 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 Chernobyl for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to late September, with a peak score in the third week of August.
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) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 6.1 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | fair | good | good | good | good | good | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | poor |
| Feb | 0.0 | poor |
| Mar | 0.5 | poor |
| Apr | 4.0 | fair |
| May | 6.2 | good |
| Jun | 6.7 | good |
| Jul | 6.5 | good |
| Aug | 7.0 | good |
| Sep | 6.1 | good |
| Oct | 3.1 | poor |
| Nov | 0.4 | poor |
| Dec | 0.0 | poor |
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 Chernobyl for hot-weather activities is from early June to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.
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 Chernobyl, 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 July (highs near 25°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -2°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.
In July, Chernobyl sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 16°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Chernobyl 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 Chernobyl peaks around June 23 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 2 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 7 | High |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Average hourly UV index in Chernobyl
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 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 2.5 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 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5.5 | 8 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 4 | 0 |
| May | 5.5 | 0 |
| Jun | 8 | 2.5 |
| Jul | 7.5 | 2.5 |
| Aug | 6.5 | 0 |
| Sep | 4.5 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Growing season
The growing season in Chernobyl typically lasts about 237 days, from around March 27 to November 18 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 14 to October 15.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 17 | 20 | 39 | 88 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 88 | 54 | 24 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 30 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | 31 |
| Feb | 20 | 28 |
| Mar | 39 | 31 |
| Apr | 88 | 11 |
| May | 99 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 88 | 18 |
| Nov | 54 | 30 |
| Dec | 24 | 31 |
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. Chernobyl banks about 1,227 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 166 | 272 | 331 | 299 | 135 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 18 |
| May | 166 |
| Jun | 272 |
| Jul | 331 |
| Aug | 299 |
| Sep | 135 |
| Oct | 6 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Chernobyl receives about 3.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.6 and 5.8 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 20 to Sep 17. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).
The dimmest month is December, down near 0.6 kWh/m² — roughly 90% less than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Level | Dim | Dim | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Dim | Dim | Dim |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.8 | Dim |
| Feb | 1.6 | Dim |
| Mar | 2.9 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4.3 | Bright |
| May | 5.4 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.8 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.5 | Bright |
| Aug | 4.7 | Bright |
| Sep | 3.2 | Moderate |
| Oct | 1.8 | Dim |
| Nov | 0.8 | Dim |
| Dec | 0.6 | Dim |
Where is Chernobyl?
Chernobyl sits at 51.3°N, 30.2°E, 0 m above sea level, in Ukraine. The nearest listed city is Slavutych, 45 km away.
What Chernobyl looks like
Topography around Chernobyl
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Chernobyl.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Chernobyl has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 42 m around an average of 113 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 67 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 116 m.
The land around Chernobyl is covered by trees (58%) and grassland (27%) within 3 km, trees (72%) within 16 km, and trees (52%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.
Ukraine travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 4
- Do Not Travel
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 31% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $5,866
- 2025
- Happiness
- 4.7 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 88%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 3.8
- per 100k, 2021
- Road deaths
- 10.2
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Moderate
- EF EPI 526
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 Chernobyl (51.2701°, 30.2197°, elevation 0 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).