Kyiv in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Kyiv sees average daytime highs around -0°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 110 mm of precipitation over about 26 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -0°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Kyiv's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Kyiv's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- -0°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -5°C
- Precipitation
- 110 mm
- 26 wet days
- Avg wind
- 14 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Kyiv in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -0°C.
A typical winter day in Kyiv reaches about -0°C and drops to -5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Kyiv
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Kyiv weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -1° / -6° | 34 | 8.5 | 7 | 8.3 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 0° / -5° | 34 | 8.4 | 6.4 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 6° / -1° | 39 | 9.4 | 4.4 | 11.5 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 14° / 5° | 44 | 9.4 | 0.6 | 13.5 | 4.0 |
| May | 20° / 10° | 63 | 11 | 0 | 15.2 | 6.2 |
| Jun | 24° / 14° | 68 | 11.1 | 0 | 16.1 | 6.7 |
| Jul | 25° / 16° | 84 | 12.2 | 0 | 15.8 | 6.6 |
| Aug | 25° / 15° | 53 | 8.2 | 0 | 14.3 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 19° / 10° | 58 | 8.8 | 0 | 12.4 | 6.2 |
| Oct | 12° / 5° | 45 | 8.5 | 0.3 | 10.4 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 5° / 0° | 42 | 8.2 | 3.3 | 8.8 | 0.3 |
| Dec | -0° / -4° | 43 | 9.1 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Kyiv gets around 110 mm of rain and snow over 26 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 14 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Kyiv?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kyiv.
What to pack for Kyiv in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Kyiv sees daytime highs around -0°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 26 days see rain.
UV index in Kyiv in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kyiv peaks around July 11 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 20 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 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 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 | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 5 | Moderate |
| Jun | 7 | High |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 5 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Air quality in Kyiv in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Kyiv is worst in July — around 32 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (December, 15 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Kyiv's WHO annual average of 23.4 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 16 | 21 | 31 | 28 | 23 | 26 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 17 | 15 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | Moderate |
| Feb | 21 | Moderate |
| Mar | 31 | Moderate |
| Apr | 28 | Moderate |
| May | 23 | Moderate |
| Jun | 26 | Moderate |
| Jul | 32 | Moderate |
| Aug | 28 | Moderate |
| Sep | 24 | Moderate |
| Oct | 20 | Moderate |
| Nov | 17 | Moderate |
| Dec | 15 | Moderate |
Where is Kyiv?
Kyiv sits at 50.5°N, 30.5°E, 179 m above sea level, in Ukraine. The nearest listed city is Stare Misto, 1.0 km away.
Topography around Kyiv
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kyiv.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Kyiv has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 120 m around an average of 135 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 124 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 156 m.
The land around Kyiv is covered by artificial surfaces (52%) and trees (32%) within 3 km, trees (48%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 16 km, and cropland (42%) and trees (35%) 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 Kyiv (50.4547°, 30.5238°, elevation 179 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.