Samarkand in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Samarkand sees average daytime highs around 7°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 186 mm of precipitation over about 30 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 7°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Samarkand's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Samarkand's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 7°C; coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low: -2°C
Precipitation: 186 mm; 30 wet days
Avg wind: 7 km/h
Travel score: 1.1; weakest season of the year
Months: Dec · Jan · Feb

← Fall Samarkand year-round climate Spring →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Samarkand in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 7°C.

A typical winter day in Samarkand reaches about 7°C and drops to -2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

How winter really feels in Samarkand

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.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Samarkand 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	6° / -3°	57	10.4	4.9	9.5	0.5
Feb	9° / -1°	76	10.4	3.7	10.4	1.6
Mar	14° / 3°	96	12.6	1.7	11.7	3.9
Apr	20° / 8°	91	10.9	0.1	13	6.2
May	26° / 13°	55	8.8	0	14.2	7.2
Jun	31° / 16°	15	3.9	0	14.7	5.7
Jul	33° / 18°	4	1.1	0	14.5	4.7
Aug	32° / 16°	3	0.7	0	13.6	5.6
Sep	27° / 12°	6	1.2	0	12.3	8.4
Oct	21° / 7°	20	3.7	0	10.9	8.0
Nov	13° / 2°	50	7.6	1.1	9.8	4.1
Dec	8° / -2°	53	8.9	2.9	9.2	1.3

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter.

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Samarkand gets around 186 mm of rain and snow over 30 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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 7 km/h across winter.

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 24 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.4 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Samarkand

In seasonPeak

In winter, Samarkand overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

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

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Samarkand?

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.

1.1

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Samarkand.

What to pack for Samarkand in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Samarkand sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 30 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Samarkand in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Samarkand peaks around June 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	3	5	7	9	10	9	9	7	4	2	2
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	7	High
May	9	Very high
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	9	Very high
Sep	7	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	2	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Air quality in Samarkand in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Samarkand is worst in April — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	24	26	36	39	38	32	31	30	35	35	31	26
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	24	Moderate
Feb	26	Moderate
Mar	36	Poor
Apr	39	Poor
May	38	Poor
Jun	32	Moderate
Jul	31	Moderate
Aug	30	Moderate
Sep	35	Moderate
Oct	35	Poor
Nov	31	Moderate
Dec	26	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Samarkand?

Samarkand sits at 39.7°N, 67.0°E, 703 m above sea level, in Uzbekistan. The nearest listed city is Juma Shahri, 27 km away.

Topography around Samarkand

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Samarkand has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 82 m around an average of 712 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 406 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,592 m.

The land around Samarkand is covered by artificial surfaces (90%) within 3 km, cropland (45%) and artificial surfaces (33%) within 16 km, and grassland (47%) and cropland (43%) within 80 km.

3 km

82 m

artificial surfaces 90%

16 km

406 m

cropland 45%

80 km

3,592 m

grassland 47%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← Fall Samarkand year-round climate Spring →

Winter weather nearby: Juma Shahri 27 km · Bulung’ur Shahri 29 km · Chelak 31 km · Urgut Shahri 37 km · Panjakent 58 km · Kitob 60 km · Kattaqo’rg’on Shahri 66 km · Shahrisabz 67 km

Uzbekistan travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type C / E / F; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 29% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $3,968; 2025
Happiness: 6.3 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 82%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.4; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 11.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 439
Religion

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 Samarkand (39.6546°, 66.9644°, elevation 703 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.