1. WeatherSpark.com
  2. Afghanistan
  3. Kandahar
  4. Kandahār

December Weather in Kandahār Afghanistan

Daily high temperatures decrease by 7°F, from 64°F to 57°F, rarely falling below 48°F or exceeding 72°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 4°F, from 39°F to 35°F, rarely falling below 28°F or exceeding 47°F.

For reference, on July 5, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Kandahār typically range from 77°F to 104°F, while on January 8, the coldest day of the year, they range from 34°F to 56°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in December in Kandahār

Average High and Low Temperature in December in KandahārDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313125°F25°F30°F30°F35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°F75°F75°F80°F80°F85°F85°FNovJanDec 164°FDec 164°F39°F39°FDec 3157°FDec 3157°F35°F35°FDec 1161°FDec 1161°F37°F37°FDec 2159°FDec 2159°F36°F36°F
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on December. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in December in Kandahār

Average Hourly Temperature in December in KandahārDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanvery coldvery coldcoldcoolcoolcomfortablecool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Scenic, Arizona, United States (7,719 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Kandahār (view comparison).

Map
Marker
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Compare Kandahār to another city:

Map

The month of December in Kandahār experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 26% throughout the month.

The clearest day of the month is December 1, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 75% of the time.

For reference, on March 21, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 35%, while on September 14, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 99%.

Cloud Cover Categories in December in Kandahār

Cloud Cover Categories in December in KandahārDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJanDec 175%Dec 175%Dec 3172%Dec 3172%Dec 1173%Dec 1173%Dec 2172%Dec 2172%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Kandahār, the chance of a wet day over the course of December is increasing, starting the month at 4% and ending it at 8%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 12% on March 9, and its lowest chance is 1% on June 2.

Probability of Precipitation in December in Kandahār

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during December in Kandahār is gradually increasing, starting the month at 0.5 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.5 inches or falls below -0.0 inches, and ending the month at 0.8 inches, when it rarely exceeds 2.1 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in December in Kandahār

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of December in Kandahār, the length of the day is essentially constant. The shortest day of the month is December 21, with 10 hours, 5 minutes of daylight and the longest day is December 1, with 10 hours, 14 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December in Kandahār

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December in KandahārDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrNovJanDec 2110 hr, 5 minDec 2110 hr, 5 minnightnightdaydayDec 110 hr, 14 minDec 110 hr, 14 min
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the month in Kandahār is 6:49 AM on December 1 and the latest sunrise is 18 minutes later at 7:06 AM on December 31.

The earliest sunset is 5:03 PM on December 3 and the latest sunset is 11 minutes later at 5:14 PM on December 31.

Daylight saving time is not observed in Kandahār during 2024.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:02 AM and sets 14 hours, 13 minutes later, at 7:15 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:02 AM and sets 10 hours, 5 minutes later, at 5:08 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in December in Kandahār

The solar day over the course of December. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December in Kandahār

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December in KandahārDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJan001010202020303000010102020303030
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of December 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for December 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December in Kandahār

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December in KandahārDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanNov 15:18 PMNov 15:18 PMNov 161:59 AMNov 161:59 AMDec 110:52 AMDec 110:52 AMDec 151:32 PMDec 151:32 PMDec 312:58 AMDec 312:58 AMJan 142:58 AMJan 142:58 AMJan 295:07 PMJan 295:07 PM6:05 AM6:05 AM5:02 PM5:02 PM4:32 PM4:32 PM7:01 AM7:01 AM6:54 AM6:54 AM4:53 PM4:53 PM4:52 PM4:52 PM8:05 AM8:05 AM7:38 AM7:38 AM5:32 PM5:32 PM4:43 PM4:43 PM7:37 AM7:37 AM7:03 AM7:03 AM5:29 PM5:29 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Dec 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
0%6:54 AMESE4:53 PMWSW-11:53 AMS246,157 mi
2
1%7:55 AMESE5:42 PMSW-12:48 PMS244,110 mi
3
5%8:52 AMSE6:40 PMWSW-1:46 PMS241,991 mi
4
10%9:44 AMESE7:42 PMWSW-2:43 PMS239,846 mi
5
18%10:30 AMESE8:48 PMWSW-3:39 PMS237,702 mi
6
27%11:10 AMESE9:54 PMWSW-4:32 PMS235,573 mi
7
38%11:45 AMESE10:59 PMWSW-5:22 PMS233,487 mi
8
50%12:16 PME--6:09 PMS231,500 mi
9
61%-12:04 AMW12:46 PME6:56 PMS229,710 mi
10
72%-1:10 AMW1:16 PME7:44 PMS228,256 mi
11
82%-2:16 AMW1:48 PMENE8:33 PMS227,307 mi
12
91%-3:25 AMWNW2:24 PMENE9:27 PMS227,034 mi
13
96%-4:37 AMWNW3:05 PMENE10:24 PMS227,574 mi
14
100%-5:50 AMWNW3:55 PMENE11:25 PMS228,985 mi
15
100%-7:01 AMWNW4:52 PMNE--
16
100%-8:05 AMNW5:55 PMENE12:28 AMS231,224 mi
17
97%-9:00 AMWNW7:02 PMENE1:30 AMS234,130 mi
18
92%-9:46 AMWNW8:08 PMENE2:27 AMS237,454 mi
19
85%-10:24 AMWNW9:10 PMENE3:19 AMS240,904 mi
20
77%-10:55 AMWNW10:09 PMENE4:06 AMS244,187 mi
21
68%-11:23 AMW11:06 PME4:49 AMS247,042 mi
22
59%-11:48 AMW-5:29 AMS249,264 mi
23
50%12:00 AME12:13 PMW-6:08 AMS250,713 mi
24
39%12:54 AME12:37 PMW-6:46 AMS251,317 mi
25
30%1:48 AMESE1:04 PMWSW-7:26 AMS251,077 mi
26
21%2:44 AMESE1:33 PMWSW-8:08 AMS250,056 mi
27
14%3:42 AMESE2:07 PMWSW-8:54 AMS248,375 mi
28
8%4:42 AMESE2:47 PMWSW-9:44 AMS246,201 mi
29
3%5:43 AMESE3:34 PMWSW-10:38 AMS243,725 mi
30
0%6:42 AMSE4:29 PMSW-11:36 AMS241,151 mi
31
0%7:38 AMESE5:32 PMWSW-12:35 PMS238,667 mi

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Kandahār is essentially constant during December, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on July 27, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 1% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in December in Kandahār

Humidity Comfort Levels in December in KandahārDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%NovJanDec 10%Dec 10%Dec 310%Dec 310%Dec 110%Dec 110%Dec 210%Dec 210%drydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Kandahār is essentially constant during December, remaining around 5.9 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on May 25, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 8.3 miles per hour, while on December 11, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 5.9 miles per hour.

The lowest daily average wind speed during December is 5.9 miles per hour on December 26.

Average Wind Speed in December in Kandahār

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Kandahār throughout December is predominantly from the east, with a peak proportion of 39% on December 26.

Wind Direction in December in Kandahār

Wind Direction in December in KandahārWEWDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NovJanwestsoutheastnorth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Kandahār typically lasts for 9.7 months (295 days), from around February 16 to around December 8, rarely starting before January 26 or after March 9, and rarely ending before November 15 or after December 27.

During December in Kandahār, the chance that a given day is within the growing season is very rapidly decreasing falling from 64% to 6% over the course of the month.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December in Kandahār

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December in KandahārDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJan64%Dec 164%Dec 1Dec 316%Dec 316%Dec 1142%Dec 1142%Dec 2120%Dec 2120%90%Nov 1590%Nov 15very coldcoldcoolwarmcomfortablefreezing
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Kandahār are gradually increasing during December, increasing by 97°F, from 6,761°F to 6,858°F, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in December in Kandahār

Growing Degree Days in December in KandahārDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031316,500°F6,500°F6,600°F6,600°F6,700°F6,700°F6,800°F6,800°F6,900°F6,900°F7,000°F7,000°F7,100°F7,100°F7,200°F7,200°FNovJanDec 16,761°FDec 16,761°FDec 316,858°FDec 316,858°FDec 116,804°FDec 116,804°FDec 216,836°FDec 216,836°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of December, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Kandahār is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.1 kWh of 3.6 kWh throughout.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during December is 3.5 kWh on December 20.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December in Kandahār

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December in KandahārDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 kWh0.0 kWh0.5 kWh0.5 kWh1.0 kWh1.0 kWh1.5 kWh1.5 kWh2.0 kWh2.0 kWh2.5 kWh2.5 kWh3.0 kWh3.0 kWh3.5 kWh3.5 kWh4.0 kWh4.0 kWh4.5 kWh4.5 kWh5.0 kWh5.0 kWh5.5 kWh5.5 kWhNovJanDec 203.5 kWhDec 203.5 kWhDec 13.8 kWhDec 13.8 kWhDec 313.5 kWhDec 313.5 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Kandahār are 31.613 deg latitude, 65.710 deg longitude, and 3,304 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Kandahār contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 190 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,301 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,667 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,184 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Kandahār is covered by artificial surfaces (69%) and cropland (25%), within 10 miles by cropland (52%) and bare soil (28%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (49%) and grassland (32%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Kandahār, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Kandahar International Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Kandahār.

At a distance of 18 kilometers from Kandahār, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Kandahār according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.