Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Herāt Afghanistan

In Herāt, the summers are sweltering, arid, extremely windy, and clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, windy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 30°F to 98°F and is rarely below 20°F or above 105°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Herāt for hot-weather activities is from early June to early September.

The hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from May 21 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 89°F. The hottest month of the year in Herāt is July, with an average high of 98°F and low of 74°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.4 months, from November 26 to March 5, with an average daily high temperature below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Herāt is January, with an average low of 30°F and high of 51°F.

In Herāt, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Herāt begins around May 14 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around November 1.

The clearest month of the year in Herāt is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 1 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around May 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Herāt is March, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 38% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Herāt varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from November 27 to April 18, with a greater than 9% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Herāt is February, with an average of 4.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from April 18 to November 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Herāt is August, with an average of 0.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Herāt is March, with an average of 4.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 14% on March 16.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Herāt experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from November 27 to May 1, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Herāt is February, with an average rainfall of 1.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from May 1 to November 27. The month with the least rain in Herāt is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Herāt experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from November 29 to March 12, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Herāt is January, with an average snowfall of 2.5 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.5 months, from March 12 to November 29. The least snow falls around July 22, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Herāt varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2023, the shortest day is December 22, with 9 hours, 52 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 27 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:08 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 20 minutes later at 7:28 AM on January 8. The earliest sunset is at 5:10 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 27 minutes later at 7:37 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Herāt during 2023.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2023. 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.

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 perceived humidity level in Herāt, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

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 Herāt experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from June 6 to September 16, with average wind speeds of more than 14.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Herāt is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 19.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.7 months, from September 16 to June 6. The calmest month of the year in Herāt is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.6 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Herāt varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 7.4 months, from March 24 to November 6, with a peak percentage of 89% on July 26. The wind is most often from the south for 4.6 months, from November 6 to March 24, with a peak percentage of 52% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Herāt throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Herāt for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid to late May and from late August to mid October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Herāt for hot-weather activities is from early June to early September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

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 Herāt typically lasts for 8.1 months (248 days), from around March 17 to around November 20, rarely starting before February 23 or after April 7, and rarely ending before October 29 or after December 14.

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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Herāt should appear around February 24, only rarely appearing before February 9 or after March 14.

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 experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from May 8 to August 29, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Herāt is June, with an average of 8.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 6 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Herāt is December, with an average of 3.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Herāt are 34.348 deg latitude, 62.200 deg longitude, and 3,041 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Herāt contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 220 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,058 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,405 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (9,190 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Herāt is covered by artificial surfaces (84%) and cropland (12%), within 10 miles by cropland (52%) and bare soil (19%), and within 50 miles by grassland (38%) and bare soil (31%).