Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Mūsá Qal‘ah Afghanistan

In Mūsá Qal‘ah, the summers are long, sweltering, arid, and clear and the winters are cold, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 33°F to 104°F and is rarely below 27°F or above 108°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Mūsá Qal‘ah for hot-weather activities is from mid May to mid September.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 15 to September 12, with an average daily high temperature above 94°F. The hottest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is July, with an average high of 103°F and low of 76°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 28 to February 29, with an average daily high temperature below 63°F. The coldest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is January, with an average low of 34°F and high of 54°F.

In Mūsá Qal‘ah, 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 Mūsá Qal‘ah begins around May 10 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around November 7.

The clearest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 99% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 7 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around May 10.

The cloudiest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is March, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 35% 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 Mūsá Qal‘ah varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from December 6 to April 11, with a greater than 6% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Mūsá Qal‘ah is March, with an average of 3.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.8 months, from April 11 to December 6. The month with the fewest wet days in Mūsá Qal‘ah is September, with an average of 0.3 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 Mūsá Qal‘ah is March, with an average of 3.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 12% on March 11.

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. Mūsá Qal‘ah experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from December 23 to April 6, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Mūsá Qal‘ah is February, with an average rainfall of 0.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 8.5 months, from April 6 to December 23. The month with the least rain in Mūsá Qal‘ah is June, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Mūsá Qal‘ah varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 1 minute of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 17 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:03 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 10 minutes later at 7:13 AM on January 9. The earliest sunset is at 5:05 PM on December 3, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 17 minutes later at 7:22 PM on June 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Mūsá Qal‘ah during 2024.

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

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 Mūsá Qal‘ah, 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 Mūsá Qal‘ah experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from April 17 to September 5, with average wind speeds of more than 7.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.4 months, from September 5 to April 17. The calmest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Mūsá Qal‘ah varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 1.2 months, from February 29 to April 5, with a peak percentage of 32% on April 3. The wind is most often from the north for 3.4 months, from April 5 to July 17 and for 6.2 months, from August 21 to February 28, with a peak percentage of 49% on June 1. The wind is most often from the south for 1.1 months, from July 17 to August 21, with a peak percentage of 38% on August 5.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Mūsá Qal‘ah 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 time of year to visit Mūsá Qal‘ah for general outdoor tourist activities is from early September to late October, with a peak score in the last 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 Mūsá Qal‘ah for hot-weather activities is from mid May to mid September, with a peak score in the last 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 Mūsá Qal‘ah typically lasts for 9.7 months (293 days), from around February 18 to around December 7, rarely starting before January 28 or after March 8, and rarely ending before November 16 or after December 28.

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 Mūsá Qal‘ah should appear around February 20, only rarely appearing before February 6 or after March 7.

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 4 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is June, with an average of 8.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 7 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Mūsá Qal‘ah is December, with an average of 3.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Mūsá Qal‘ah are 32.446 deg latitude, 64.745 deg longitude, and 3,455 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Mūsá Qal‘ah contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 676 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,590 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,828 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (8,907 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Mūsá Qal‘ah is covered by bare soil (51%) and grassland (32%), within 10 miles by bare soil (49%) and grassland (29%), and within 50 miles by grassland (44%) and bare soil (41%).