Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Bulgan Mongolia

In Bulgan, the summers are comfortable; the winters are frigid, dry, and windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -11°F to 75°F and is rarely below -22°F or above 86°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Bulgan for warm-weather activities is from early July to early August.

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 15 to September 11, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F. The hottest month of the year in Bulgan is July, with an average high of 75°F and low of 52°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.2 months, from November 20 to February 28, with an average daily high temperature below 21°F. The coldest month of the year in Bulgan is January, with an average low of -10°F and high of 9°F.

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

The clearer part of the year in Bulgan begins around August 17 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around February 23.

The clearest month of the year in Bulgan is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 61% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 23 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around August 17.

The cloudiest month of the year in Bulgan is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 50% 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 Bulgan varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.2 months, from May 28 to September 4, with a greater than 20% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Bulgan is July, with an average of 12.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.8 months, from September 4 to May 28. The month with the fewest wet days in Bulgan is December, with an average of 0.1 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. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Bulgan changes throughout the year.

Snow alone is the most common for 6.2 months, from October 11 to April 17. The month with the most days of snow alone in Bulgan is October, with an average of 0.7 days.

Rain alone is the most common for 5.8 months, from April 17 to October 11. The month with the most days of rain alone in Bulgan is July, with an average of 12.2 days.

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. Bulgan experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from May 6 to September 25, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Bulgan is July, with an average rainfall of 2.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from September 25 to May 6. The month with the least rain in Bulgan is December, 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. Bulgan experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from September 29 to April 30, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Bulgan is April, with an average snowfall of 1.2 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 30 to September 29. The least snow falls around July 22, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Bulgan varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 15 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 16 hours, 11 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:01 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 57 minutes later at 8:59 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 5:09 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 4 minutes later at 9:13 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Bulgan 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 Bulgan, 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 Bulgan experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from October 20 to June 4, with average wind speeds of more than 8.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Bulgan is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.5 months, from June 4 to October 20. The calmest month of the year in Bulgan is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 3.9 months, from April 21 to August 18, with a peak percentage of 37% on May 1. The wind is most often from the west for 8.1 months, from August 18 to April 21, with a peak percentage of 78% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bulgan 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 Bulgan for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

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 Bulgan for hot-weather activities is for the entire month of July, with a peak score in the second week of July.

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 Bulgan typically lasts for 3.5 months (107 days), from around May 25 to around September 9, rarely starting before May 9 or after June 9, and rarely ending before August 24 or after September 24.

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 Bulgan should appear around May 15, only rarely appearing before May 7 or after May 23.

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 April 21 to August 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Bulgan is June, with an average of 6.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from October 30 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Bulgan is December, with an average of 1.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Bulgan are 48.812 deg latitude, 103.535 deg longitude, and 3,950 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Bulgan contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 610 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,062 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (3,346 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (4,432 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Bulgan is covered by sparse vegetation (52%), grassland (17%), trees (11%), and shrubs (10%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (52%) and grassland (27%), and within 50 miles by sparse vegetation (38%) and grassland (38%).