Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Aktau Airport KazakhstanAt Aktau Airport, the summers are warm, arid, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 23°F to 89°F and is rarely below 10°F or above 100°F. Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Aktau Airport for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August. Average Temperature at Aktau AirportThe hot season lasts for 3.4 months, from May 29 to September 11, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest month of the year at Aktau Airport is July, with an average high of 88°F and low of 71°F. The cold season lasts for 3.7 months, from November 21 to March 12, with an average daily high temperature below 45°F. The coldest month of the year at Aktau Airport is January, with an average low of 25°F and high of 35°F.
The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day. Indianapolis, Indiana, United States (6,081 miles away); Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States (5,790 miles); and Goyang-si, South Korea (3,851 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Aktau Airport (view comparison). CloudsAt Aktau Airport, 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 at Aktau Airport begins around May 18 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around October 14. The clearest month of the year at Aktau Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around October 14 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around May 18. The cloudiest month of the year at Aktau Airport is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 59% of the time.
PrecipitationAktau Airport does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 2% to 8%, with an average value of 5%. 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 at Aktau Airport changes throughout the year. Rain alone is the most common for 11 months, from February 10 to January 8. The month with the most days of rain alone at Aktau Airport is April, with an average of 2.1 days. Snow alone is the most common for 1.1 months, from January 8 to February 10. The month with the most days of snow alone at Aktau Airport is January, with an average of 0.5 days.
RainfallTo 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. Aktau Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. Rain falls throughout the year at Aktau Airport. The month with the most rain at Aktau Airport is April, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches. The month with the least rain at Aktau Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.
SnowfallAs with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Aktau Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall. The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.2 months, from January 1 to February 8, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Aktau Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 1.4 inches. The snowless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from February 8 to January 1. The least snow falls around July 7, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.
SunThe length of the day at Aktau Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 54 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 28 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:52 AM on June 15, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 17 minutes later at 9:09 AM on January 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:57 PM on December 9, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 24 minutes later at 9:22 PM on June 26. Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Aktau Airport during 2024. 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. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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. Aktau Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity. The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from June 7 to September 6, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 8% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Aktau Airport is July, with 9.1 days that are muggy or worse. The least muggy day of the year is February 29, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.
WindThis 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 at Aktau Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from September 22 to April 9, with average wind speeds of more than 12.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Aktau Airport is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.6 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 5.4 months, from April 9 to September 22. The calmest month of the year at Aktau Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.4 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction at Aktau Airport varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the west for 1.1 months, from May 6 to June 8, with a peak percentage of 29% on June 3. The wind is most often from the north for 2.4 months, from June 8 to August 20, with a peak percentage of 43% on July 21. The wind is most often from the east for 8.5 months, from August 20 to May 6, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1. Water TemperatureAktau Airport is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water. The average water temperature experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.9 months, from June 16 to September 14, with an average temperature above 70°F. The month of the year at Aktau Airport with the warmest water is July, with an average temperature of 75°F. The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.3 months, from December 10 to April 18, with an average temperature below 49°F. The month of the year at Aktau Airport with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 42°F.
Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is at Aktau Airport 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 Aktau Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are from late May to mid July and from early August to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August. Tourism Score at Aktau AirportThe 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 Aktau Airport for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the third week of July. Beach/Pool Score at Aktau AirportMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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 at Aktau Airport typically lasts for 7.4 months (226 days), from around March 26 to around November 7, rarely starting before March 8 or after April 15, and rarely ending before October 18 or after November 30. 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 at Aktau Airport should appear around April 17, only rarely appearing before April 8 or after April 29. Solar EnergyThis 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 3.5 months, from May 4 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Aktau Airport is June, with an average of 7.4 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from October 30 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Aktau Airport is December, with an average of 1.4 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Aktau Airport are 43.860 deg latitude, 51.092 deg longitude, and 69 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Aktau Airport is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 95 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 59 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (358 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,224 feet). The area within 2 miles of Aktau Airport is covered by bare soil (100%), within 10 miles by bare soil (66%) and water (34%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (49%) and water (46%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather at Aktau Airport, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointAktau Airport has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required. There are no other weather stations in our network within 200 kilometers of this location. Consequently, in the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on NASA's MERRA-2 modern-era reanalysis , adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal differences between this station and the wide-area MERRA-2 reconstructed values.Other DataAll 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. DisclaimerThe 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. |