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Almaty weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Almaty, whose name is often translated as full of apples, sits in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau, where the mountains decide the weather in every season. Almaty weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

−0.1°Chigh near average

15° / −1°Today
15° / 5°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+0.8°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–49109frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 125 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 125 in the 1940s29days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 30 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 30 in the 1940s+0.8°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 31 mmhigh 0°low −8°February, rain 38 mmhigh 2°low −6°March, rain 84 mmhigh 8°low 0°April, rain 135 mmhigh 16°low 6°May, rain 144 mmhigh 21°low 11°June, rain 87 mmhigh 25°low 15°July, rain 58 mmhigh 28°low 17°August, rain 51 mmhigh 27°low 16°September, rain 52 mmhigh 23°low 12°October, rain 68 mmhigh 16°low 6°November, rain 52 mmhigh 8°low −1°December, rain 35 mmhigh 2°low −6°wettest month May, 144 mm · 836 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Mostly clear

Right now

7.9°

5°feels like
29%humidity
−9°dew point
1 km/hfrom NW
UV index0.0
sunrise06:09sunset17:05day length10h 56m
TodayClear15°−1°
MonClear15°1°
TueClear21°1°
WedOvercast15°6°
ThuOvercast11°2°
FriPartly cloudy8°0°
SatClear8°−1°

On this date: October 18

Today (forecast)
15° / −1°
Average for October 18
15° / 5°

High near average · −0.1°C

  • Record high: 26.1° · 2010
  • Record low: −8.8° · 1952
  • One year ago: 19° / 10°

Every October 18 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 18 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Almaty is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 43.25°N, 76.91°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
43.25°N, 76.91°E
Time zone
Asia/Almaty
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

24 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +1.4°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Almaty spreads across the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau in the south of Kazakhstan, close to the border with Kyrgyzstan, with the Big and Small Almaty rivers running down through it. The climate is humid continental (Köppen Dfa), and the transition from mountain slope to plain sets up a mountain–valley circulation that shapes the city's day-to-day weather. Spring is the wettest time of year, and snow has occasionally fallen as late as mid-May.

The mountains are also the city's chief hazard. In 1921 a mudflow triggered by heavy rainfall swept down the Small Almaty valley, killing hundreds of people and destroying much of the town; the Medeu dam built above the city proved its worth in July 1973, when it stopped another potentially catastrophic flow. The glaciers of the Trans-Ili Alatau, meanwhile, have been shrinking for well over a century, and their retreat has accelerated markedly since the late 1950s.

The warmest month is July, with typical afternoon highs of 28.1°C and nights around 17.1°C. Roughly 30 days a year now top 30°C. At the other extreme, January brings afternoon highs of about 0.3°C and typical overnight lows of −7.8°C. Around 110 days a year dip below freezing.

In total, Almaty averages about 836 mm of precipitation a year; May is usually the wettest month (144 mm) and January the driest (31 mm).

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Almaty has climbed 0.8°C from the first ten years to the last ten. That last decade has also been the warmest in the record.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.orgkazhydromet.kz

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 27°C. Wettest month: May (~144 mm). Whole year averages ~836 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 96 rainy days a year: most in May (~13), fewest in January (~5).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 2 mm per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Almaty month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightRecord highRecord low
January0.3°−7.8°31 mm59.1 h12.0° (2002)−24.1° (1955)
February2.1°−6.3°38 mm510.3 h17.9° (2016)−26.0° (1951)
March8.2°0.1°84 mm1011.6 h25.4° (2018)−16.7° (1995)
April15.7°6.0°135 mm1313.2 h30.5° (2025)−8.4° (1957)
May20.9°10.7°144 mm1314.5 h34.0° (1990)−5.0° (1985)
June25.3°14.8°87 mm1015.2 h34.9° (2025)2.7° (1979)
July28.1°17.1°58 mm614.9 h39.0° (1983)8.3° (1972)
August27.3°16.0°51 mm613.8 h38.8° (1944)6.3° (1996)
September23.0°11.6°52 mm712.3 h35.7° (1991)−3.2° (1973)
October16.1°5.5°68 mm810.8 h31.4° (1941)−11.3° (1987)
November7.7°−1.1°52 mm79.5 h25.3° (2017)−28.6° (1952)
December2.0°−5.7°35 mm58.8 h16.8° (1971)−23.9° (1944)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +0.8°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.15°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Mar–May is warming fastest: +0.26°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 30.3 early in the record → 28.5 recently. Frost days: 125 → 109.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 1983, all-time low in 1952: 39.0°C / −28.6°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~836 mm/year on average. Last decade: +2% vs that average. Long-term trend: +21 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Almaty

Which is the warmest month in Almaty?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Almaty is July (mean daily temperature of about 23.1°C) and the coolest is January (about −4.2°C).
How does today's temperature in Almaty compare to the historical average?
On October 18, 2026, Almaty is forecast to reach a high of 15.2°C and a low of −0.6°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 15.3°C and a low of 4.7°C, so today's high is about equal to that average.
How much has Almaty warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Almaty is about 0.8°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Almaty?
Almaty receives about 836 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with May typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Almaty?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Almaty is about 10.0°C. The warmest month is July and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Almaty by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Almaty (°C, full record since 1940): January 0°/−8°, February 2°/−6°, March 8°/0°, April 16°/6°, May 21°/11°, June 25°/15°, July 28°/17°, August 27°/16°, September 23°/12°, October 16°/6°, November 8°/−1°, December 2°/−6°.
What is the weather like in Almaty in summer?
Summer in Almaty (June to August) is warm. Afternoons run 25–28°C and nights 15–17°C; July is the warmest month. Rain eases through the season: 10 rainy days and 87 mm in June, 6 days and 51 mm in August.
What is the weather like in Almaty in winter?
In winter, December through February, Almaty is cold, with afternoons close to freezing. Expect 0–2°C by day and −8 to −6°C at night, with January the coldest month. Rain and snow are steady at around 35 mm a month, spread over roughly 5 days. No season is drier.
What is the weather like in Almaty in spring?
Spring in Almaty (March to May) is wet and cool. March is still 8°C in the afternoon and 0°C at night, May already 21°C and 11°C. Rain picks up through the season: 10 rainy days and 84 mm in March, 13 days and 144 mm in May. It is the wettest season of the year.
What is the weather like in Almaty in autumn?
Autumn in Almaty (September to November) is fairly mild. September is still 23°C by day and 12°C at night; by November it is down to 8°C and −1°C. Rain is steady at around 57 mm a month, spread over roughly 7 days.
How many days a year does it rain in Almaty?
On long-term average, Almaty has about 96 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 836 mm.

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