What is the temperature in Almaty in May?

The station normal is 22.9 °C by day and 11.5 °C at night, with 98.7 mm of rain. May is one of the two wettest months, so bring a rain jacket.

When does it snow in Almaty?

Station records for 2015 to 2024 show snow on about 36 days a year, mostly in December and January. Late snow happens too: Wikipedia lists 13 May 1985, 1 May 1989, 5 May 1993 and 18 May 1998.

What is the weather like at Big Almaty Lake?

The reference point at 2,508 m averages 17 °C by day and 7.7 °C at night in July, and −8.9 °C and −16 °C in January. July is the wettest month there, with 152 mm. Private cars have not been allowed up since March 2020.

How does Charyn Canyon's temperature compare with Almaty?

The canyon’s reference point at 1,048 m averages 29 °C by day and 15 °C at night in July, about the same as the city by day but with no shade. In January it is −3 °C by day and −15 °C at night, which is colder than Almaty.

Is Kaindy Lake colder than Almaty?

Yes. At 1,854 m it averages 21 °C by day and 10 °C at night in July, and −6.5 °C and −15 °C in January.

Almaty weather by month: climate and what to pack

Almaty's November averages 8 °C by day with 16 frosty nights. April is the wettest month at 112 mm, September the driest at 28 mm, and July brings about 23 days above 30 °C. Up at Shymbulak the same July is 11 °C cooler.

Almaty has mild winters by Kazakh standards and hot summers. The station normal is 0.5 °C by day and −8.1 °C at night in January, and 30.5 °C (87 °F) and 18.6 °C in July. Spring is wet and September is the driest month, which makes it the safest choice for a day in the mountains.

City normals: day and night, °C
City	Jan	Apr	Jul	Oct
Almaty	0 / −8	17 / 7	29 / 17	16 / 5
Astana	−12 / −19	13 / 1	26 / 14	9 / 0
Shymkent	5 / −4	20 / 9	34 / 20	19 / 7
Karaganda	−11 / −18	13 / 2	26 / 14	9 / −1
Oskemen	−10 / −20	16 / 2	28 / 15	12 / 1
Aktau	3 / −3	17 / 8	33 / 23	18 / 9
Atyrau	−3 / −8	16 / 8	33 / 23	14 / 6
Petropavl	−13 / −20	11 / 1	24 / 14	7 / 0

These are averages over years, not the weather on a given date. Use them to choose a month and clothes, and still check a forecast before you leave.

ERA5 normal for 2011–2020 at a reanalysis grid point. Not a forecast and not a weather station.

Source: Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis, 2011–2020.

The widget shows a computed 2011-2020 normal for a point at 814 m. Our table below comes from the city’s weather station at 851 m, which runs about 2 °C warmer in summer.

Almaty weather in November

November’s norm is 8.1 °C by day and −1.0 °C at night, and about 16 of its 30 nights drop below freezing. Snow fell on around 6 November days a year between 2015 and 2024, with 55 mm of total rain and snow.

In the mountains it is an awkward time. Shymbulak averages about −3 °C by day and −12 °C at night, and skiing depends on snow: on 5 November 2026 the 2026/27 opening date had not been announced, and last winter the resort opened on 6 December. The road from Medeu to Shymbulak is closed to private vehicles until 30 November 2026. Pack a winter jacket and a hat, especially for the end of the month.

Illustration Engraving: a green foothill city with tree-lined streets under a layer of winter haze, bright sun and snow on the mountains rising directly above the rooftops

Almaty temperature by month

Day and night temperatures and rainfall are the 1991 to 2020 station normals. We counted frost nights, hot days and snow days ourselves from daily station reports for 2015 to 2024, then averaged them per year.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain/snow, mm	Frost nights	Days from +30 °C	Snow days
January	0.5	−8.1	34.7	29.2	0	8.4
February	2.7	−6.2	42.6	23.7	0	5.9
March	9.9	−0.2	72.4	10.6	0	4.7
April	17.8	6.8	112.4	2.3	0.8	1.2
May	22.9	11.5	98.7	0.1	2.5	0
June	27.9	16.4	59.0	0	12.8	0
July	30.5	18.6	42.9	0	22.9	0
August	29.7	17.3	33.5	0	17.2	0
September	24.5	12.0	27.8	0.1	5.4	0.1
October	16.9	5.3	49.8	4.0	0.2	0.9
November	8.1	−1.0	55.3	16.4	0	5.9
December	2.0	−6.1	44.3	27.3	0	8.7

Over a year that adds up to about 114 frost nights and 62 days at 30 °C or above. Seasons do not follow the calendar exactly: a frost came as late as 4 May in 2023.

Illustration Engraving: a city on a slope below snow mountains, winter haze over the lower town

Rain: April and May are wet, September is dry

April and May together bring 31% of the year’s rain and snow at the station, 211 mm of 675 mm. September gets 27.8 mm, a quarter of April’s total.

Almaty: rain and snow by month, mm

34.7 Jan 42.6 Feb 72.4 Mar 112.4 Apr 98.7 May 59 Jun 42.9 Jul 33.5 Aug 27.8 Sep 49.8 Oct 55.3 Nov 44.3 Dec

Station normal 1991-2020: Pogoda.ru.net and NOAA via Wikipedia

This matters more than temperature when you pick a month. May and September feel similar by day (23 °C and 24.5 °C), but September has 3.4 days a month with at least 1 mm of rain and May has 9.3. If a hike or a lake is the point of your trip, that is the number to care about.

Almaty weather in March and April

March swings between seasons: 9.9 °C by day, −0.2 °C at night, about 11 frost nights and 72 mm of rain and snow. April warms to 17.8 °C and frost becomes rare, but rain reaches its peak at 112 mm, with about 10 days of meaningful rain. Almaty temperatures in spring climb quickly, so a jacket and waterproof shoes will do more for you than heavy winter clothes.

Almaty weather in May and June

Almaty in May averages 22.9 °C by day and 11.5 °C at night, and it still rains often. June is drier with 59 mm and warmer at 27.9 °C, and in the last decade it has had nearly 13 days at 30 °C or above. Together they are the easiest months for walking around town and heading up into the hills.

July and August: real heat

July and August average 30.5 °C and 29.7 °C at the station, with humidity around 45%. The hottest day from 2015 to 2024 was 40.7 °C on 14 July 2023, and July now brings almost 8 days at 35 °C or above. The all-time record is 41.7 °C. Walk in the city early or late, and go up the mountains in the middle of the day.

The city gets plenty of sun at this time: 280 hours in July against 94 in December.

Almaty weather in September and October

September is mild and settled, at 24.5 °C by day and 12 °C at night. October cools to 16.9 °C and 5.3 °C, with about 4 frost nights and 50 mm of rain. The first frost arrived between 29 September (2015) and 13 November (2023), so check a forecast before you decide on a jacket for late October.

Winter and snowfall

From December to February days hover around freezing and nights reach −6 to −8 °C. Average snow depth is modest: 8 cm in December, 15 cm in January and 14 cm in February. Maximum temperatures stay at or below zero on about 12 or 13 days in both December and January. This is the season for outdoor skating: in winter 2025/26 the city ran 11 free ice rinks in Almaty in parks and squares.

Hard frost is rare. Nights of −20 °C or lower came in only two of the last ten winters: 8 nights in 2017/18 and 4 in 2023/24. The lowest reading in that time was −27.8 °C on 28 January 2018. The all-time record is −37.7 °C. For snow, the slopes above town are a far safer bet than the city, and our Almaty in winter guide lists options.

Winter is also the smog season. In the CAMS model, January PM2.5 averages 38.6 µg/m³ against 13 in August, and evenings between 7 and 9 pm are the worst hours. Our Almaty winter air and snow data covers 25 winters in detail.

Big Almaty Lake weather and the mountains above town

The climate changes faster than the road. In July, Kok Tobe (1,110 m) averages 27 °C by day, Medeu (1,702 m) 23 °C, Shymbulak (2,290 m) 19 °C, and Big Almaty Lake (2,508 m) 17 °C by day and about 8 °C at night. These are computed grid points, so do not compare them directly with the city station.

Climate comparison

All charts share one scale, so bars compare directly: higher on the scale means warmer, a longer bar means a bigger gap between day and night.

Monthly figures: day / night, °C · precip., mm
Month	Almaty	Medeu	Shymbulak	Big Almaty Lake
Jan	0 / −8 · 25	−4 / −11 · 25	−8 / −13 · 25	−7 / −14 · 32
Feb	3 / −6 · 37	−2 / −9 · 37	−6 / −12 · 37	−5 / −12 · 44
Mar	10 / 1 · 80	4 / −4 · 80	0 / −7 · 80	0 / −7 · 66
Apr	17 / 7 · 146	9 / 0 · 146	5 / −2 · 146	5 / −3 · 132
May	22 / 11 · 115	14 / 4 · 115	10 / 1 · 115	10 / 1 · 125
Jun	26 / 15 · 76	19 / 8 · 76	14 / 5 · 76	14 / 5 · 142
Jul	29 / 17 · 50	22 / 11 · 50	17 / 8 · 50	17 / 8 · 152
Aug	28 / 16 · 58	20 / 10 · 58	16 / 7 · 58	16 / 7 · 146
Sep	23 / 12 · 53	16 / 6 · 53	12 / 3 · 53	12 / 3 · 123
Oct	16 / 5 · 60	9 / −1 · 60	5 / −4 · 60	5 / −4 · 107
Nov	7 / −2 · 56	1 / −8 · 56	−3 / −10 · 56	−2 / −11 · 75
Dec	1 / −6 · 31	−3 / −10 · 31	−6 / −12 · 31	−6 / −13 · 42

ERA5 normal for 2011–2020 at a reanalysis grid point. Not a forecast and not a weather station. Source: Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis, 2011–2020.

Pack accordingly: bring a jacket when you head for the mountains near Almaty even on a hot July day. June brings 142 mm of rain at Big Almaty Lake against 59 mm in the city. Further out, Charyn Canyon at 1,048 m reaches 29 °C in July with almost no shade, and Kaindy Lake at 1,854 m has 21 °C days and 10 °C nights.

Wind is rarely an issue in the city itself. Daily station reports average just 0.7 to 1.0 m/s, although Wikipedia cites about 15 days a year above 15 m/s. The two sources disagree and we did not investigate why.

Best time to visit Almaty, by goal

There is no single best month: it depends on what you came for. May, September and October suit the city, September suits the mountains, and January is for snow.

Goal	Month	What the numbers say
City walks and museums	May, September, October	17–24.5 °C by day; days above +30 °C are rare in these months, apart from 5 days in September
Mountain trip with little rain	September	3.4 days with 1 mm or more of rain, against 9.3 in May
High lake	July, August	About 16–17 °C by day and 6–8 °C at night at Big Almaty Lake
Skiing	December to March	−9.4 to 0.8 °C by day at Shymbulak; the operator sets season dates
Quiet off-season, no heat	November	8 °C by day, with possible snow and frosty nights

When it snows in Almaty: snow was recorded on about 36 days a year in 2015–2024, most of them in December and January, and about 6 days in November. It lies thinly in the city, so for dependable snow go up: see Shymbulak’s snow and temperature by month.

What to pack for Almaty

Months	Temperature	What to bring
December to February	about 0 to 3 °C by day, −6 to −8 °C at night	warm jacket, hat, shoes with grip; a layer for −18 °C at Shymbulak
March	10 °C by day, about 0 °C at night	jacket and waterproof shoes
April, May	18 to 23 °C by day, 7 to 12 °C at night	light rain jacket, umbrella, sweater for evenings
June to August	28 to 31 °C by day, 16 to 19 °C at night	light clothes, sun hat, sunscreen, water; jacket for the mountains
September	24.5 °C by day, 12 °C at night	T-shirt by day, sweater at night; warm layer for the lakes
October	17 °C by day, 5 °C at night	sweater and jacket; winter layer for the mountains
November	8 °C by day, −1 °C at night	winter jacket by the end of the month, hat

Almaty is the base for most nature trips in the south, so also read when to visit Kazakhstan before you fix your dates.

Almaty weather forecast: 10, 14 and 30 days

This page shows what is normal, so it has no current temperature and no 10-day or 14-day forecast. For those, use Kazhydromet, the national weather service, or a weather app. To plan a month ahead, use the table above and confirm the details from a forecast nearer your trip.

Where the numbers come from

We use three data sets. The 1991 to 2020 station normal comes from the Wikipedia climate table, which cites Pogoda.ru.net and NOAA, and describes the city’s usual climate. Daily NOAA station reports for 2015 to 2024 let us count frost nights, hot days and snow days. ERA5 reanalysis for 2011 to 2020 powers the widget and allows comparison with mountains that have no station.

July shows how far they differ: 28.7 °C in ERA5, 30.5 °C in the station normal, and 32.2 °C as the average daily high in the recent reports. For clothing that hardly matters. For a long walk at noon, plan on the top figure.