Punakha climate — normals and trends
Punakha (Bhutan) has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 10.2 °C and it receives 3,688 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (15.8 °C on average) and the coldest is January (2.6 °C). Rainfall peaks in July.
Punakha averages 49 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 310 rainy days per year.
Punakha has warmed by +2.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.25 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 67 to 31 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 26.1 °C (on 10 June 2025) and the coldest -19.5 °C (on 13 January 1952).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
PunakhaPunakha
- coords
- 27.59°, 89.88°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
10.2°C
Average daily high
14.8°C
Average daily low
6.7°C
Annual rainfall
3,688mm
Sunshine / day
8.2h
Mean relative humidity
86%
Average peak wind
6.0km/h
Seasonal range
13.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
49 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
310 d/yr
Annual snowfall
129.2 cm
Average feels-like high
14.5 °C
Average feels-like low
5.5 °C
Average peak gust
29.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
13.7 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.2 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.78 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
26.1 °C
10 June 2025
Coldest day
-19.5 °C
13 January 1952
Wettest day
183 mm
27 July 1981
Windiest day
11.0 km/h
18 December 2014
Strongest gust
55.4 km/h
11 April 1970
Hottest feels-like
28.3 °C
23 July 2025
Coldest feels-like
-24.4 °C
13 January 1952
Snowiest day
40.7 cm
6 January 1945
Sunniest day
13.7 h
12 June 1981
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12.5 °C | +5.0 °C | 58 mm | -107 mm |
| Feb | 9.9 °C | +1.3 °C | 235 mm | +45 mm |
| Mar | 13.9 °C | +1.7 °C | 244 mm | +20 mm |
| Apr | 16.6 °C | +0.8 °C | 215 mm | +14 mm |
| May | 17.9 °C | -0.2 °C | 379 mm | +118 mm |
| Jun | 21.5 °C | +2.0 °C | 343 mm | -141 mm |
| Jul | 22.5 °C | +3.3 °C | 349 mm | -396 mm |
| Aug | 21.1 °C | +1.7 °C | 660 mm | +60 mm |
| Sep | 21.2 °C | +2.5 °C | 314 mm | -78 mm |
| Oct | 18.2 °C | +1.9 °C | 222 mm | +33 mm |
| Nov | 15.8 °C | +3.0 °C | 50 mm | -67 mm |
| Dec | 13.8 °C | +4.1 °C | 30 mm | -91 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Punakha?
Punakha has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 10.2 °C and it receives 3,688 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Punakha?
The hottest day measured in Punakha between 1940 and 2025 was 10 June 2025, reaching 26.1 °C.
What is the coldest day in Punakha?
The coldest day measured in Punakha between 1940 and 2025 was 13 January 1952, at -19.5 °C.
Does it snow in Punakha?
Yes. Punakha gets on average 129.2 cm of snow per year and has around 49 frost days.
Has the climate of Punakha warmed?
Yes: Punakha warmed by +2.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Punakha?
The wettest day measured in Punakha between 1940 and 2025 was 27 July 1981, with 183 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Punakha?
The windiest day measured in Punakha between 1940 and 2025 was 18 December 2014, with winds reaching 11.0 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Punakha?
The warmest month in Punakha is July (15.8 °C on average); the coldest is January (2.6 °C).
How much does it rain in Punakha?
Punakha receives on average 3,688 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 310 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Punakha?
Punakha gets on average 8.2 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 2,993 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Punakha?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Punakha between 1940 and 2025 was 6 January 1945, with 40.7 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Punakha?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Punakha.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Punakha?
In Punakha, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 28.3 °C on 23 July 2025, and the lowest was -24.4 °C on 13 January 1952.
Compare Punakha with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Punakha