Kargil climate — normals and trends
Kargil (India) has a subarctic climate (Dfc) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is -5.2 °C and it receives 609 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 August (10.5 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-18.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in March.
Kargil averages 294 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 124 rainy days per year.
Kargil has warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.23 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 303 to 285 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 27.0 °C (on 28 July 2024) and the coldest -38.3 °C (on 11 December 2005).
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
KargilLadakh
- coords
- 34.56°, 76.13°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
-5.2°C
Average daily high
0.1°C
Average daily low
-11.3°C
Annual rainfall
609mm
Sunshine / day
10.4h
Mean relative humidity
66%
Average peak wind
3.3km/h
Seasonal range
28.7°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
294 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
124 d/yr
Annual snowfall
305.1 cm
Average feels-like high
-2.1 °C
Average feels-like low
-14.7 °C
Average peak gust
25.5 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
21.1 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.0 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.31 · 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
27.0 °C
28 July 2024
Coldest day
-38.3 °C
11 December 2005
Wettest day
97 mm
24 September 1988
Windiest day
10.2 km/h
20 October 1949
Strongest gust
71.3 km/h
8 December 1994
Hottest feels-like
26.5 °C
28 July 2024
Coldest feels-like
-42.9 °C
11 December 2005
Snowiest day
63.1 cm
24 September 1988
Sunniest day
14.0 h
30 May 1940
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 | -12.8 °C | +1.2 °C | 48 mm | -1 mm |
| Feb | -9.8 °C | +1.7 °C | 91 mm | +32 mm |
| Mar | -6.9 °C | +0.2 °C | 64 mm | -10 mm |
| Apr | -0.4 °C | +2.3 °C | 37 mm | -20 mm |
| May | 5.7 °C | +3.6 °C | 27 mm | -21 mm |
| Jun | 15.8 °C | +7.1 °C | 58 mm | +13 mm |
| Jul | 19.6 °C | +4.4 °C | 95 mm | +28 mm |
| Aug | 17.0 °C | +1.1 °C | 105 mm | +44 mm |
| Sep | 13.7 °C | +2.2 °C | 97 mm | +42 mm |
| Oct | 1.3 °C | -0.9 °C | 32 mm | -0 mm |
| Nov | -1.6 °C | +4.9 °C | 5 mm | -20 mm |
| Dec | -5.7 °C | +6.3 °C | 32 mm | -6 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 Kargil?
Kargil has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is -5.2 °C and it receives 609 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Kargil?
The hottest day measured in Kargil between 1940 and 2025 was 28 July 2024, reaching 27.0 °C.
What is the coldest day in Kargil?
The coldest day measured in Kargil between 1940 and 2025 was 11 December 2005, at -38.3 °C.
Does it snow in Kargil?
Yes. Kargil gets on average 305.1 cm of snow per year and has around 294 frost days.
Has the climate of Kargil warmed?
Yes: Kargil warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Kargil?
The wettest day measured in Kargil between 1940 and 2025 was 24 September 1988, with 97 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Kargil?
The windiest day measured in Kargil between 1940 and 2025 was 20 October 1949, with winds reaching 10.2 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Kargil?
The warmest month in Kargil is August (10.5 °C on average); the coldest is January (-18.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Kargil?
Kargil receives on average 609 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 124 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Kargil?
Kargil gets on average 10.4 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,796 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Kargil?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Kargil between 1940 and 2025 was 24 September 1988, with 63.1 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Kargil?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Kargil.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Kargil?
In Kargil, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 26.5 °C on 28 July 2024, and the lowest was -42.9 °C on 11 December 2005.
Compare Kargil with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Kargil