Kars climate — normals and trends
Kars (Republic of Türkiye) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 4.4 °C and it receives 731 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 (16.1 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-8.9 °C). Rainfall peaks in May.
Kars averages 177 frost days, 1 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 141 rainy days per year.
Kars has warmed by +2.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.29 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 191 to 163 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 33.7 °C (on 15 August 2015) and the coldest -34.2 °C (on 28 December 1948).
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
KarsKars Province
- coords
- 40.60°, 43.09°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
4.4°C
Average daily high
10.1°C
Average daily low
-0.6°C
Annual rainfall
731mm
Sunshine / day
10.2h
Mean relative humidity
73%
Average peak wind
11.1km/h
Seasonal range
25.0°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
177 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
1 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
141 d/yr
Annual snowfall
173.1 cm
Average feels-like high
7.8 °C
Average feels-like low
-3.7 °C
Average peak gust
30.0 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
17.0 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.5 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.42 · 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
33.7 °C
15 August 2015
Coldest day
-34.2 °C
28 December 1948
Wettest day
43 mm
19 May 1984
Windiest day
37.4 km/h
20 November 1946
Strongest gust
92.5 km/h
15 March 2010
Hottest feels-like
32.4 °C
30 July 2000
Coldest feels-like
-39.1 °C
28 December 1948
Snowiest day
28.3 cm
18 February 1990
Sunniest day
14.2 h
20 June 1941
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 | -0.4 °C | +3.6 °C | 8 mm | -29 mm |
| Feb | -3.0 °C | -1.0 °C | 38 mm | -5 mm |
| Mar | 7.7 °C | +5.1 °C | 74 mm | +10 mm |
| Apr | 10.6 °C | +1.4 °C | 157 mm | +66 mm |
| May | 17.2 °C | +2.3 °C | 121 mm | -8 mm |
| Jun | 20.2 °C | +1.2 °C | 56 mm | -44 mm |
| Jul | 24.5 °C | +2.1 °C | 60 mm | +0 mm |
| Aug | 28.5 °C | +5.4 °C | 8 mm | -39 mm |
| Sep | 20.8 °C | +1.3 °C | 33 mm | -3 mm |
| Oct | 14.9 °C | +2.1 °C | 43 mm | -7 mm |
| Nov | 10.3 °C | +5.1 °C | 11 mm | -28 mm |
| Dec | 0.7 °C | +2.1 °C | 59 mm | +24 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 Kars?
Kars has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 4.4 °C and it receives 731 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Kars?
The hottest day measured in Kars between 1940 and 2025 was 15 August 2015, reaching 33.7 °C.
What is the coldest day in Kars?
The coldest day measured in Kars between 1940 and 2025 was 28 December 1948, at -34.2 °C.
Does it snow in Kars?
Yes. Kars gets on average 173.1 cm of snow per year and has around 177 frost days.
Has the climate of Kars warmed?
Yes: Kars warmed by +2.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Kars?
The wettest day measured in Kars between 1940 and 2025 was 19 May 1984, with 43 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Kars?
The windiest day measured in Kars between 1940 and 2025 was 20 November 1946, with winds reaching 37.4 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Kars?
The warmest month in Kars is August (16.1 °C on average); the coldest is January (-8.9 °C).
How much does it rain in Kars?
Kars receives on average 731 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 141 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Kars?
Kars gets on average 10.2 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,723 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Kars?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Kars between 1940 and 2025 was 18 February 1990, with 28.3 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Kars?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Kars.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Kars?
In Kars, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 32.4 °C on 30 July 2000, and the lowest was -39.1 °C on 28 December 1948.
Compare Kars with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Kars