Nal'chik climate — normals and trends
Nal'chik (Russia) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 7.7 °C and it receives 1,522 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 (19.2 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-4.1 °C). Rainfall peaks in May.
Nal'chik averages 134 frost days, 1 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 182 rainy days per year.
Nal'chik has warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.27 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 149 to 119 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 33.2 °C (on 28 July 2000) and the coldest -26.7 °C (on 23 January 1972).
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
Nal'chikKabardino-Balkariya Republic
- coords
- 43.50°, 43.62°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
7.7°C
Average daily high
11.8°C
Average daily low
3.6°C
Annual rainfall
1,522mm
Sunshine / day
9.2h
Mean relative humidity
79%
Average peak wind
9.4km/h
Seasonal range
23.3°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
134 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
1 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
182 d/yr
Annual snowfall
184.0 cm
Average feels-like high
10.7 °C
Average feels-like low
1.3 °C
Average peak gust
23.7 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
13.5 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.3 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.44 · 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
33.2 °C
28 July 2000
Coldest day
-26.7 °C
23 January 1972
Wettest day
93 mm
30 August 1942
Windiest day
25.6 km/h
13 January 1976
Strongest gust
60.1 km/h
5 June 1967
Hottest feels-like
38.7 °C
31 July 2000
Coldest feels-like
-31.2 °C
21 November 1957
Snowiest day
18.1 cm
10 February 1989
Sunniest day
14.5 h
8 July 1947
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 | 6.1 °C | +6.2 °C | 28 mm | -21 mm |
| Feb | -1.7 °C | -2.3 °C | 56 mm | -1 mm |
| Mar | 11.3 °C | +6.7 °C | 66 mm | -34 mm |
| Apr | 12.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 210 mm | +58 mm |
| May | 17.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 153 mm | -66 mm |
| Jun | 21.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 94 mm | -117 mm |
| Jul | 26.5 °C | +3.3 °C | 81 mm | -95 mm |
| Aug | 25.4 °C | +2.3 °C | 60 mm | -99 mm |
| Sep | 17.7 °C | -0.8 °C | 176 mm | +19 mm |
| Oct | 13.3 °C | +0.5 °C | 167 mm | +49 mm |
| Nov | 12.4 °C | +5.8 °C | 8 mm | -62 mm |
| Dec | 2.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 63 mm | +10 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 Nal'chik?
Nal'chik has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 7.7 °C and it receives 1,522 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Nal'chik?
The hottest day measured in Nal'chik between 1940 and 2025 was 28 July 2000, reaching 33.2 °C.
What is the coldest day in Nal'chik?
The coldest day measured in Nal'chik between 1940 and 2025 was 23 January 1972, at -26.7 °C.
Does it snow in Nal'chik?
Yes. Nal'chik gets on average 184.0 cm of snow per year and has around 134 frost days.
Has the climate of Nal'chik warmed?
Yes: Nal'chik warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Nal'chik?
The wettest day measured in Nal'chik between 1940 and 2025 was 30 August 1942, with 93 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Nal'chik?
The windiest day measured in Nal'chik between 1940 and 2025 was 13 January 1976, with winds reaching 25.6 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Nal'chik?
The warmest month in Nal'chik is July (19.2 °C on average); the coldest is January (-4.1 °C).
How much does it rain in Nal'chik?
Nal'chik receives on average 1,522 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 182 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Nal'chik?
Nal'chik gets on average 9.2 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,358 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Nal'chik?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Nal'chik between 1940 and 2025 was 10 February 1989, with 18.1 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Nal'chik?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Nal'chik.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Nal'chik?
In Nal'chik, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 38.7 °C on 31 July 2000, and the lowest was -31.2 °C on 21 November 1957.
Compare Nal'chik with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Nal'chik