Weather Patterns

Afghanistan has a harsh continental type climate with very dry conditions.  To the west and south, in the lower elevation areas of the country it can easily reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.  In the winter this same region can drop below freezing, but to the north and east where Afghanistan is dominated by mountains, the high elevation can cause temperatures to drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Afghanistan experiences large variance in temperature from region to region, for example in some parts of the country it is not uncommon to see 80 degree temperature changes in a 24 hour time frame. 

Afghanistan receives little to no precipitation from June til October.  The mountains in the southeast prevent the summer monsoons from India from reaching Afghanistan, leaving much of the southern part of the country in arid to semi arid desert conditions.  The yearly rainfall in this area occurs from December to May bringing on average less than 8 inches each year.  In higher elevations snow will fall from December to March, in some mountainous areas in the northeast the average winter snow pack can get deeper than 100 inches.



Because of its lack of rainfall Afghanistan relies heavily on the winter snow pack thawing in the spring to provide water for drinking and growing crops.

The Afghans experience some of the harshest weather conditions on the planet every year, battling heat stroke and dehydration in the summer, while also avoiding frostbite and hypothermia in the winter.