Climatology
This page presents Tajikistan's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Aridity, extreme temperatures, and significant intra-annual and regional variability are predominant characteristics of Tajikistan’s climate. Variability is driven by Tajikistan’s position at the intersection of atmospheric circulations from the tropics to the southeast and Siberia to the north. Annual mean temperatures vary from 17°C in the south to -6°C in the lower Pamirs. Maximum temperatures are typically observed in July and minimum in January. In East Pamir, minimum temperatures below -50°C have been recorded, whereas in the south, maximum surface air temperature can exceed 40°C. The annual precipitation in lowland, hot deserts of northern Tajikistan, and cold mountain deserts of east Pamir averages from 70 millimeters (mm) to 160 mm, whereas in central Tajikistan precipitation can exceed 1,800 mm per year. The nation receives negligible precipitation during the months of July, August, and September, contributing to frequent droughts.