Varanasi, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, sits on the west bank of the Ganges in eastern Uttar Pradesh, on the Indo-Gangetic plain at approximately 25.32°N, 82.97°E. It has a humid subtropical climate with dry winters (Köppen Cwa) — with very hot pre-monsoon summers, a heavy monsoon and cool, foggy winters, its ghats stepping down to the sacred river.

Summer, from April to June, is very hot and dry, with May the hottest month — highs around 41°C, sometimes exceeding 45°C — under a blazing sun, with low humidity and hot, dusty winds. The monsoon then arrives in late June and lasts into September, bringing heavy rain that swells the Ganges, high humidity and some easing of the heat.

Winter, from December to February, is cool and dry, with January the coolest month — highs around 23–24°C but nights near 8–10°C, sometimes colder during cold waves. Dense early-morning fog often veils the river and the ghats, giving the city its famously atmospheric winter dawns, though it also disrupts transport and traps severe air pollution.

Varanasi receives around 1,000–1,050 mm of rain a year, with the southwest monsoon between July and September delivering the overwhelming majority, while the rest of the year is very dry; heavy monsoon rain can swell the Ganges enough to flood the lower ghats. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Varanasi's weather is inseparable from the Ganges: the monsoon swells the river until it laps at and sometimes submerges the lower ghats, while the cool, still winter mornings bring the dense river fog that shrouds the pilgrims and funeral pyres in the atmospheric haze for which the city is famous.

To follow any single measurement in Varanasi more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.