Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sits at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass on a plain in northwestern Pakistan, near the Afghan border at around 350 metres above sea level and approximately 34.01°N, 71.58°E. It has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) — extremely hot summers, a modest monsoon and cool winters.

Summer, from May to September, is extremely hot and dry, with June the hottest month — highs regularly reaching 40–42°C, sometimes higher — with hot, dusty winds sweeping off the plains. The monsoon reaches Peshawar only weakly in July and August, bringing occasional heavy thunderstorms and higher humidity, but far less rain than eastern Pakistan.

Winter, from December to February, is cool and comparatively dry, with January the coolest month — highs around 18–19°C and nights near 4–6°C, occasionally dropping to freezing. Western disturbances of Mediterranean origin bring most of the winter rain and can dust the surrounding hills with snow; days are often clear and crisp.

Peshawar is dry, receiving only around 400–450 mm of rain a year, split between the weak summer monsoon of July and August and the winter rains brought by western disturbances — an unusual double pattern that distinguishes the northwest from the rest of Pakistan. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Peshawar sits at the mouth of the Khyber Pass, where the Indian monsoon barely reaches and the Mediterranean-origin western disturbances take over, giving it two distinct rainy periods and a drier, more continental character than the Punjab. Its summer heat, coupled with dust-laden winds off the plains, is among the fiercest in Pakistan.

To follow any single measurement in Peshawar 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.