Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, sits on a narrow plain between the Kopet Dag mountains and the vast Karakum Desert in the south of the country, at approximately 37.96°N, 58.33°E. Wedged between mountain and desert, it has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — with scorching summers and cool winters — and almost no rain.

Summer, from June to August, is extremely hot and dry, with July the hottest month — highs regularly around 38–40°C and peaks above 45°C — as heat radiates off the Karakum Desert just to the north. Humidity is negligible, the sun is relentless, and hot, dust-laden winds sweep in off the sand. Rain is entirely absent for months.

Winter, from December to February, is cool and short, with January the coolest month — highs around 8–9°C and nights near -1 to -3°C, with frost frequent and occasional light snow. This is the wetter part of the year, when westerly systems bring most of the meagre rainfall, and cold air can spill down from the mountains.

Ashgabat is extremely dry, receiving only around 200–230 mm of precipitation a year — true desert levels — concentrated between December and April, with a spring maximum, while the long summer is entirely rainless. The city depends on the vast Karakum Canal for its water. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Ashgabat sits squeezed between the Kopet Dag mountains and the Karakum, one of the world's great sand deserts, which drives its ferocious summer heat and near-total aridity. Its water comes almost entirely from the Karakum Canal, diverted from the Amu Darya — the same diversions that helped destroy the Aral Sea.

To follow any single measurement in Ashgabat 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.