Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, sits in the northeast of the country on the forest-steppe, far from any moderating sea at approximately 49.99°N, 36.23°E. Its inland position gives it a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — with warm summers and cold winters — and a wide annual temperature range.

Summer, from June to August, is warm to hot, with July the warmest month — average highs around 27–28°C — and heatwaves that can exceed 35°C, sometimes driven by hot, dry winds off the steppe. It is the wettest season, with frequent thunderstorms, though drought is a periodic threat to the surrounding black-earth farmland.

Winter, from December to February, is cold and grey, with January and February the coldest — average highs around -2°C and lows near -7°C, with cold snaps below -20°C. Snow falls and lies for two to three months, and biting easterly winds sweep across the open plain, though thaws are frequent.

Kharkiv receives around 520–560 mm of precipitation a year, with a clear early-summer maximum from thunderstorms and a drier late summer and winter; a good share of the cold-season total falls as snow. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Kharkiv sits on Ukraine's fertile black-earth forest-steppe, where the harvest depends on the reliability of the early-summer thunderstorms. Its exposed inland position brings a wide temperature swing — from below -20°C in winter cold snaps to above 35°C in summer heatwaves.

To follow any single measurement in Kharkiv 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.