Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator) weather in February
February in Ulaanbaatar: freezing, dry — not the time — well below freezing.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#10 of 12 months in Ulaanbaatar · #1383 of 1413 destinations to visit in February · comfort 35/100 (tier F)
- Days
- -9°C
- Nights
- -25°C
- Wet days
- 1
- Sun
- 8.8 h
- Humidity
- 64%
- Daylight
- 10 h

Traveller notes on Ulaanbaatar in February
Ulaanbaatar forum threads describe February as one of the coldest months of the year, with posters citing a range as extreme as -25C to -55C in the harshest conditions, though a more typical winter stretch was described as -20 to -35C. The air was flagged as genuinely arid despite the extreme cold, which posters said makes the chill feel slightly different than a damp cold of the same number. Posters were consistent that the bitter cold doesn't rule out a real visit - a well-prepared multi-layered, fur-lined or fleece-inner jacket plus thick, high-grip boots for icy streets were the standard packing advice, and posters specifically recommended February's ice festivals, including the one held on Khövsgöl Lake, as a genuine highlight of the season rather than something to avoid.
Other months in Ulaanbaatar
Regulars are specific that a first, brief snowfall typically arrives around mid-month, lasting just a day before conditions warm back up again - a genuine marker of the summer-to-autumn transition rather than the start of real winter. Our row backs that mild-by-day, genuinely cold-by-night read, 17.4C over 2.1C nights feeling -1C, with 42.6mm of rain across 7.6 days and a trace of early snow, 5.1cm. Regulars are consistent early in the month brings comfortable daytime temperatures around 20C with plenty of sun, even as nights already turn genuinely cold enough to need real warm layers. This remains a workable month for the countryside and national parks before deeper winter sets in. The record: humidity 64 percent, 9.7 hours of sun, a 16 kph wind and AQI 36.
Regulars call spring and early summer the hardest stretch of the year to forecast here - warm enough in the Gobi and not especially cold in the north on a good day, but capable of dropping below freezing with rain or even snow with little warning. Our row shows exactly that volatility rather than a settled month: 17.8C by day but only 14C in the wind, against 1C nights that feel like -3C, with 7.3cm still in the snow column and 24.5mm of rain across 4.9 days. The real season here, regulars are consistent, is June through September; May gets you dust on the steppe and a Lake Khuvsgul still frozen over, which suits a specific kind of trip more than a typical one. The record: humidity 44 percent, 12 hours of sun, a 19.6 kph wind and AQI 46.
August is the wettest month of the Mongolian year and regulars treat that as the price of the scenery: the rain is why the landscape is green through the summer, and the season runs June to the end of September. July is the hot, reliably sunny one, past 30C; August cools, and September cools further with more rain. They put the gap between day and night at about fifteen degrees, with nights near 15C early in the month - our row has 22.5C over 9.1C - and warn that snow can fall late in August or early in September. Our 79.3mm falls across 12.4 days. The record: humidity 69 percent, 10.5 hours of sun, a 14.1 kph wind and AQI 38.
June is inside the Mongolian summer, which regulars date from late May to mid-September, and the figures they give for Ulaanbaatar - 20 to 30C by day, chilly once the sun goes - are our row's 23.6C over 8.1C almost exactly. That night figure is the whole packing problem: the day can feel like shirtsleeves and the evening reads as 6C. Out in the Gobi the same gap opens wider still, hot by day and cold at night, and the advice is layers plus something genuinely warm rather than a jacket chosen for the daytime. Several regulars prefer September to June for the desert itself. Our row also carries 0.8cm of June snow, which is the high ground in the grid square rather than the city. The record: 47.7mm across 9.3 days, humidity 53 percent, 12.1 hours of sun and 16 hours of daylight.
Year-round notes are on Ulaanbaatar's overview. Add your own note from Ulaanbaatar's card on the map.
Ulaanbaatar climate normals — February
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Ulaanbaatar in February
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
BusyTsagaan Sar, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Ulaanbaatar's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Toughest weatherUlaanbaatar's weather peaks June–August.
February coincides with Winter smog.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Ulaanbaatar in February
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Holiday
Tsagaan Sar
25 Jan – 5 Mar · usuallyLunar New YearClosuresBook earlyThe lunar new year is three days of visiting elders, buuz by the hundred and dairy-white food. Families disappear into each other's homes, shops and offices shut, and the roads out of the city fill the day before. Source ↗
- Hazard
Winter smog
1 Nov – 31 MarSmoke seasonRaw coal burned in the ger districts for heating, held down over the valley by an inversion, makes this one of the worst urban airs anywhere between November and March. It is the single strongest argument against a winter trip. Source ↗
- Hazard
Deep winter and dzud
1 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallyExtreme coldClosuresThe coldest capital on earth in the coldest weeks of its year, and the season when a dzud can strand herders and close the intercity roads. City sightseeing works; anything beyond the ring road needs a plan B. Source ↗
Where is Ulaanbaatar?
Ulaanbaatar in February — FAQ
- Is February a good time to visit Ulaanbaatar?
- February in Ulaanbaatar: freezing, dry — not the time — well below freezing. It ranks #10 of 12 months for Ulaanbaatar on SeasonMap's comfort score (35/100).
- What is the weather like in Ulaanbaatar in February?
- In February, Ulaanbaatar averages a daily high of -9.2°C and a low of -25.5°C, with about 2.3 mm of rain over roughly 1 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Ulaanbaatar in February?
- Ulaanbaatar has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 78 in February.
- Does it snow in Ulaanbaatar in February?
- Ulaanbaatar sees roughly 4.5 cm of snowfall in February.