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Kazakhstan has experienced a dramatic shift in weather patterns this January، with several regions shattering historical temperature records، including one that had stood for 51 years. This period of unseasonable warmth was followed by a swift return to severe cold across the country.

Record-Breaking Warmth Sweeps Across Regions

Meteorologists from Kazhydromet reported that the first ten days of January saw temperatures above average nationwide. By the second week، southern regions were particularly affected by warm air masses from Central Asia، leading to the establishment of new historical maximums in multiple locations.

For instance، on January 11th، Karaganda recorded a temperature of +5.5 degrees Celsius، surpassing the previous record from 2016 by 1.5 degrees. Shymkent saw thermometers reach +17.4 degrees Celsius، exceeding the 1987 record of +17.3 degrees. Taraz registered a high of +19.3 degrees، significantly higher than its 1999 maximum of +14.2 degrees.

Further north، Aktau warmed to +13.4 degrees on January 12th، breaking the 2025 record of +9.7 degrees. On the same day in Karaganda، the temperature hit +1.2 degrees، surpassing the 1975 record of +1.0 degree، thus renewing the 51-year-old temperature record. Semey also recorded +1.5 degrees، higher than its 1975 value of +1.0 degree، while Oskemen reached +4.4 degrees، exceeding the 1987 record of +3.4 degrees. Turkistan saw a high of +16.8 degrees on January 13th، surpassing the 1986 maximum of +11.3 degrees.

Sudden Plunge into Deep Freeze

Following the unusual warmth، cold air masses moved in from the Novaya Zemlya region، causing a sharp temperature drop in the northern parts of the country. Nighttime temperatures plummeted to between -30 and -38 degrees Celsius. In the East Kazakhstan and Abai regions، the frost reached -40 degrees، with the Markakol weather station recording a frigid -42.6 degrees Celsius.

Astana's January Weather Snapshot

In the capital city، Astana، the average January temperature was recorded at -14.3 degrees Celsius، very close to the norm of -14.5 degrees. The warmest day in the city was January 11th، with a temperature of +1.6 degrees. The coldest day occurred on January 17th، when the temperature dropped to -28.3 degrees Celsius.

Precipitation in Astana for the month totaled 23 millimeters، which is 128% of the normal amount of 18 millimeters.

This information was reported by the Infohub.kz news agency.