At the beginning of December, abnormally high temperatures were observed in Kazakhstan. For example, on December 1, the air temperature in Kostanay rose to +4.8 degrees, exceeding the record set in 2021. In Petropavlovsk, the temperature reached +2.6 degrees, breaking the previous record from 2009.
From December 2 to 4, records were also broken in Zhezkazgan: on December 2 — +6.0 degrees (previous record from 2021 — +5.9), on December 3 — +7.7 degrees (record from 1990 — +7.2), and on December 4 — +5.9 degrees (record from 2016 — +4.3).
The Onset of Winter
From December 8 to 12, a sharp drop in temperature occurred in most regions. Due to a northern anticyclone, the temperature fell from 0-5 to -18-26 degrees, marking the beginning of winter conditions.
Record from 1978
In the second half of December, warmth returned to Kazakhstan. On December 15, the temperature in Astana reached +2.2 degrees, surpassing the record from 1981 (+2.0). In Petropavlovsk, a temperature of -1.1 degrees was recorded, which was higher than the record from 2005 (-1.5).
On December 29, the thermometer in Shymkent rose to +19.4 degrees, breaking the record from 2023 (+15.5). In Turkestan, the temperature was +14.1 degrees, exceeding the maximum from 1995 (+12.2).
On December 30, the temperature in Astana was +2.8 degrees (record from 1995 — +1.8), and in Zhezkazgan — +1.3 degrees (record from 2001 — +1.1).
On December 31, in Ust-Kamenogorsk, the temperature rose to +6.3 degrees, surpassing the 47-year-old record from 1978 (+4.8).
Overall Results for December
Overall, the temperature in December in most regions of Kazakhstan was above the climatic norm by 1-4 degrees. In some areas, the amount of precipitation exceeded the monthly averages by 1.3-6 times, however, in several regions, it was around the norm or less.
It is worth noting that abnormally warm weather was also observed in most regions in November 2025. In Karaganda, the temperature reached +9.4 degrees, setting a new record for the last 54 years, breaking the previous record.
