Kazakhstan has a combination of different climates. The southern part has a cold desert climate which slowly turns into a warm steppe climate. The northern part of Kazakhstan has to do with different types of continental climates. Typical for almost all of Kazakhstan is the small amount of precipitation which is recorder per year. Most areas have to do it with only 100 to 200 millimeters (3.9 - 7.8 inch) of rainfall on average per year. In the central-southern part this is even below one hundred millimeters per year. The mountain areas in the east are a lot wetter.

Winters in Kazakhstan are cool to sometimes very cold. In the southernmost part of Kazakhstan, temperatures in January are between minus 2 and minus 10 degrees Celsius (28.4 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit). If you go further north, the average temperatures drop rapidly. Northern Kazakhstan and Eastern Kazakhstan are freezing in winter. With average temperatures between minus 15 and minus 20 degrees Celsius (5 and -4 °F). During the night the temperature can even drop to -30°C to as low as -40°C (-34 to -40°F).

Summer starts in Kazakhstan at the end of May or mid-June. Summers are warm with the hottest month being July (August in mountain regions). In summer the temperatures average is more than 30 degrees Celsius (86 °Fahrenheit). However seasonal temperatures vary depending on which region. The best time to visit Kazakhstan is in spring (April to June) or in autumn (September to October) when temperatures are mild and pleasant.