Moldova - The climate in short
Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe, has a continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. The country has no access to the sea, but to the southeast, about 50 km (30 mi) beyond the border with Ukraine, is the Black Sea, which however does not affect the climate by much.
Being that it's a flat and small country, the climate is fairly homogeneous, however, sometimes there can be 4/5 °C differences between north and south, in addition, sometimes it can snow in the north and not snow in the south.
Precipitation in Moldova is not abundant, since it amounts to about 600 millimeters (21.5 inches) per year in the north, 550 mm (21.5 in) in the center and 500 mm (20 in) in the south. It is most frequent is winter, but given the low temperatures, it is not abundant, and occurs mostly in the form of light snow. The rainiest months in terms of quantity are June and July, mainly because of afternoon thunderstorms; in August, thunderstorms become less frequent.
The Republic of Moldova is a Romanian-speaking country, and has been a Soviet Republic until 1991.
The climate in detail
The seasons
Winter in Moldova is cold, with an average temperature in January around -2 °C (28.5 °F) in the center-north and -1 °C (30 °F) in the south.
However, different situations can arise. Sometimes, mild, moist air masses from the Mediterranean may raise the temperature above freezing (0 °C or 32 °F) and melt the snow. On other occasions,
cold air masses of Arctic or Russian origin can lower the temperature to around -20 °C (-4 °F) or even below. Cold records are around -35 °C (-31 °F) in the north (see Balti, Soroca) and -30 °C (-22 °F) in Chisinau.
Summer in Moldova is warm: in the two warmest months (July and August), the average minimum temperature is around 16 °C (61 °F) in the north and 18 °C (64 °F) in the center-south (so, nights are usually pretty cool), while the maximum temperature is around 27 °C (81 °F) in the north and 29 °C (84 °F) in the south. In the afternoon, thunderstorms can develop, especially in June and July.
Therefore, the temperature is normally acceptable, but sometimes, there can be
heat waves, with temperatures rising to around 35 °C (95 °F) and above, usually for a few days. In Chisinau, the highest record is 39.4 °C (102.9 °F) and was set in July 2007.
The sun shines quite frequently, in fact, there are about 9/9.5 hours of sunshine per day from June to August.
In summer,
floods can sometimes occur (as happened in July 2008 and 2010), mostly because of heavy rains which may occur in the Carpathian region and then swell the Dniester (or Nistru) River, which has its source in that mountain range, in Ukraine.
The two intermediate seasons,
spring and autumn, are quite short but pleasant: in May and September, the minimum and maximum temperatures are respectively around 12 °C and 22 °C (53.5 °C and 72 °F).
In spring, the first mild or warm days can be followed by sudden drops in temperature, with possible snowfalls, especially in March and early April.
In autumn, the first cold days occur in November, and sometimes in late October.
Chisinau
Here are the average temperatures in Chisinau, the capital, located in the center of the country.
Chisinau - Average temperatures (1991-2020) | Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Mean (°C) | Min (°F) | Max (°F) | Mean (°F) |
|---|
| January | -4.4 | 0.9 | -1.8 | 24 | 34 | 28.8 |
|---|
| February | -3.3 | 2.9 | -0.2 | 26 | 37 | 31.6 |
|---|
| March | 0.6 | 8.8 | 4.7 | 33 | 48 | 40.5 |
|---|
| April | 6.3 | 16.2 | 11.2 | 43 | 61 | 52.2 |
|---|
| May | 11.7 | 22.1 | 16.9 | 53 | 72 | 62.4 |
|---|
| June | 15.8 | 26 | 20.9 | 60 | 79 | 69.6 |
|---|
| July | 17.8 | 28.3 | 23 | 64 | 83 | 73.4 |
|---|
| August | 17.4 | 28.2 | 22.8 | 63 | 83 | 73.1 |
|---|
| September | 12.4 | 22.1 | 17.2 | 54 | 72 | 63 |
|---|
| October | 6.9 | 15.2 | 11 | 44 | 59 | 51.9 |
|---|
| November | 2 | 8 | 5 | 36 | 46 | 41 |
|---|
| December | -2.7 | 2.4 | -0.2 | 27 | 36 | 31.7 |
|---|
| Year | 6.8 | 15.2 | 10.95 | 44.2 | 59.3 | 51.5 |
|---|
Here is the average precipitation in Chisinau.
Chisinau - Average precipitation| Month | Millimeters | Inches | Days |
|---|
| January | 40 | 1.6 | 12 |
|---|
| February | 40 | 1.6 | 12 |
|---|
| March | 35 | 1.4 | 11 |
|---|
| April | 40 | 1.6 | 10 |
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| May | 50 | 2 | 11 |
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| June | 75 | 3 | 12 |
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| July | 70 | 2.8 | 10 |
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| August | 45 | 1.8 | 8 |
|---|
| September | 45 | 1.8 | 6 |
|---|
| October | 25 | 1 | 6 |
|---|
| November | 40 | 1.6 | 11 |
|---|
| December | 40 | 1.6 | 12 |
|---|
| Year | 545 | 21.5 | 121 |
|---|
The amount of
sunshine in Chisinau is good in summer, while it's poor or mediocre from November to January, when gray skies predominate. In total there are about 2,100 hours of sunshine per year. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.
Chisinau - Sunshine hours| Month | Average | Total |
|---|
January | 2.5 | 75 | February | 3 | 80 | March | 4 | 125 | April | 6 | 185 | May | 8 | 255 | June | 9.5 | 285 | July | 9.5 | 300 | August | 9.5 | 295 | September | 7.5 | 225 | October | 5.5 | 170 | November | 2.5 | 75 | December | 2 | 60 | Year | 5.8 | 2125 |
When to go
The best time to go to Moldova is from
May to September: the temperatures are usually pleasant, with cool nights.
In July and August, however, there may be hot periods, so, if you do not like the heat, you can choose the months of May, June and September.
What to pack
In
winter: bring warm clothes, such as a sweater or fleece, a down jacket, a hat, gloves and a scarf, and a raincoat or umbrella.
In
summer: bring light clothes, a T-shirt, but also long pants, a light jacket and a sweater for the evening and for cool days, and a raincoat or umbrella.
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