Qaws, Jadi and Dalw: the Afghan winter months and their dates

Photo: Burhan Azizi

The dates

Each of the three months has 30 days. These dates were converted with the site's calendar code for 1405:

| Afghan month | Pashto name | Begins | Ends | Season | |---|---|---|---|---| | Qaws | Lindey | 1 Qaws = 22 November 2026 | 30 Qaws = 21 December 2026 | autumn | | Jadi | Marghumay | 1 Jadi = 22 December 2026 | 30 Jadi = 20 January 2027 | winter | | Dalw | Salwagha | 1 Dalw = 21 January 2027 | 30 Dalw = 19 February 2027 | winter |

The next month, Hut, begins on 20 February 2027. The 30th of Qaws is Shab-e Chella, the longest night, and the next day starts the chilla: see Shab-e Chella and Chilla. To turn any other day into the three calendars, use the date converter or the Afghan calendar.

Where the names come from

The Dari month names are the Arabic names of the signs of the zodiac. Qaws is Sagittarius, Jadi is Capricorn and Dalw is Aquarius. In Arabic the words mean:

• Qaws: a bow.
• Jadi: a kid, the young of a goat.
• Dalw: a pail or bucket.

Pashto has its own names for the same months: Lindey, Marghumay and Salwagha. The months are the same in both languages, and a given day falls in the same month.

Iran uses the same calendar, with the same dates, but gives its months other names. If a date on a form or an app uses names you do not know from this table, it was probably made for Iran. Check the month against the table above before you rely on it.

What the months bring

The figures below are Kabul averages for 2011 to 2025 from Open-Meteo, given as day high / night low in degrees Celsius. They are a model of the place, not a thermometer, and a single winter can differ by weeks. See winter in Afghan cities and when the first snow comes for the full tables.

• Qaws (22 November to 21 December): in November Kabul runs about 14 / 2. The first snow in Kabul usually falls about 22 November, which is 1 Qaws. In December it is about 9 / -4, with frost on about 88 percent of nights.
• Jadi (22 December to 20 January): January averages about 4 / -8, with frost on about 97 percent of nights, the most of the three months.
• Dalw (21 January to 19 February): Kabul's coldest week is usually 22 to 28 January, the second to eighth day of Dalw. February averages about 5 / -6, with frost on about 89 percent of nights.

Photo: Ali Azad

The south and east are milder. In Jalalabad frost is rare even in January, and the first snow in Kandahar hardly comes at all. Open the weather page for your own town.

Getting ready

• Before 1 Qaws: have the heating, fuel and warm clothes ready, and learn the dangers of the heater. Read how to stay warm safely.
• From Qaws: check the road before any journey over a pass. See winter roads and passes and the roads page.
• In Jadi and Dalw: keep the weather page open for the days ahead.

Photo: Todd Huffman from Phoenix, AZ · CC BY 2.0

Never sleep in a closed room with a charcoal or gas fire burning. Carbon monoxide has no smell. If someone is poisoned, take them into fresh air and call 102.