53 places · sun position · panel angle
Solar data for Afghanistan
Across the 53 places in Afghanistan the best fixed tilt for solar panels runs from 29° in Maymana to 31° in Kabul, and flat ground gets 5.0 to 6.1 peak sun hours a day. Every number is computed for each place.
Solar power in Afghanistan at a glance
Averages over 53 places with climate data, for a fixed array facing south.
- 4.97–5.19
- 5.19–5.41
- 5.41–5.62
- 5.62–5.84
- 5.84–6.06
Peak sun hours a day on flat ground. Each dot is one place.
The sunniest places in Afghanistan, with 6.06 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, are Kandahār and one other place; the least sunny is Bahārak with 4.97. A 1 kWp array at its best angle makes from 1,693 kWh a year in Qarqīn to 2,008 kWh in Kandahār — 1,821 kWh on average.
The best year-round tilt runs from 29° in Maymana to 31° in Kabul. Off-grid systems are sized for the darkest month and do better steeper, at 54° on average: at 70° that month brings 2.68 kWh per kWp a day in Khān Neshīn and 3.27 kWh in Sang-e Chārak.
Size an off-grid system or open any place below for its sun path, monthly table and tilt curve.
Sunniest places in Afghanistan
Ranked by peak sun hours on flat ground: the yearly average of a day's sunshine energy (NASA POWER climatology). Output: 1 kWp at its best year-round angle.
| Rank | Place | Region | Sun hours/day | kWh per kWp a year | Best tilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kandahār | Kandahar | 6.06 | 2,008 | 30° |
| 1 | Khān Neshīn | Helmand | 6.06 | 1,973 | 29° |
| 3 | Gereshk | Helmand | 6.00 | 1,979 | 29° |
| 3 | Lashkar Gāh | Helmand | 6.01 | 1,972 | 29° |
| 5 | Khāsh | Nimroz | 5.94 | 1,934 | 29° |
| 6 | Zaranj | Nimroz | 5.92 | 1,914 | 29° |
| 7 | Farah | Farah | 5.87 | 1,932 | 30° |
| 8 | Kushk | Herat | 5.79 | 1,931 | 30° |
| 9 | Shīnḏanḏ | Herat | 5.78 | 1,930 | 30° |
| 10 | Nīlī | Daykundi | 5.72 | 1,958 | 30° |
Least sunny places in Afghanistan
Solar by region in Afghanistan
Averages of the places in each region, sunniest first. Darkest month: what 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes a day in the worst month of the year.
| Region | Places | Sun hours/day | kWh per kWp a year | Best tilt | Darkest month at 70° | Sunniest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kandahar | 1 | 6.06 | 2,008 | 30° | 2.83 kWh | Kandahār |
| Helmand | 3 | 6.02 | 1,974 | 29° | 2.78 kWh | Khān Neshīn |
| Nimroz | 2 | 5.93 | 1,924 | 29° | 2.78 kWh | Khāsh |
| Farah | 1 | 5.87 | 1,932 | 30° | 2.88 kWh | Farah |
| Daykundi | 1 | 5.72 | 1,958 | 30° | 3.12 kWh | Nīlī |
| Ghowr | 1 | 5.68 | 1,935 | 29° | 3.18 kWh | Shahrak |
| Herat | 5 | 5.65 | 1,892 | 30° | 3.08 kWh | Kushk |
| Ghazni | 1 | 5.55 | 1,922 | 31° | 3.09 kWh | Ghazni |
| Kabul | 3 | 5.46 | 1,897 | 31° | 3.14 kWh | Kabul |
| Logar | 1 | 5.46 | 1,895 | 31° | 3.08 kWh | Baraki Barak |
| Bamyan | 1 | 5.43 | 1,881 | 30° | 3.22 kWh | Bāmyān |
| Paktia | 1 | 5.37 | 1,859 | 31° | 3.00 kWh | Gardez |
| Parwan | 2 | 5.36 | 1,860 | 31° | 3.18 kWh | Charikar |
| Laghman | 1 | 5.31 | 1,842 | 31° | 3.09 kWh | Mehtar Lām |
| Badghis | 1 | 5.30 | 1,772 | 29° | 3.21 kWh | Ghormach |
| Panjshir | 1 | 5.29 | 1,836 | 30° | 3.20 kWh | Bāzārak |
| Nangarhar | 2 | 5.24 | 1,795 | 31° | 2.95 kWh | Jalālābād |
| Sar-e Pol Province | 2 | 5.24 | 1,768 | 29° | 3.26 kWh | Sang-e Chārak |
| Faryab | 2 | 5.23 | 1,748 | 30° | 3.24 kWh | Maymana |
| Baghlan | 3 | 5.22 | 1,771 | 30° | 3.19 kWh | Pul-e Khumrī |
| Samangan | 1 | 5.20 | 1,751 | 30° | 3.19 kWh | Aībak |
| Khowst | 1 | 5.18 | 1,767 | 31° | 2.87 kWh | Khōst |
| Balkh | 3 | 5.14 | 1,716 | 30° | 3.22 kWh | Khulm |
| Jowzjan | 2 | 5.14 | 1,703 | 31° | 3.21 kWh | Shibirghān |
| Kunduz | 3 | 5.14 | 1,715 | 30° | 3.17 kWh | Khanabad |
| Takhar | 3 | 5.10 | 1,713 | 30° | 3.18 kWh | Taloqan |
| Kunar | 2 | 5.09 | 1,756 | 31° | 3.03 kWh | Asadābād |
| Badakhshan | 3 | 5.01 | 1,741 | 31° | 3.23 kWh | Fayzabad |
Largest places in Afghanistan at a glance
| Place | Latitude | Best tilt | Off-grid tilt | Sun hours/day (flat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kabul | 34.5° N | 31° | 52° | 5.49 |
| Herāt | 34.3° N | 30° | 58° | 5.59 |
| Mazār-e Sharīf | 36.7° N | 30° | 58° | 5.14 |
| Kandahār | 31.6° N | 30° | 41° | 6.06 |
| Jalālābād | 34.4° N | 31° | 49° | 5.31 |
| Kunduz | 36.7° N | 30° | 58° | 5.15 |
| Ghazni | 33.6° N | 31° | 50° | 5.55 |
| Balkh | 36.8° N | 30° | 58° | 5.13 |
| Baghlān | 36.1° N | 30° | 61° | 5.21 |
| Gardez | 33.6° N | 31° | 51° | 5.37 |
| Khōst | 33.3° N | 31° | 47° | 5.18 |
| Maymana | 35.9° N | 29° | 60° | 5.29 |
| Khanabad | 36.7° N | 30° | 60° | 5.15 |
| Bāzārak | 35.3° N | 30° | 56° | 5.29 |
| Khulm | 36.7° N | 30° | 58° | 5.16 |
| Taloqan | 36.7° N | 30° | 61° | 5.14 |
| Bāmyān | 34.8° N | 30° | 58° | 5.43 |
| Pul-e Khumrī | 35.9° N | 30° | 60° | 5.23 |
| Shibirghān | 36.7° N | 30° | 61° | 5.16 |
| Charikar | 35.0° N | 31° | 55° | 5.38 |
Daylight and clock time in Afghanistan
In Qarqīn (37.4° N), the northernmost place, the longest day of the year lasts 14 h 45 min and the shortest 9 h 35 min; in Khān Neshīn (30.5° N), the southernmost, 14 h 07 min and 10 h 10 min. Afghanistan does not use daylight saving time: the clocks stay the same all year.
| Time zone | Places | UTC offset | Clocks change in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia/Kabul | 53 | UTC+4:30 | no daylight saving time |