Average weather, temperature, rainfall, sunshine hours
The climate of Reykjavik is subpolar oceanic, with cold winters and very cool summers.
The city is the capital of Iceland and is located on the south-western coast.
The
average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 0 °C (32 °F), that of the warmest months (July, August) is of 11.5 °C (53 °F). The lowest record is -19.7 °C (-3.5 °F), set in January 1971, the highest is 25.7 °C (78 °F), set in July 2008. When a cold wave hits Europe, temperatures in Iceland get abnormally mild, and in Reykjavík they can reach 8/9 °C (46/48 °F), as happened in February 1956, in January 1985, in February 2012, and in February 2018. Here are the average temperatures.
Reykjavik - Average temperatures| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Min (°C) | -2 | -2 | -2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | -2 |
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| Max (°C) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
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| Min (°F) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 34 | 39 | 45 | 48 | 48 | 43 | 36 | 32 | 28 |
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| Max (°F) | 36 | 37 | 37 | 43 | 50 | 54 | 57 | 57 | 52 | 45 | 39 | 37 |
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amounts to 800 millimeters (31.5 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 45 mm (1.8 in) in the driest month (May) to 85 mm (3.3 in) in the wettest (October). Here is the average precipitation.
Reykjavik - Average precipitation| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
| Prec.(mm) | 75 | 70 | 80 | 60 | 45 | 50 | 50 | 60 | 65 | 85 | 75 | 80 | 800 |
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| Prec.(in) | 3 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2 | 2 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3 | 3.1 | 31.5 |
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| Days | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 148 |
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On average, there are around 1,310
sunshine hours per year. So, the sun doesn't shine often. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.
Reykjavik - Sunshine| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Hours | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
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The
sea temperature ranges between 5 °C (41 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F). So, it is very cold all year round. Here are the average sea temperatures.
Reykjavik - Sea temperature| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Temp (°C) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
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| Temp (°F) | 43 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 43 | 46 | 50 | 50 | 48 | 46 | 45 | 43 |
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Best Time
The best time to visit Reykjavik is the summer, from June to August, since it is the mildest season. However, there are often cloudy skies, rain and a bit of cold at night.
In Reykjavik, the white nights, when the sun goes below the horizon but remains close enough, so much so that there are sunset lights even at midnight, occur from May 20 to July 23, although some faint lights around midnight are visible from late April and until mid-August.