Cardiff weather by month & the best time to visit
🇬🇧 United Kingdom · city break · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Cardiff is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 73/100), with August and June close behind. Cardiff averages about 1,565 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 20°C / 68°F and roughly 80 mm of rain in July.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 1,565
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 73/100
- Rain / year
- 966 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 5 (moderate)
- Sea at warmest
- 18°C / 64°F
- Population
- 861k
- Elevation
- 66 m
.jpg/960px-Senedd_(51845859151).jpg)
When is the best time to visit Cardiff?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Cardiff is July, then August and June. The dullest month is January (0/100, 94 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Cardiff?
Cardiff isn't a sunny place by world standards: about 1,565 hours of sunshine a year. 73 Sunshine Score points separate July (73) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #12 of 48 destinations in United Kingdom for annual sunshine, above the national median of 1,345 hours. The year's 966 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 7° / 45°F | 3° / 37°F | 94 mm | 0 | 8° / 46°F |
| February | 0 | 7° / 45°F | 3° / 37°F | 73 mm | 1 | 9° / 48°F |
| March | 6 | 9° / 48°F | 3° / 37°F | 70 mm | 2 | 9° / 48°F |
| April | 32 | 13° / 55°F | 5° / 41°F | 56 mm | 3 | 11° / 52°F |
| May | 50 | 16° / 61°F | 8° / 46°F | 67 mm | 4 | 14° / 57°F |
| June | 68 | 19° / 66°F | 11° / 52°F | 72 mm | 5 | 16° / 61°F |
| July | 73 | 20° / 68°F | 13° / 55°F | 80 mm | 5 | 17° / 63°F |
| August | 72 | 20° / 68°F | 13° / 55°F | 84 mm | 4 | 18° / 64°F |
| September | 63 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 63 mm | 3 | 17° / 63°F |
| October | 35 | 14° / 57°F | 9° / 48°F | 100 mm | 1 | 15° / 59°F |
| November | 17 | 11° / 52°F | 6° / 43°F | 103 mm | 1 | 13° / 55°F |
| December | 0 | 8° / 46°F | 4° / 39°F | 104 mm | 0 | 10° / 50°F |
Sea temperature in Cardiff by month
The sea off Cardiff is warmest in August at around 18°C / 64°F, and coolest in January at 8°C / 46°F. It never reaches comfortable swimming temperatures (21°C+). Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Cardiff on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Bristol United Kingdom · 44 km · best in Jul · 1,565 h sun/yr
- Exeter United Kingdom · 74 km · best in Jul · 1,796 h sun/yr
- Bournemouth United Kingdom · 125 km · best in Sep · 1,899 h sun/yr
- Southampton United Kingdom · 147 km · best in Sep · 1,900 h sun/yr
- Newquay United Kingdom · 157 km · best in Jul · 1,788 h sun/yr
- Birmingham United Kingdom · 161 km · best in Jul · 1,561 h sun/yr
Head-to-head
How Cardiff compares month by month: Cardiff vs Bristol · Cardiff vs Bournemouth · Cardiff vs Exeter · Cardiff vs Newquay · all comparisons
Put the Cardiff sunshine badge on your site
A compact badge showing Cardiff's sunshine at a glance — free to embed under CC BY 4.0. Paste this wherever you'd like it to appear:
Live preview — this is exactly what your readers see: