Istanbul weather by month & the best time to visit
🇹🇷 Türkiye · major coastal city · Mediterranean climate
The best time to visit Istanbul is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 87/100), with August and June close behind. Istanbul averages about 2,201 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 25°C / 77°F and roughly 26 mm of rain in July.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,201
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 87/100
- Rain / year
- 719 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 8 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 27°C / 81°F
- Population
- 15.7M
- Elevation
- 78 m
When is the best time to visit Istanbul?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Istanbul 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 Istanbul?
Istanbul gets a moderate 2,201 hours of sunshine a year. 87 Sunshine Score points separate July (87) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #47 of 49 destinations in Türkiye for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,990 hours. The year's 719 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 | 8° / 46°F | 5° / 41°F | 94 mm | 1 | 10° / 50°F |
| February | 0 | 8° / 46°F | 5° / 41°F | 75 mm | 2 | 9° / 48°F |
| March | 7 | 9° / 48°F | 6° / 43°F | 60 mm | 3 | 9° / 48°F |
| April | 28 | 12° / 54°F | 9° / 48°F | 43 mm | 4 | 13° / 55°F |
| May | 64 | 17° / 63°F | 15° / 59°F | 31 mm | 6 | 16° / 61°F |
| June | 85 | 22° / 72°F | 20° / 68°F | 35 mm | 7 | 23° / 73°F |
| July | 87 | 25° / 77°F | 23° / 73°F | 26 mm | 8 | 27° / 81°F |
| August | 87 | 25° / 77°F | 24° / 75°F | 23 mm | 7 | 27° / 81°F |
| September | 80 | 23° / 73°F | 20° / 68°F | 62 mm | 5 | 25° / 77°F |
| October | 63 | 18° / 64°F | 16° / 61°F | 87 mm | 3 | 20° / 68°F |
| November | 39 | 14° / 57°F | 12° / 54°F | 77 mm | 2 | 16° / 61°F |
| December | 12 | 10° / 50°F | 7° / 45°F | 106 mm | 1 | 13° / 55°F |
Sea temperature in Istanbul by month
The sea off Istanbul is warmest in July at around 27°C / 81°F, and coolest in February at 9°C / 48°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 4 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Istanbul on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Burgas Bulgaria · 176 km · best in Aug · 2,238 h sun/yr
- Varna Bulgaria · 230 km · best in Aug · 2,248 h sun/yr
- Mytilene Greece · 306 km · best in Jul · 2,823 h sun/yr
- Izmir Türkiye · 358 km · best in Jun · 2,998 h sun/yr
- Ankara Türkiye · 381 km · best in Jul · 2,649 h sun/yr
- Denizli Türkiye · 397 km · best in Sep · 3,070 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Çorlu Türkiye · 70 km · 2,423 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Bursa (Yenişehir) Türkiye · 133 km · 2,430 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Balıkesir Türkiye · 196 km · 2,636 h sun/yr · best in Jun
- Eskişehir Türkiye · 222 km · 2,742 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Istanbul compares month by month: Istanbul vs Varna · Istanbul vs Burgas · Istanbul vs Mytilene · all comparisons
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