Reykjavík weather by month & the best time to visit
🇮🇸 Iceland · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
Reykjavík is short on reliable sunshine. Its best month is July (Score 29/100) — for stronger sun, try one of the nearby alternatives below.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 1,318
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 29/100
- Rain / year
- 1,465 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈94 cm
- Midday UV at peak
- 3 (moderate)
- Sea at warmest
- 11°C / 52°F
- Population
- 166k
- Elevation
- 48 m
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When is the best time to visit Reykjavík?
Reykjavík never gets truly sunny weather: July is as good as it gets at 29/100, and January is the low point (0/100). If sunshine is the point of the trip, the nearby alternatives below do better.
How sunny is Reykjavík?
Reykjavík isn't a sunny place by world standards: about 1,318 hours of sunshine a year. July (29/100) is noticeably better than January (0). It ranks #5 of 9 destinations in Iceland for annual sunshine, right at the national median of 1,318 hours. The year's 1,465 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 | 3° / 37°F | 0° / 32°F | 153 mm | 0 | 5° / 41°F |
| February | 0 | 3° / 37°F | 0° / 32°F | 136 mm | 0 | 4° / 39°F |
| March | 0 | 3° / 37°F | 0° / 32°F | 138 mm | 1 | 5° / 41°F |
| April | 0 | 5° / 41°F | 2° / 36°F | 106 mm | 2 | 6° / 43°F |
| May | 0 | 8° / 46°F | 4° / 39°F | 83 mm | 3 | 8° / 46°F |
| June | 18 | 11° / 52°F | 8° / 46°F | 72 mm | 3 | 9° / 48°F |
| July | 29 | 13° / 55°F | 9° / 48°F | 85 mm | 3 | 11° / 52°F |
| August | 22 | 12° / 54°F | 9° / 48°F | 109 mm | 3 | 11° / 52°F |
| September | 10 | 10° / 50°F | 7° / 45°F | 161 mm | 1 | 9° / 48°F |
| October | 0 | 7° / 45°F | 4° / 39°F | 131 mm | 0 | 8° / 46°F |
| November | 0 | 4° / 39°F | 2° / 36°F | 137 mm | 0 | 7° / 45°F |
| December | 0 | 3° / 37°F | 0° / 32°F | 154 mm | 0 | 5° / 41°F |
Sea temperature in Reykjavík by month
The sea off Reykjavík is warmest in July at around 11°C / 52°F, and coolest in February at 4°C / 39°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 Reykjavík on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Reykjavík Iceland · 36 km · best in Jul · 1,456 h sun/yr
- Vágar Faroe Islands · 800 km · best in Aug · 998 h sun/yr
- Inverness United Kingdom · 1,229 km · best in Jul · 1,074 h sun/yr
- Aberdeen United Kingdom · 1,336 km · best in Jul · 1,300 h sun/yr
- Glasgow United Kingdom · 1,347 km · best in Jul · 1,306 h sun/yr
- Charlestown Ireland · 1,365 km · best in Jul · 1,412 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Ísafjörður Iceland · 232 km · 984 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Akureyri Iceland · 284 km · 1,550 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Grímsey/Sandvík Iceland · 356 km · 1,074 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Höfn Iceland · 359 km · 1,200 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Vopnafjörður Iceland · 414 km · 1,340 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Reykjavík compares month by month: Reykjavík vs Inverness · Reykjavík vs Vágar · Reykjavík vs Ilulissat · all comparisons
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