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 34/100) — 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
- 1,456
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 34/100
- Rain / year
- 1,638 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈1.5 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 3 (moderate)
- Sea at warmest
- 11°C / 52°F
- Population
- 166k
- Elevation
- 11 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 34/100, 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 1,456 hours of sunshine a year. July (34/100) is noticeably better than January (0). It ranks #2 of 9 destinations in Iceland for annual sunshine, above the national median of 1,318 hours. The year's 1,638 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 | 2° / 36°F | -1° / 30°F | 169 mm | 0 | 2° / 36°F |
| February | 0 | 2° / 36°F | -1° / 30°F | 152 mm | 0 | 2° / 36°F |
| March | 0 | 3° / 37°F | -1° / 30°F | 153 mm | 1 | 3° / 37°F |
| April | 0 | 6° / 43°F | 2° / 36°F | 119 mm | 2 | 4° / 39°F |
| May | 6 | 9° / 48°F | 4° / 39°F | 93 mm | 3 | 7° / 45°F |
| June | 24 | 12° / 54°F | 7° / 45°F | 83 mm | 3 | 10° / 50°F |
| July | 34 | 14° / 57°F | 9° / 48°F | 99 mm | 3 | 11° / 52°F |
| August | 27 | 13° / 55°F | 9° / 48°F | 121 mm | 2 | 11° / 52°F |
| September | 10 | 10° / 50°F | 6° / 43°F | 181 mm | 1 | 9° / 48°F |
| October | 0 | 7° / 45°F | 3° / 37°F | 147 mm | 0 | 7° / 45°F |
| November | 0 | 4° / 39°F | 1° / 34°F | 149 mm | 0 | 6° / 43°F |
| December | 0 | 3° / 37°F | -1° / 30°F | 172 mm | 0 | 3° / 37°F |
Sea temperature in Reykjavík by month
The sea off Reykjavík is warmest in July at around 11°C / 52°F, and coolest in January at 2°C / 36°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 · 1,318 h sun/yr
- Vágar Faroe Islands · 771 km · best in Aug · 998 h sun/yr
- Inverness United Kingdom · 1,208 km · best in Jul · 1,074 h sun/yr
- Aberdeen United Kingdom · 1,314 km · best in Jul · 1,300 h sun/yr
- Glasgow United Kingdom · 1,330 km · best in Jul · 1,306 h sun/yr
- Charlestown Ireland · 1,356 km · best in Jul · 1,412 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Ísafjörður Iceland · 222 km · 984 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Akureyri Iceland · 249 km · 1,550 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Grímsey/Sandvík Iceland · 324 km · 1,074 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Höfn Iceland · 325 km · 1,200 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Vopnafjörður Iceland · 378 km · 1,340 h sun/yr · best in Jul
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