Sofia climate
Sofia is warmest in August, with average highs of 27 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -4.4 °C. May is the wettest month (71 mm) and August the driest (36 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Sofia averages 585 mm of rain, 63 days above 25 °C and 88 days below freezing.
Bulgaria · population 1,152,556 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month August 27 °C
- Coldest month January -4.4 °C
- Driest month August 36 mm
- Wettest month May 71 mm
- Least cloud August 30 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 37 °C
- Coldest on record February -23 °C
What to expectSofia through the year
Sofia has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 3.7 °C in January to 27 °C in August, a swing of 22 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 63 days a year reach 25 °C, 11 of them reach 30 °C, 88 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 36 mm in August to 71 mm in May. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.7 °C | 40 mm | 61 % |
| February | 5.9 °C | 39 mm | 61 % |
| March | 10.2 °C | 56 mm | 59 % |
| April | 15.3 °C | 60 mm | 58 % |
| May | 20.0 °C | 71 mm | 56 % |
| June | 23.8 °C | 62 mm | 45 % |
| July | 26.0 °C | 53 mm | 34 % |
| August | 26.6 °C | 36 mm | 30 % |
| September | 22.0 °C | 36 mm | 44 % |
| October | 16.6 °C | 49 mm | 54 % |
| November | 10.5 °C | 38 mm | 60 % |
| December | 4.9 °C | 46 mm | 63 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.7 °C | -4.4 °C | -0.6 °C | 15.5 °C | -20.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| February | 5.9 °C | -3.1 °C | 1.1 °C | 20.4 °C | -23.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| March | 10.2 °C | 0.5 °C | 5.2 °C | 24.4 °C | -15.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| April | 15.3 °C | 5.1 °C | 10.2 °C | 27.3 °C | -9.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| May | 20.0 °C | 10.2 °C | 15.2 °C | 34.0 °C | 1.9 °C | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 23.8 °C | 14.2 °C | 19.2 °C | 34.6 °C | 5.3 °C | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| July | 26.0 °C | 16.2 °C | 21.2 °C | 37.4 °C | 9.1 °C | 18 | 4 | 0 |
| August | 26.6 °C | 16.4 °C | 21.5 °C | 36.0 °C | 7.5 °C | 21 | 5 | 0 |
| September | 22.0 °C | 12.1 °C | 16.9 °C | 33.3 °C | 1.6 °C | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| October | 16.6 °C | 7.1 °C | 11.5 °C | 31.2 °C | -7.3 °C | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| November | 10.5 °C | 2.0 °C | 5.8 °C | 24.6 °C | -14.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| December | 4.9 °C | -2.4 °C | 0.9 °C | 17.9 °C | -22.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40 mm | 8 | 9.4 h/day | 61 % | 78 % | 11 km/h |
| February | 39 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 61 % | 75 % | 12 km/h |
| March | 56 mm | 10 | 12 h/day | 59 % | 71 % | 13 km/h |
| April | 60 mm | 11 | 13 h/day | 58 % | 69 % | 13 km/h |
| May | 71 mm | 13 | 15 h/day | 56 % | 70 % | 12 km/h |
| June | 62 mm | 11 | 15 h/day | 45 % | 69 % | 11 km/h |
| July | 53 mm | 9 | 15 h/day | 34 % | 66 % | 11 km/h |
| August | 36 mm | 7 | 14 h/day | 30 % | 63 % | 11 km/h |
| September | 36 mm | 6 | 13 h/day | 44 % | 66 % | 11 km/h |
| October | 49 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 54 % | 73 % | 11 km/h |
| November | 38 mm | 7 | 9.8 h/day | 60 % | 78 % | 10 km/h |
| December | 46 mm | 9 | 9.1 h/day | 63 % | 79 % | 10 km/h |
How Sofia compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sofia | 27 °C | -4.4 °C | 585 mm | 63 |
| Plovdiv · Bulgaria | 29 °C | -2.9 °C | 537 mm | 96 |
| Niš · Serbia | 29 °C | -3.6 °C | 574 mm | 95 |
| Skopje · North Macedonia | 31 °C | -2.0 °C | 531 mm | 113 |
Where Sofia ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in Europe in September | 9thof 50 | 96/100 |
| Places with the best weather in the world in September | 31stof 50 | 96/100 |
| The driest places in Europe in September | 35thof 50 | 36 mm |
| Places with the best weather in Europe in July | 50thof 50 | 87/100 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Sofia.
QuestionsCommon questions about Sofia’s climate
When is the best time to visit Sofia?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and August the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Sofia get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 27 °C. About 11 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -4.4 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 88 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Sofia?
May, averaging 71 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is August with 36 mm. The year as a whole averages 585 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Sofia rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.