Marseille climate
Marseille is warmest in August, with average highs of 28 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 4.9 °C. November is the wettest month (91 mm) and July the driest (14 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Marseille averages 617 mm of rain, 80 days above 25 °C and 3 days below freezing.
France · population 877,215 · 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 28 °C
- Coldest month February 4.9 °C
- Driest month July 14 mm
- Wettest month November 91 mm
- Least cloud July 23 % cloud
- Hottest on record August 34 °C
- Coldest on record February -3.8 °C
- Warmest sea August 22 °C
What to expectMarseille through the year
Marseille has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 12 °C in February to 28 °C in August, a swing of 16 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 80 days a year reach 25 °C, 9 of them reach 30 °C, 3 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 34 °C, in August.
Rain is strongly seasonal. November averages 91 mm against 14 mm in July — 6.3 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
The sea off Marseille is warmest in August at 22 °C and coldest in February at 13 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.1 °C | 52 mm | 50 % |
| February | 11.6 °C | 41 mm | 45 % |
| March | 14.6 °C | 39 mm | 44 % |
| April | 17.0 °C | 66 mm | 47 % |
| May | 20.6 °C | 52 mm | 47 % |
| June | 24.8 °C | 31 mm | 35 % |
| July | 27.5 °C | 14 mm | 23 % |
| August | 27.7 °C | 22 mm | 29 % |
| September | 23.7 °C | 72 mm | 40 % |
| October | 19.6 °C | 83 mm | 53 % |
| November | 14.7 °C | 91 mm | 53 % |
| December | 11.7 °C | 54 mm | 51 % |
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 | 11.1 °C | 5.2 °C | 8.0 °C | 17.7 °C | -2.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| February | 11.6 °C | 4.9 °C | 8.1 °C | 19.2 °C | -3.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| March | 14.6 °C | 7.3 °C | 10.9 °C | 21.5 °C | -0.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 17.0 °C | 9.8 °C | 13.5 °C | 24.6 °C | 3.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 20.6 °C | 13.5 °C | 17.2 °C | 28.8 °C | 6.4 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 24.8 °C | 17.3 °C | 21.2 °C | 34.1 °C | 10.3 °C | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| July | 27.5 °C | 19.8 °C | 23.8 °C | 33.9 °C | 13.6 °C | 27 | 4 | 0 |
| August | 27.7 °C | 20.0 °C | 23.9 °C | 34.4 °C | 13.8 °C | 28 | 4 | 0 |
| September | 23.7 °C | 16.7 °C | 20.2 °C | 30.7 °C | 9.6 °C | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 19.6 °C | 13.6 °C | 16.5 °C | 28.8 °C | 4.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 14.7 °C | 9.3 °C | 11.9 °C | 22.2 °C | -1.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 11.7 °C | 6.3 °C | 8.8 °C | 17.3 °C | -2.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52 mm | 6 | 9.3 h/day | 50 % | 77 % | 20 km/h | 13.4 °C |
| February | 41 mm | 6 | 10 h/day | 45 % | 74 % | 21 km/h | 12.8 °C |
| March | 39 mm | 6 | 12 h/day | 44 % | 71 % | 22 km/h | 13.1 °C |
| April | 66 mm | 8 | 13 h/day | 47 % | 71 % | 22 km/h | 14.1 °C |
| May | 52 mm | 6 | 15 h/day | 47 % | 70 % | 21 km/h | 16.3 °C |
| June | 31 mm | 4 | 15 h/day | 35 % | 67 % | 20 km/h | 19.2 °C |
| July | 14 mm | 2 | 15 h/day | 23 % | 64 % | 21 km/h | 21.1 °C |
| August | 22 mm | 3 | 14 h/day | 29 % | 66 % | 19 km/h | 22.4 °C |
| September | 72 mm | 6 | 13 h/day | 40 % | 71 % | 20 km/h | 20.8 °C |
| October | 83 mm | 8 | 11 h/day | 53 % | 76 % | 20 km/h | 19.1 °C |
| November | 91 mm | 9 | 9.7 h/day | 53 % | 77 % | 21 km/h | 16.8 °C |
| December | 54 mm | 7 | 9.0 h/day | 51 % | 78 % | 20 km/h | 14.8 °C |
How Marseille 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marseille | 28 °C | 4.9 °C | 617 mm | 80 |
| Toulon · France | 28 °C | 5.7 °C | 695 mm | 80 |
| Montpellier · France | 28 °C | 3.9 °C | 838 mm | 85 |
| Nice · France | 27 °C | 4.7 °C | 838 mm | 76 |
| Monaco · Monaco | 27 °C | 4.9 °C | 834 mm | 68 |
Where Marseille ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in Europe in June | 10th of 50 | 92/100 |
| Best beach destinations in Europe in August | 12th of 50 | 96/100 |
| Best beach destinations in Europe in February | 23rd of 50 | 19/100 |
| Best beach destinations in Europe in March | 23rd of 50 | 21/100 |
| Best beach destinations in Europe in January | 24th of 50 | 18/100 |
| Best beach destinations in Europe in December | 26th of 50 | 20/100 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Marseille.
QuestionsCommon questions about Marseille’s climate
When is the best time to visit Marseille?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Marseille get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 28 °C. About 9 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 34 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 4.9 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 3 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Marseille?
November, averaging 91 mm over 9 days with rain. The driest month is July with 14 mm. The year as a whole averages 617 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 Marseille 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
- Data point
- 43.297°, 5.381° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- 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.