Karlsruhe climate
Karlsruhe is warmest in August, with average highs of 25 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -0.4 °C. December is the wettest month (85 mm) and April the driest (52 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Karlsruhe averages 817 mm of rain, 48 days above 25 °C and 60 days below freezing.
Germany · population 283,799 · 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 25 °C
- Coldest month January -0.4 °C
- Driest month April 52 mm
- Wettest month December 85 mm
- Least cloud August 54 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 38 °C
- Coldest on record December -18 °C
What to expectKarlsruhe through the year
Karlsruhe has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 5.2 °C in January to 25 °C in August, a swing of 18 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 48 days a year reach 25 °C, 10 of them reach 30 °C, 60 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 38 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 52 mm in April to 85 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.2 °C | 69 mm | 71 % |
| February | 6.8 °C | 61 mm | 68 % |
| March | 10.9 °C | 70 mm | 64 % |
| April | 15.5 °C | 52 mm | 60 % |
| May | 19.3 °C | 79 mm | 62 % |
| June | 22.8 °C | 68 mm | 59 % |
| July | 25.0 °C | 70 mm | 55 % |
| August | 25.0 °C | 62 mm | 54 % |
| September | 20.4 °C | 63 mm | 59 % |
| October | 15.2 °C | 68 mm | 67 % |
| November | 9.4 °C | 71 mm | 74 % |
| December | 5.8 °C | 85 mm | 74 % |
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 | 5.2 °C | -0.4 °C | 2.3 °C | 15.6 °C | -16.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| February | 6.8 °C | -0.2 °C | 3.1 °C | 18.4 °C | -13.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| March | 10.9 °C | 2.4 °C | 6.6 °C | 22.0 °C | -16.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| April | 15.5 °C | 5.6 °C | 10.7 °C | 29.6 °C | -3.8 °C | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| May | 19.3 °C | 9.9 °C | 14.8 °C | 31.3 °C | 1.0 °C | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 22.8 °C | 13.5 °C | 18.4 °C | 35.2 °C | 5.9 °C | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| July | 25.0 °C | 15.7 °C | 20.5 °C | 38.0 °C | 9.3 °C | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| August | 25.0 °C | 15.6 °C | 20.4 °C | 37.9 °C | 7.4 °C | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| September | 20.4 °C | 11.8 °C | 16.0 °C | 31.6 °C | 3.2 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 15.2 °C | 8.0 °C | 11.4 °C | 27.0 °C | -3.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| November | 9.4 °C | 3.6 °C | 6.4 °C | 22.4 °C | -9.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| December | 5.8 °C | 0.8 °C | 3.3 °C | 15.5 °C | -17.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69 mm | 12 | 8.7 h/day | 71 % | 82 % | 17 km/h |
| February | 61 mm | 11 | 10 h/day | 68 % | 78 % | 17 km/h |
| March | 70 mm | 12 | 12 h/day | 64 % | 75 % | 17 km/h |
| April | 52 mm | 10 | 14 h/day | 60 % | 70 % | 15 km/h |
| May | 79 mm | 13 | 15 h/day | 62 % | 71 % | 15 km/h |
| June | 68 mm | 12 | 16 h/day | 59 % | 69 % | 14 km/h |
| July | 70 mm | 12 | 16 h/day | 55 % | 67 % | 14 km/h |
| August | 62 mm | 11 | 14 h/day | 54 % | 67 % | 13 km/h |
| September | 63 mm | 10 | 13 h/day | 59 % | 73 % | 14 km/h |
| October | 68 mm | 11 | 11 h/day | 67 % | 80 % | 15 km/h |
| November | 71 mm | 12 | 9.2 h/day | 74 % | 84 % | 15 km/h |
| December | 85 mm | 14 | 8.3 h/day | 74 % | 84 % | 17 km/h |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Karlsruhe.
QuestionsCommon questions about Karlsruhe’s climate
When is the best time to visit Karlsruhe?
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 April the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Karlsruhe get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 25 °C. About 10 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 38 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -0.4 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 60 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Karlsruhe?
December, averaging 85 mm over 14 days with rain. The driest month is April with 52 mm. The year as a whole averages 817 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 Karlsruhe 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
- 49.009°, 8.404° (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.