Nuuk climate

Name: Nuuk
Address: GL

Nuuk is warmest in July, with average highs of 12 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average -17 °C. September is the wettest month (100 mm) and February the driest (46 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Nuuk averages 809 mm of rain and 240 days below freezing.

Greenland · 5 m elevation · population 14,798 · 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 July 12 °C
Coldest month February -17 °C
Driest month February 46 mm
Wettest month September 100 mm
Least cloud October 70 % cloud
Hottest on record July 24 °C
Coldest on record January -39 °C
Warmest sea August 5.2 °C

What to expectNuuk through the year

Nuuk has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -11 °C in February to 12 °C in July, a swing of 23 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 240 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 24 °C, in July.

Rain is strongly seasonal. September averages 100 mm against 46 mm in February — 2.2 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off Nuuk is warmest in August at 5.2 °C and coldest in February at -0.2 °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	-11.4 °C	60 mm	75 %
February	-11.4 °C	46 mm	76 %
March	-8.8 °C	51 mm	71 %
April	-2.4 °C	56 mm	72 %
May	2.6 °C	60 mm	74 %
June	8.8 °C	67 mm	79 %
July	12.0 °C	64 mm	76 %
August	11.0 °C	80 mm	78 %
September	6.8 °C	100 mm	75 %
October	0.2 °C	82 mm	70 %
November	-6.2 °C	79 mm	74 %
December	-9.2 °C	64 mm	74 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days below 0 °C
January	-11.4 °C	-17.1 °C	-14.4 °C	6.2 °C	-39.1 °C	31
February	-11.4 °C	-17.3 °C	-14.5 °C	7.7 °C	-37.3 °C	28
March	-8.8 °C	-14.8 °C	-11.8 °C	7.5 °C	-32.8 °C	31
April	-2.4 °C	-7.8 °C	-5.0 °C	8.1 °C	-22.4 °C	29
May	2.6 °C	-2.5 °C	0.2 °C	18.8 °C	-19.7 °C	23
June	8.8 °C	2.9 °C	5.8 °C	21.5 °C	-5.6 °C	4
July	12.0 °C	5.9 °C	8.9 °C	24.0 °C	0.1 °C	0
August	11.0 °C	5.5 °C	8.1 °C	23.1 °C	-2.0 °C	0
September	6.8 °C	1.4 °C	4.0 °C	19.8 °C	-12.7 °C	9
October	0.2 °C	-5.4 °C	-2.6 °C	13.4 °C	-20.4 °C	26
November	-6.2 °C	-12.0 °C	-9.1 °C	9.5 °C	-31.6 °C	29
December	-9.2 °C	-15.4 °C	-12.3 °C	9.8 °C	-35.3 °C	31

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	60 mm	10	5.4 h/day	75 %	69 %	20 km/h	0.0 °C
February	46 mm	8	8.5 h/day	76 %	69 %	20 km/h	-0.2 °C
March	51 mm	8	12 h/day	71 %	72 %	20 km/h	-0.1 °C
April	56 mm	8	15 h/day	72 %	78 %	19 km/h	0.2 °C
May	60 mm	8	18 h/day	74 %	83 %	18 km/h	1.4 °C
June	67 mm	9	21 h/day	79 %	84 %	19 km/h	2.9 °C
July	64 mm	9	20 h/day	76 %	83 %	18 km/h	4.8 °C
August	80 mm	11	16 h/day	78 %	83 %	19 km/h	5.2 °C
September	100 mm	12	13 h/day	75 %	82 %	20 km/h	3.9 °C
October	82 mm	11	9.8 h/day	70 %	81 %	19 km/h	2.6 °C
November	79 mm	11	6.5 h/day	74 %	78 %	20 km/h	1.5 °C
December	64 mm	10	4.2 h/day	74 %	72 %	20 km/h	0.6 °C

Where Nuuk ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in North America in April	1st of 50	-2.4 °C
The coolest places in North America in August	1st of 50	11 °C
The coolest places in North America in December	1st of 50	-9.2 °C
The coolest places in North America in February	1st of 50	-11 °C
The coolest places in North America in July	1st of 50	12 °C
The coolest places in North America in June	1st of 50	8.8 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Nuuk.

QuestionsCommon questions about Nuuk’s climate

When is the best time to visit Nuuk?

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, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Nuuk get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 12 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 24 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -17 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 240 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Nuuk?

September, averaging 100 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is February with 46 mm. The year as a whole averages 809 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 Nuuk 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: 64.183°, -51.722° , 5 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

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.