Grytviken climate

Name: Grytviken
Address: GS

Grytviken is warmest in February, with average highs of 4.9 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average -4.7 °C. March is the wettest month (154 mm) and November the driest (117 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Grytviken averages 1,591 mm of rain and 233 days below freezing.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands · population 2 · 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 February 4.9 °C
Coldest month July -4.7 °C
Driest month November 117 mm
Wettest month March 154 mm
Least cloud December 82 % cloud
Hottest on record December 18 °C
Coldest on record August -16 °C
Warmest sea February 3.8 °C

What to expectGrytviken through the year

Grytviken has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -1.0 °C in July to 4.9 °C in February, a swing of 6.2 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 233 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 18 °C, in December.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 117 mm in November to 154 mm in March. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Grytviken is warmest in February at 3.8 °C and coldest in August at 0.4 °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	4.3 °C	136 mm	84 %
February	4.9 °C	131 mm	84 %
March	4.3 °C	154 mm	84 %
April	2.8 °C	147 mm	84 %
May	0.7 °C	136 mm	83 %
June	-0.5 °C	128 mm	84 %
July	-1.0 °C	135 mm	84 %
August	-0.8 °C	137 mm	85 %
September	-0.2 °C	130 mm	84 %
October	1.1 °C	121 mm	84 %
November	2.4 °C	117 mm	83 %
December	3.2 °C	119 mm	82 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days below 0 °C
January	4.3 °C	1.3 °C	2.9 °C	14.4 °C	-3.3 °C	7
February	4.9 °C	1.7 °C	3.4 °C	16.0 °C	-3.9 °C	5
March	4.3 °C	1.0 °C	2.8 °C	11.8 °C	-4.9 °C	10
April	2.8 °C	-0.5 °C	1.2 °C	12.0 °C	-7.0 °C	17
May	0.7 °C	-2.6 °C	-0.8 °C	9.2 °C	-11.5 °C	24
June	-0.5 °C	-3.9 °C	-2.1 °C	7.3 °C	-14.4 °C	27
July	-1.0 °C	-4.7 °C	-2.8 °C	6.7 °C	-15.6 °C	29
August	-0.8 °C	-4.5 °C	-2.5 °C	6.7 °C	-15.8 °C	29
September	-0.2 °C	-3.7 °C	-1.8 °C	7.8 °C	-13.0 °C	28
October	1.1 °C	-2.1 °C	-0.3 °C	10.1 °C	-10.6 °C	25
November	2.4 °C	-0.7 °C	1.0 °C	13.6 °C	-7.9 °C	19
December	3.2 °C	0.4 °C	1.9 °C	17.7 °C	-4.5 °C	13

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	136 mm	20	17 h/day	84 %	91 %	23 km/h	3.4 °C
February	131 mm	18	15 h/day	84 %	91 %	25 km/h	3.8 °C
March	154 mm	20	13 h/day	84 %	91 %	25 km/h	3.6 °C
April	147 mm	20	10 h/day	84 %	90 %	25 km/h	3.0 °C
May	136 mm	19	8.4 h/day	83 %	88 %	24 km/h	2.1 °C
June	128 mm	19	7.3 h/day	84 %	88 %	24 km/h	1.2 °C
July	135 mm	19	7.8 h/day	84 %	86 %	26 km/h	0.6 °C
August	137 mm	19	9.5 h/day	85 %	87 %	26 km/h	0.4 °C
September	130 mm	18	12 h/day	84 %	88 %	24 km/h	0.4 °C
October	121 mm	19	14 h/day	84 %	89 %	25 km/h	0.7 °C
November	117 mm	18	16 h/day	83 %	90 %	24 km/h	1.5 °C
December	119 mm	19	17 h/day	82 %	90 %	23 km/h	2.5 °C

Where Grytviken ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in the world in August	1st of 50	-0.8 °C
The coolest places in the world in July	1st of 50	-1.0 °C
The coolest places in the world in June	1st of 50	-0.5 °C
The coolest places in the world in September	1st of 50	-0.2 °C
The coolest places in the world in May	2nd of 50	0.7 °C
The coolest places in the world in October	4th of 50	1.1 °C

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Grytviken’s climate

When is the best time to visit Grytviken?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, March sit closest to 20 °C on average, February is the warmest month and November the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Grytviken get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 4.9 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 18 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -4.7 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 233 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Grytviken?

March, averaging 154 mm over 20 days with rain. The driest month is November with 117 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,591 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 Grytviken 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: -54.281°, -36.509° (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.