Basel climate
Basel is warmest in July, with average highs of 25 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -1.6 °C. May is the wettest month (126 mm) and February the driest (72 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Basel averages 1,181 mm of rain, 44 days above 25 °C and 83 days below freezing.
Switzerland · population 177,595 · 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 25 °C
- Coldest month January -1.6 °C
- Driest month February 72 mm
- Wettest month May 126 mm
- Least cloud July 54 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 37 °C
- Coldest on record February -20 °C
What to expectBasel through the year
Basel has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 5.4 °C in January to 25 °C in July, a swing of 18 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 44 days a year reach 25 °C, 9 of them reach 30 °C, 83 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 72 mm in February to 126 mm in May. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.4 °C | 78 mm | 70 % |
| February | 6.9 °C | 72 mm | 66 % |
| March | 11.1 °C | 82 mm | 62 % |
| April | 15.0 °C | 90 mm | 63 % |
| May | 18.7 °C | 126 mm | 65 % |
| June | 22.4 °C | 113 mm | 60 % |
| July | 24.6 °C | 118 mm | 54 % |
| August | 24.5 °C | 122 mm | 55 % |
| September | 20.0 °C | 94 mm | 61 % |
| October | 15.3 °C | 96 mm | 70 % |
| November | 9.3 °C | 93 mm | 74 % |
| December | 5.8 °C | 98 mm | 72 % |
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 | 5.4 °C | -1.6 °C | 1.6 °C | 16.5 °C | -12.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| February | 6.9 °C | -1.6 °C | 2.4 °C | 18.6 °C | -19.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| March | 11.1 °C | 1.3 °C | 6.1 °C | 21.7 °C | -11.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| April | 15.0 °C | 4.5 °C | 9.9 °C | 27.1 °C | -3.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| May | 18.7 °C | 8.8 °C | 14.0 °C | 30.7 °C | -0.6 °C | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 22.4 °C | 12.7 °C | 17.8 °C | 34.9 °C | 4.8 °C | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| July | 24.6 °C | 14.7 °C | 19.8 °C | 37.1 °C | 7.5 °C | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| August | 24.5 °C | 14.7 °C | 19.7 °C | 36.4 °C | 7.3 °C | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| September | 20.0 °C | 10.7 °C | 15.3 °C | 31.2 °C | 1.7 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 15.3 °C | 6.6 °C | 10.7 °C | 27.3 °C | -3.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| November | 9.3 °C | 2.1 °C | 5.5 °C | 22.0 °C | -9.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| December | 5.8 °C | -0.7 °C | 2.3 °C | 16.5 °C | -17.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 18 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 78 mm | 13 | 8.9 h/day | 70 % | 83 % | 13 km/h |
| February | 72 mm | 11 | 10 h/day | 66 % | 79 % | 14 km/h |
| March | 82 mm | 13 | 12 h/day | 62 % | 76 % | 14 km/h |
| April | 90 mm | 14 | 14 h/day | 63 % | 73 % | 13 km/h |
| May | 126 mm | 16 | 15 h/day | 65 % | 75 % | 12 km/h |
| June | 113 mm | 15 | 16 h/day | 60 % | 73 % | 12 km/h |
| July | 118 mm | 15 | 16 h/day | 54 % | 70 % | 12 km/h |
| August | 122 mm | 15 | 14 h/day | 55 % | 71 % | 11 km/h |
| September | 94 mm | 12 | 13 h/day | 61 % | 77 % | 11 km/h |
| October | 96 mm | 13 | 11 h/day | 70 % | 83 % | 11 km/h |
| November | 93 mm | 13 | 9.3 h/day | 74 % | 85 % | 12 km/h |
| December | 98 mm | 14 | 8.5 h/day | 72 % | 85 % | 13 km/h |
How Basel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel | 25 °C | -1.6 °C | 1,181 mm | 44 |
| Freiburg · Germany | 24 °C | -1.3 °C | 1,045 mm | 43 |
| Bern · Switzerland | 22 °C | -3.4 °C | 1,126 mm | 20 |
| Zürich · Switzerland | 23 °C | -2.0 °C | 1,379 mm | 31 |
| Strasbourg · France | 25 °C | -0.6 °C | 899 mm | 44 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Basel.
QuestionsCommon questions about Basel’s climate
When is the best time to visit Basel?
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 Basel get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 25 °C. About 9 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 -1.6 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 83 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Basel?
May, averaging 126 mm over 16 days with rain. The driest month is February with 72 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,181 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 Basel 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
- 47.558°, 7.573° (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.