Brighton climate
Brighton is warmest in August, with average highs of 20 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 3.4 °C. November is the wettest month (79 mm) and March the driest (46 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Brighton averages 726 mm of rain, 2 days above 25 °C and 16 days below freezing.
United Kingdom · population 283,870 · 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 20 °C
- Coldest month February 3.4 °C
- Driest month March 46 mm
- Wettest month November 79 mm
- Least cloud July 61 % cloud
- Hottest on record August 32 °C
- Coldest on record February -7.6 °C
- Warmest sea September 17 °C
What to expectBrighton through the year
Brighton has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 7.6 °C in February to 20 °C in August, a swing of 11 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 2 days a year reach 25 °C, 0 of them reach 30 °C, 16 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 32 °C, in August.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 46 mm in March to 79 mm in November. There is no dry season to aim for.
The sea off Brighton is warmest in September at 17 °C and coldest in March at 8.3 °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 | 7.6 °C | 68 mm | 72 % |
| February | 7.6 °C | 54 mm | 70 % |
| March | 9.5 °C | 46 mm | 69 % |
| April | 11.9 °C | 50 mm | 62 % |
| May | 14.8 °C | 52 mm | 65 % |
| June | 17.4 °C | 52 mm | 64 % |
| July | 19.5 °C | 54 mm | 61 % |
| August | 19.7 °C | 64 mm | 62 % |
| September | 17.7 °C | 53 mm | 63 % |
| October | 14.4 °C | 76 mm | 67 % |
| November | 10.7 °C | 79 mm | 71 % |
| December | 8.2 °C | 76 mm | 70 % |
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 | 7.6 °C | 3.7 °C | 5.8 °C | 13.6 °C | -4.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| February | 7.6 °C | 3.4 °C | 5.6 °C | 14.9 °C | -7.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| March | 9.5 °C | 4.5 °C | 7.0 °C | 16.5 °C | -4.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| April | 11.9 °C | 6.1 °C | 9.1 °C | 21.9 °C | -2.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 14.8 °C | 9.0 °C | 12.0 °C | 23.7 °C | 1.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 17.4 °C | 11.7 °C | 14.8 °C | 28.5 °C | 4.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 19.5 °C | 13.9 °C | 16.9 °C | 31.2 °C | 9.1 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 19.7 °C | 14.3 °C | 17.1 °C | 32.2 °C | 8.3 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 17.7 °C | 12.5 °C | 15.2 °C | 26.2 °C | 5.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 14.4 °C | 10.0 °C | 12.3 °C | 22.0 °C | 1.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 10.7 °C | 6.8 °C | 8.9 °C | 16.9 °C | -2.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| December | 8.2 °C | 4.5 °C | 6.4 °C | 14.0 °C | -4.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68 mm | 11 | 8.5 h/day | 72 % | 84 % | 27 km/h | 9.6 °C |
| February | 54 mm | 10 | 10 h/day | 70 % | 82 % | 25 km/h | 8.6 °C |
| March | 46 mm | 10 | 12 h/day | 69 % | 80 % | 24 km/h | 8.3 °C |
| April | 50 mm | 10 | 14 h/day | 62 % | 78 % | 22 km/h | 9.3 °C |
| May | 52 mm | 10 | 16 h/day | 65 % | 78 % | 21 km/h | 11.1 °C |
| June | 52 mm | 10 | 16 h/day | 64 % | 78 % | 21 km/h | 13.3 °C |
| July | 54 mm | 10 | 16 h/day | 61 % | 78 % | 20 km/h | 15.5 °C |
| August | 64 mm | 10 | 15 h/day | 62 % | 78 % | 20 km/h | 17.1 °C |
| September | 53 mm | 9 | 13 h/day | 63 % | 78 % | 21 km/h | 17.2 °C |
| October | 76 mm | 11 | 11 h/day | 67 % | 80 % | 24 km/h | 16.0 °C |
| November | 79 mm | 12 | 9.0 h/day | 71 % | 84 % | 25 km/h | 13.8 °C |
| December | 76 mm | 12 | 8.0 h/day | 70 % | 85 % | 26 km/h | 11.5 °C |
Where Brighton ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The coolest places in Europe in July | 31stof 50 | 20 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in June | 35thof 50 | 17 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in May | 48thof 50 | 15 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Brighton.
QuestionsCommon questions about Brighton’s climate
When is the best time to visit Brighton?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. July, August, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and March the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Brighton get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 20 °C. About 0 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 32 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 3.4 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 16 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Brighton?
November, averaging 79 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is March with 46 mm. The year as a whole averages 726 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 Brighton 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
- 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.