Climate in Iceland
Because of the warm Gulf Stream, the climate in Iceland is warmer than in other regions of these latitudes. The winters are relatively mild and the summers rather cool. In recent decades, a slight increase in average temperatures can be reported due to global warming, which is noticeable by the withdrawal of some glacier tongues. The warmest temperatures are from mid June to late August. The lowest month-average temperatures is measured in January. The lowest rain fall in Iceland is recorded in the early summer months, although there are significant local differences.
The following tables show the average temperatures, rain fall and sunshine durations in some towns of Iceland. The last table shows the average temperatures in the ocean around Iceland.
Temperature °C
Average temperature per month in °C.
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year | |
| Reykjavik | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 4.1 | 7.8 | 10.6 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 8.7 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 5.5 |
| Akureyri | -3.5 | -2.8 | -2.7 | 0.4 | 4.3 | 8.1 | 9.8 | 9.2 | 5.6 | 2.0 | -1.7 | -3.1 | 2.1 |
| Egilsstaðir | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 8.1 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.3 |
| Vestmannaeyjar | -0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 8.4 | 10.1 | 9.8 | 7.1 | 4.2 | 0.8 | -0.1 | 4.1 |
Average number of days with ground frost per month:
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year | |
| Reykjavik | 23 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 24 | 161 |
| Akureyri | 28 | 26 | 27 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 25 | 29 | 211 |
| Egilsstaðir | 23 | 21 | 23 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 23 | 167 |
| Vestmannaeyjar | 21 | 17 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 20 | 133 |
Rain fall
Average precipitation in millimeter.
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year | |
| Reykjavik | 94 | 93 | 94 | 71 | 56 | 66 | 66 | 80 | 83 | 110 | 94 | 96 | 1072 |
| Akureyri | 71 | 58 | 64 | 50 | 40 | 51 | 60 | 67 | 70 | 82 | 71 | 72 | 756 |
| Egilsstaðir | 94 | 65 | 76 | 48 | 47 | 50 | 60 | 57 | 95 | 105 | 80 | 82 | 859 |
| Vestmannaeyjar | 116 | 107 | 108 | 91 | 78 | 86 | 85 | 109 | 107 | 130 | 117 | 113 | 1247 |
Average number of days with rainfall per month:
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year | |
| Reykjavik | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 211 |
| Akureyri | 16 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 182 |
| Egilsstaðir | 16 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 171 |
| Vestmannaeyjar | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 212 |
Sunshine duration
Average numer of sunshine per day (in hours):
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year | |
| Reykjavik | 0.9 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.4 |
| Akureyri | 0.2 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Egilsstaðir | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
Water temperatures (Ocean)
Average water temperature in the sea:
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year | |
| ° C | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 |