Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Nuuk Greenland

In Nuuk, the summers are cold; the winters are long, freezing, snowy, and windy; and it is overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 11°F to 50°F and is rarely below -1°F or above 55°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Nuuk for warm-weather activities is from mid July to early August.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from June 8 to September 10, with an average daily high temperature above 43°F. The hottest month of the year in Nuuk is July, with an average high of 49°F and low of 42°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.7 months, from December 3 to March 26, with an average daily high temperature below 25°F. The coldest month of the year in Nuuk is February, with an average low of 12°F and high of 19°F.

In Nuuk, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Nuuk begins around August 24 and lasts for 2.9 months, ending around November 22.

The clearest month of the year in Nuuk is October, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 40% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 22 and lasts for 9.1 months, ending around August 24.

The cloudiest month of the year in Nuuk is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 81% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Nuuk varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from June 12 to December 13, with a greater than 25% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Nuuk is August, with an average of 10.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.0 months, from December 13 to June 12. The month with the fewest wet days in Nuuk is February, with an average of 4.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Nuuk changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 7.0 months, from April 12 to November 11. The month with the most days of rain alone in Nuuk is August, with an average of 10.0 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 5.0 months, from November 11 to April 12. The month with the most days of snow alone in Nuuk is December, with an average of 4.7 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Nuuk experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.7 months, from March 24 to December 16, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Nuuk is August, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from December 16 to March 24. The month with the least rain in Nuuk is January, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Nuuk experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from October 2 to May 21, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Nuuk is December, with an average snowfall of 9.7 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from May 21 to October 2. The least snow falls around August 3, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Nuuk varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 4 hours, 6 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 21 hours, 11 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:53 AM on June 20, and the latest sunrise is 7 hours, 30 minutes later at 11:23 AM on December 24. The earliest sunset is at 3:27 PM on December 17, and the latest sunset is 9 hours, 37 minutes later at 1:04 AM on June 21.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Nuuk during 2024, starting in the spring on March 31, lasting 6.9 months, and ending in the fall on October 26.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Nuuk, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Nuuk experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from September 23 to April 30, with average wind speeds of more than 9.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Nuuk is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.8 months, from April 30 to September 23. The calmest month of the year in Nuuk is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.6 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Nuuk varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.2 months, from May 7 to September 14, with a peak percentage of 44% on August 13. The wind is most often from the north for 7.8 months, from September 14 to May 7, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

Nuuk is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.5 months, from July 3 to September 18, with an average temperature above 38°F. The month of the year in Nuuk with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 40°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.9 months, from December 6 to May 3, with an average temperature below 33°F. The month of the year in Nuuk with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 31°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Nuuk throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Nuuk for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to early August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Nuuk typically lasts for 3.9 months (118 days), from around May 29 to around September 24, rarely starting before May 12 or after June 15, and rarely ending before September 7 or after October 11.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from May 5 to July 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Nuuk is June, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from October 13 to March 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Nuuk is December, with an average of 0.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Nuuk are 64.183 deg latitude, -51.722 deg longitude, and 46 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Nuuk contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 974 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 54 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,937 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,348 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Nuuk is covered by sparse vegetation (68%), water (17%), and snow and glaciers (12%), within 10 miles by sparse vegetation (48%) and water (35%), and within 50 miles by water (52%) and sparse vegetation (25%).