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Copenhagen Weather Through the Year

January averages 1.4 °C and July averages 18 °C. Annual rainfall is about 660 mm, with August the wettest month at around 80 mm, and the city gets roughly 1,780 hours of sunshine a year. Winter cold waves can push the temperature down to minus 15 or minus 16 °C.
January average1.4 °C
July average18 °C
Annual rainfall660 mm
Wettest monthAugust, about 80 mm
Sunshine hours a yearAbout 1,780
Winter cold wavesTo minus 15 or 16 °C

The temperature

A January average of 1.4 °C is not severe by northern European standards, and a July average of 18 °C is not hot. The range is narrow, which is the useful thing: Copenhagen rarely surprises you in either direction. The exception is a winter cold wave, when the temperature can drop to minus 15 or minus 16 °C, and at that point a 90-minute walk standing still on a square becomes a different proposition.

Rain and sun

About 660 mm of rain falls across the year, spread rather than concentrated, with August the wettest month at around 80 mm. Sunshine runs to roughly 1,780 hours a year, which works out at about an hour and a half a day in January against eight and a half in July. Those two numbers together explain why summer here feels endless and winter feels like an indoor season.

What it means for a walk

The guided ghost walk runs rain or cold, which is the operator's position and not a hope. That puts the responsibility on your clothing: a waterproof layer rather than an umbrella, because you will be standing still while somebody talks, and standing still is colder than walking. What to wear goes into it properly.

The thing that actually decides your evening is not the temperature, it is the light. On 21 June the sun sets at 9:57 pm; on 31 October it sets at 4:35 pm, and the day length drops 2 hours 13 minutes across October alone. See when it gets dark and the best month to visit.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the weather like in Copenhagen?

January averages 1.4 °C and July 18 °C. Annual rainfall is about 660 mm and the city gets roughly 1,780 sunshine hours a year.

Which is the wettest month in Copenhagen?

August, at around 80 mm of the 660 mm annual total.

Do the walks run in bad weather?

The guided ghost walk runs rain or cold. Dress for standing still — see what to wear.

Guided Ghost Walk5.0 ★ · Starts at Nytorv · 1 hr 30, in EnglishBook