Brussels weather in May

In May, Brussels sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 62 mm of rain across 12.2 wet days and about 15.2 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 15 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Brussels's 5th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Brussels's year-round climate.

Daytime high
18°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Rainfall
62 mm
12.2 wet days
Daylight
15 h 18 min
5:00 AM – 8:17 PM
Cloud cover
69%
5th clearest
Wind
13 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.05 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.3
out of 10

Brussels is municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region and capital of Belgium.

Air quality
Elevated
PM2.5 20.9 µg/m³ · 2010
Density
30,805/km²
people per km²
Founded
1795

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 19°C by the end.

A typical May day in Brussels reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 24°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°20°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1168
2168
3168
4168
5178
6178
7178
8178
9178
10178
11179
12179
13179
14189
15189
16189
17189
18189
19189
20189
211810
221810
231910
241910
251910
261910
271910
281910
291910
301911
311911

How May really feels in Brussels

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Brussels weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 63121.28.20.4
Feb / 5811.31.79.70.7
Mar10° / 5611.80.911.52.3
Apr14° / 4811.5013.53.9
May18° / 6212.2015.25.3
Jun21° / 12°6511.6016.25.9
Jul23° / 14°7012.3015.86.4
Aug22° / 14°7312.1014.36.3
Sep19° / 11°5410.5012.45.9
Oct15° / 5811.2010.44.1
Nov10° / 6411.90.48.71.9
Dec / 74131.47.80.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23070
32971
42971
53070
63070
73070
83070
93070
103169
113169
123070
133070
143070
153169
163169
173070
183070
193070
203070
213169
223169
233268
243268
253268
263268
273169
283169
293367
303367
313367

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Brussels gets around 62 mm of rain over 12.2 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 40% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
142
242
342
441
541
641
741
841
940
1040
1140
1240
1340
1440
1540
1640
1740
1840
1940
2040
2140
2240
2339
2439
2539
2639
2740
2840
2941
3041
3142

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 90% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
19820
29820
39730
49730
59640
69640
79550
89550
99550
109460
119460
129460
139370
149370
159280
169280
179181
189091
199091
2089101
2189101
2287112
2386122
2485132
2584133
2683143
2781154
2880164
2978175
3077185
3175196

Wind in May

Winds average 13 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
113light breeze
213light breeze
313light breeze
413light breeze
513light breeze
613light breeze
713light breeze
813light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1713light breeze
1813light breeze
1913light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze
3113light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 15 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:26 AM to 4:43 AM, and sunset from 7:54 PM to 8:37 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.55:267:54
214.55:247:56
314.65:227:57
414.65:207:59
514.75:188:00
614.85:178:02
714.85:158:03
814.95:138:05
914.95:118:07
1015.05:108:08
1115.05:088:10
1215.15:078:11
1315.15:058:13
1415.25:038:14
1515.25:028:16
1615.35:008:17
1715.34:598:19
1815.44:588:20
1915.44:568:22
2015.54:558:23
2115.54:548:24
2215.64:528:26
2315.64:518:27
2415.64:508:28
2515.74:498:30
2615.74:488:31
2715.84:478:32
2815.84:468:34
2915.84:458:35
3015.94:448:36
3115.94:438:37

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.05 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.64 kWh/m² to a high of 5.33 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.05 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.7Bright
24.7Bright
34.7Bright
44.7Bright
54.8Bright
64.8Bright
74.8Bright
84.8Bright
94.8Bright
104.9Bright
114.9Bright
124.9Bright
135.0Bright
145.0Bright
155.0Bright
165.0Bright
175.1Bright
185.1Bright
195.1Bright
205.2Bright
215.2Bright
225.2Bright
235.2Bright
245.2Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.2Bright
285.3Bright
295.3Bright
305.3Bright
315.3Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Brussels?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.3
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
1.7
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Brussels for sightseeing.

What to pack for Brussels in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Brussels sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Brussels in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Brussels peaks around July 13 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Brussels in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Brussels is worst in April — around 26 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Brussels's WHO annual average of 20.9 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateApr 1326 µg/m³Dec 1517 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan19Moderate
Feb20Moderate
Mar25Moderate
Apr26Moderate
May23Moderate
Jun22Moderate
Jul20Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep21Moderate
Oct19Moderate
Nov18Moderate
Dec17Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Brussels?

Brussels sits at 50.9°N, 4.3°E, 28 m above sea level, in Belgium. The nearest listed city is Koekelberg, 2.0 km away.

Topography around Brussels

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Brussels.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Brussels has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 84 m around an average of 43 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 162 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 454 m.

The land around Brussels is covered by artificial surfaces (86%) within 3 km, trees (37%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 16 km, and cropland (36%), trees (27%) and grassland (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
84 m
16 km
162 m
80 km
454 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Koekelberg 2.0 km · Saint-Josse-ten-Noode 2.0 km · Ixelles 2.0 km · Molenbeek-Saint-Jean 3.0 km · Saint-Gilles 3.0 km · Jette 3.0 km · Anderlecht 3.0 km · Schaerbeek 3.0 km

Belgium travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 81% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,750
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
5.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 608
Religion
Roman Catholic 57%nonbeliever/agnostic 20%atheist 9%Muslim 7%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Brussels (50.8505°, 4.3488°, elevation 28 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).