Brussels in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Brussels sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 195 mm of precipitation over about 36 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Brussels's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Brussels's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 6°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 2°C
- Precipitation
- 195 mm
- 36 wet days
- Avg wind
- 17 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.6
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Brussels in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.
A typical winter day in Brussels reaches about 6°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Brussels
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Brussels weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6° / 2° | 63 | 12 | 1.2 | 8.2 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 7° / 2° | 58 | 11.3 | 1.7 | 9.7 | 0.7 |
| Mar | 10° / 4° | 56 | 11.8 | 0.9 | 11.5 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 14° / 6° | 48 | 11.5 | 0 | 13.5 | 3.9 |
| May | 18° / 9° | 62 | 12.2 | 0 | 15.2 | 5.3 |
| Jun | 21° / 12° | 65 | 11.6 | 0 | 16.2 | 5.9 |
| Jul | 23° / 14° | 70 | 12.3 | 0 | 15.8 | 6.4 |
| Aug | 22° / 14° | 73 | 12.1 | 0 | 14.3 | 6.3 |
| Sep | 19° / 11° | 54 | 10.5 | 0 | 12.4 | 5.9 |
| Oct | 15° / 8° | 58 | 11.2 | 0 | 10.4 | 4.1 |
| Nov | 10° / 5° | 64 | 11.9 | 0.4 | 8.7 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 7° / 2° | 74 | 13 | 1.4 | 7.8 | 0.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Brussels gets around 195 mm of rain and snow over 36 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 17 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 hours in early December to 10 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Brussels?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Brussels.
What to pack for Brussels in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Brussels sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 36 days see rain.
UV index in Brussels in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Air quality in Brussels in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 19 | 20 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | Moderate |
| Feb | 20 | Moderate |
| Mar | 25 | Moderate |
| Apr | 26 | Moderate |
| May | 23 | Moderate |
| Jun | 22 | Moderate |
| Jul | 20 | Moderate |
| Aug | 22 | Moderate |
| Sep | 21 | Moderate |
| Oct | 19 | Moderate |
| Nov | 18 | Moderate |
| Dec | 17 | Moderate |
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.
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
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.