Varna in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Varna sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 133 mm of precipitation over about 21 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 27% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Varna's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Varna's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
6°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
2°C
Precipitation
133 mm
21 wet days
Avg wind
17 km/h
Travel score
0.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Varna in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.

A typical winter day in Varna reaches about 6°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-10°-5°10°15°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Varna

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 84 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
84
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Varna 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 4673.29.20.1
Feb / 386.32.510.20.5
Mar / 478.41.611.61.7
Apr13° / 398.30.113.23.6
May18° / 13°449.3014.46.1
Jun23° / 18°499015.17.3
Jul26° / 20°407014.97.7
Aug26° / 21°335.9013.88.0
Sep22° / 17°495.9012.37.6
Oct17° / 12°567.50.110.85.7
Nov12° / 4970.69.53.1
Dec / 508.12.18.90.8

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 27% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Varna gets around 133 mm of rain and snow over 21 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 17 km/h across winter.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.8 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Varna?

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.

0.5
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Varna.

What to pack for Varna in Winter

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

In winter, Varna sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 21 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Varna in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 8°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 20 km away) is warmest in August at about 25°C and coldest in February near 6°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 10 to Oct 3 — about 3.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May16Cool
Jun21Refreshing
Jul24Warm
Aug25Warm
Sep22Refreshing
Oct18Cool
Nov14Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Varna in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Varna peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 17UV 8Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr7Very high
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Varna in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Varna is worst in March — around 26 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (December, 13 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Varna's WHO annual average of 18.6 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMar 1925 µg/m³Dec 1414 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan17Moderate
Feb20Moderate
Mar26Moderate
Apr23Moderate
May20Moderate
Jun20Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep16Moderate
Oct17Moderate
Nov15Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Varna?

Varna sits at 43.2°N, 27.9°E, 83 m above sea level, in Bulgaria. The nearest listed city is Asparuhovo, 5.0 km away.

DobrichNessebarAytosShumenMangaliaBurgasKarnobat

Topography around Varna

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Varna has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 317 m around an average of 80 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 363 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 726 m.

The land around Varna is covered by artificial surfaces (55%) and trees (28%) within 3 km, trees (33%) and water (30%) within 16 km, and cropland (41%), water (28%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
317 m
16 km
363 m
80 km
726 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Asparuhovo 5.0 km · Dobrich 39 km · Nessebar 64 km · Aytos 78 km · Shumen 80 km · Mangalia 85 km · Burgas 87 km · Karnobat 98 km

Bulgaria travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 23% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$20,328
2025
Happiness
5.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
96%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
9.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 594
Religion
Christian 65%Muslim 10%none 5%other 0%

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 Varna (43.2191°, 27.9102°, elevation 83 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.