Climate and average weather in Nicosia

In Nicosia, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are mild and mostly clear.

Best: early March to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Nicosia typically varies from 8°C to 35°C, and is rarely below 4°C or above 38°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Nicosia for warm-weather activities are from early March to late May and early October to early December.

Hottest
Jul
35°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Jan
57 mm
Driest
Jul
2 mm
Rain / yr
352 mm
58 wet days
Daylight
9.6–14.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
155 m
35.2°N
Clearest
Jul
3% cloud

Nicosia is capital of Cyprus.

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 14.5 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
3,926/km²
people per km²

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

Nicosia weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early March to late May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Nicosia, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from June 5 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 30°C. The hottest month of the year in Nicosia is July, with an average high of 35°C and low of 24°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from December 1 to March 20, with daily high temperatures below 19°C. The coldest month of the year in Nicosia is January, with an average low of 8°C and high of 15°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in June.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan158
Feb169
Mar1910
Apr2313
May2817
Jun3222
Jul3524
Aug3525
Sep3222
Oct2718
Nov2214
Dec1710

How hot and cold Nicosia really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Nicosia feels like about 38°C (around August 10). About 97 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan151578
Feb161679
Mar19191010
Apr23231313
May28281717
Jun32322222
Jul36352424
Aug37352525
Sep33322222
Oct28271818
Nov22221414
Dec1717910

Average hourly temperature in Nicosia

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 35°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Nicosia weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan15° / 578.79.95.1
Feb16° / 477.610.75.5
Mar19° / 10°366.411.77.0
Apr23° / 13°295.112.98.0
May28° / 17°304.513.87.5
Jun32° / 22°71.814.35.3
Jul35° / 24°20.514.13.5
Aug35° / 25°3113.33.5
Sep32° / 22°112.612.25.3
Oct27° / 18°375.511.17.4
Nov22° / 14°385.510.27.7
Dec17° / 10°548.59.76.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Nicosia gets about 352 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.2 months, from around Oct 10 to Apr 17, peaking in February at about 29% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 19.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 57 mm over about 9 wet days; July is the driest, with 2 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetFeb 15 · 29%Jul 19 · 2%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan269
Feb278
Mar226
Apr185
May145
Jun62
Jul21
Aug31
Sep83
Oct176
Nov196
Dec279

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Nicosia collects about 352 mm of rain across 58 wet days — roughly 29 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 57 mm, while July is the driest at just 2 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 45% of the year’s total.

0255075JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec574736293072311373854
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan579
Feb478
Mar366
Apr295
May305
Jun72
Jul21
Aug31
Sep113
Oct376
Nov386
Dec549

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Nicosia, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 10 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around October 22. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 100% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 23 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around May 9. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 33% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 13 · 100%Jan 3 · 66%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6733
Feb6931
Mar7426
Apr7822
May8812
Jun982
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep991
Oct8812
Nov7525
Dec6832

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 14 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around December 15, only 9 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.97:004:52
Feb10.76:415:22
Mar11.76:045:48
Apr12.95:206:13
May13.84:486:38
Jun14.34:366:57
Jul14.14:486:57
Aug13.35:116:31
Sep12.25:345:47
Oct11.15:595:05
Nov10.26:284:35
Dec9.76:534:32

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Nicosia averages about 22 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 14 and 30 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.2 months, from around May 14 to Oct 18. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 30 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 15 sunny days — about 50% fewer than the July peak.

05101520253035JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 730 daysDec 3114 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan15Mixed
Feb14Bright
Mar17Bright
Apr19Bright
May23Bright
Jun28Brilliant
Jul31Brilliant
Aug31Brilliant
Sep28Brilliant
Oct23Bright
Nov18Bright
Dec15Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Nicosia, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around May 31 to October 29. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 90% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 30 to May 30, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 10 · 100%Aug 14 · 9%oppressivemuggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar9820000
Apr88120000
May454014100
Jun1730361510
Jul6153036141
Aug192042261
Sep414354160
Oct1826441200
Nov60328000
Dec9360000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Nicosia is steady company: average speeds sit near 9 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeJun 24 · 9 km/hOct 20 · 7 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan9calm
Feb9calm
Mar9calm
Apr9calm
May9calm
Jun9calm
Jul9calm
Aug9calm
Sep8calm
Oct7calm
Nov8calm
Dec8calm

Best time to visit Nicosia

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Nicosia throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid March, Nicosia is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Nicosia for general outdoor tourist activities run from early March to late May and again from early October to early December, with a peak score in the last week of April.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationApr 23 · 8.3

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan5.1fair
Feb5.5good
Mar6.9good
Apr8.0ideal
May7.5good
Jun5.3fair
Jul3.5fair
Aug3.5fair
Sep5.3fair
Oct7.4good
Nov7.7ideal
Dec6.0good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Nicosia for hot-weather activities is from late April to late October, with a peak score in the last week of May.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 29 · 8.8

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Nicosia, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 35°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 15°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Nicosia sees daytime highs around 35°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

Sea temperature near Nicosia

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 23 km away) is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 17°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 8 to Dec 5 — about 7 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan17Cool
Feb17Cool
Mar17Cool
Apr18Cool
May21Refreshing
Jun24Warm
Jul27Warm
Aug28Tropical
Sep27Warm
Oct25Warm
Nov22Refreshing
Dec19Cool

UV index (midday) in Nicosia by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nicosia peaks around August 11 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highHighModerateAug 11UV 10Dec 23UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Nicosia

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in August the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb30
Mar40
Apr74
May84.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul85.5
Aug85.5
Sep74
Oct5.50
Nov2.50
Dec00

Air quality in Nicosia by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Nicosia is worst in March — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Nicosia's WHO annual average of 14.5 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMar 1818 µg/m³Dec 1612 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb15Moderate
Mar19Moderate
Apr16Moderate
May16Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep13Moderate
Oct13Moderate
Nov15Moderate
Dec12Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Nicosia is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Nicosia banks about 3,874 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan57
Feb66
Mar144
Apr244
May388
Jun505
Jul610
Aug613
Sep507
Oct398
Nov230
Dec111

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Nicosia receives about 5.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.5 and 8.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 20 to Sep 26. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.9 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.5 kWh/m² — roughly 68% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 278.0 kWhDec 202.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.8Moderate
Feb3.8Moderate
Mar5.2Bright
Apr6.4Intense
May7.3Intense
Jun7.9Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug7.1Intense
Sep5.9Bright
Oct4.4Bright
Nov3.2Moderate
Dec2.5Moderate

Where is Nicosia?

Nicosia sits at 35.2°N, 33.4°E, 155 m above sea level, in Cyprus. The nearest listed city is Stróvolos, 3.0 km away.

AradíppouMórfouLarnacaLefkara

What Nicosia looks like

Topography around Nicosia

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nicosia has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 75 m around an average of 152 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 852 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,946 m.

The land around Nicosia is covered by artificial surfaces (72%) within 3 km, cropland (39%) and grassland (28%) within 16 km, and water (57%) within 80 km.

3 km
75 m
16 km
852 m
80 km
1,946 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Stróvolos 3.0 km · Aglantziá 4.0 km · Káto Lakatámeia 7.0 km · Kyrenia 18 km · Aradíppou 33 km · Mórfou 33 km · Larnaca 37 km · Lefkara 40 km

Cyprus travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type G
240 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$41,783
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 537
Religion
Eastern Orthodox Christian 89%Roman Catholic 3%Protestant/Anglican 2%Muslim 2%

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 Nicosia (35.1728°, 33.354°, elevation 155 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).