Climate and average weather in Tórshavn
In Tórshavn, the weather is cool, wet, and mostly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near cool levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around December.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Tórshavn typically varies from 3°C to 11°C, and is rarely below -0°C or above 13°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while February is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Tórshavn for warm-weather activities is from late June to mid September.
- Hottest
- Aug
- 11°
- Coldest
- Feb
- 3°
- Wettest
- Dec
- 125 mm
- Driest
- Jun
- 46 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1054 mm
- 184 wet days
- Daylight
- 4.7–19.3 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 1 m
- 62.0°N
- Clearest
- May
- 75% cloud
Tórshavn is capital of the Faroe Islands.
- Density
- 113/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- ~901 CE
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Tórshavn 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 late June to mid September.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Tórshavn, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Tórshavn stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is August, with an average high of 11°C and low of 10°C; the coolest is February, with an average low of 3°C and high of 6°C.
Days typically run about 2°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Avg low (°C) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 4 |
| Feb | 6 | 3 |
| Mar | 6 | 3 |
| Apr | 6 | 4 |
| May | 8 | 6 |
| Jun | 9 | 8 |
| Jul | 11 | 9 |
| Aug | 11 | 10 |
| Sep | 11 | 9 |
| Oct | 9 | 7 |
| Nov | 7 | 5 |
| Dec | 6 | 4 |
How hot and cold Tórshavn really feels
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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°C (around February 25), with roughly 159 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in February.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Air high (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -2 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | -1 |
| Air low (°C) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 6 | -2 | 4 |
| Feb | 6 | 6 | -3 | 3 |
| Mar | 6 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| Apr | 6 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
| May | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Jun | 9 | 9 | 4 | 8 |
| Jul | 11 | 11 | 6 | 9 |
| Aug | 11 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
| Sep | 10 | 11 | 5 | 9 |
| Oct | 9 | 9 | 3 | 7 |
| Nov | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Dec | 6 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
Average hourly temperature in Tórshavn
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 August afternoons, near 11°C, and coldest before dawn in February, near 3°C.
Tórshavn weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6° / 4° | 122 | 19.6 | 2.9 | 5.8 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 6° / 3° | 95 | 16.7 | 3.4 | 8.3 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 6° / 3° | 93 | 17.9 | 2.8 | 11.3 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 6° / 4° | 67 | 13.9 | 1.3 | 14.3 | 0.5 |
| May | 8° / 6° | 54 | 11.8 | 0.2 | 17.2 | 1.1 |
| Jun | 9° / 8° | 46 | 8.9 | 0 | 19.1 | 1.8 |
| Jul | 11° / 9° | 53 | 11.4 | 0 | 18.3 | 2.3 |
| Aug | 11° / 10° | 68 | 11.9 | 0 | 15.7 | 2.6 |
| Sep | 11° / 9° | 94 | 15 | 0 | 12.6 | 2.1 |
| Oct | 9° / 7° | 117 | 18.2 | 0.1 | 9.6 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 7° / 5° | 119 | 19.2 | 1.2 | 6.7 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 6° / 4° | 125 | 19.1 | 3 | 4.9 | 0.5 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Tórshavn gets about 1054 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 6.6 months, from around Sep 18 to Apr 6, peaking in November at about 66% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 11.
December is the wettest month by volume, with 125 mm over about 19 wet days; June is the driest, with 46 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 63 | 59 | 57 | 47 | 38 | 30 | 36 | 39 | 50 | 58 | 64 | 63 |
| Rain days | 20 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63 | 20 |
| Feb | 59 | 17 |
| Mar | 57 | 18 |
| Apr | 47 | 14 |
| May | 38 | 12 |
| Jun | 30 | 9 |
| Jul | 36 | 11 |
| Aug | 39 | 12 |
| Sep | 50 | 15 |
| Oct | 58 | 18 |
| Nov | 64 | 19 |
| Dec | 63 | 19 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Tórshavn collects about 1054 mm of rain across 184 wet days — roughly 88 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 125 mm, while June is the driest at just 46 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 35% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 122 | 95 | 93 | 67 | 54 | 46 | 53 | 68 | 94 | 117 | 119 | 125 |
| Rain days | 20 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| Snow days | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 122 | 20 | 3 |
| Feb | 95 | 17 | 3 |
| Mar | 93 | 18 | 3 |
| Apr | 67 | 14 | 1 |
| May | 54 | 12 | 0 |
| Jun | 46 | 9 | 0 |
| Jul | 53 | 11 | 0 |
| Aug | 68 | 12 | 0 |
| Sep | 94 | 15 | 0 |
| Oct | 117 | 18 | 0 |
| Nov | 119 | 19 | 1 |
| Dec | 125 | 19 | 3 |
Snow in Tórshavn
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Tórshavn averages about 15 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 1 to May 4 — about 6.1 months.
January is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 12 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 53 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 12 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 12 |
| Feb | 3 | 9 |
| Mar | 3 | 11 |
| Apr | 1 | 4 |
| May | 0 | 1 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 1 | 5 |
| Dec | 3 | 11 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Tórshavn, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around August 19 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around November 22. The clearest month is April, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 26% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around June 6 and lasts for 2.4 months, ending around August 18. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 83% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 22 | 23 | 21 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 23 |
| Cloudier (%) | 78 | 77 | 79 | 74 | 75 | 79 | 83 | 78 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 77 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 78 |
| Feb | 23 | 77 |
| Mar | 21 | 79 |
| Apr | 26 | 74 |
| May | 25 | 75 |
| Jun | 21 | 79 |
| Jul | 17 | 83 |
| Aug | 22 | 78 |
| Sep | 25 | 75 |
| Oct | 26 | 74 |
| Nov | 25 | 75 |
| Dec | 23 | 77 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 18, brings about 19 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 4 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 14 h 36 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 5.8 | 8.3 | 11.3 | 14.3 | 17.2 | 19.1 | 18.3 | 15.7 | 12.6 | 9.6 | 6.7 | 4.9 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 9:45 | 8:31 | 6:59 | 5:15 | 3:45 | 2:51 | 3:21 | 4:41 | 6:04 | 7:26 | 8:55 | 10:00 |
| Sunset (PM) | 3:28 | 4:53 | 6:15 | 7:39 | 9:02 | 10:04 | 9:45 | 8:22 | 6:39 | 4:59 | 3:30 | 2:47 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.8 | 9:45 | 3:28 |
| Feb | 8.3 | 8:31 | 4:53 |
| Mar | 11.3 | 6:59 | 6:15 |
| Apr | 14.3 | 5:15 | 7:39 |
| May | 17.2 | 3:45 | 9:02 |
| Jun | 19.1 | 2:51 | 10:04 |
| Jul | 18.3 | 3:21 | 9:45 |
| Aug | 15.7 | 4:41 | 8:22 |
| Sep | 12.6 | 6:04 | 6:39 |
| Oct | 9.6 | 7:26 | 4:59 |
| Nov | 6.7 | 8:55 | 3:30 |
| Dec | 4.9 | 10:00 | 2:47 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Tórshavn gets about 3 sunny days a month — gloomy — and it barely shifts through the year, holding between 2 and 3 days every month. Clear skies here are a flat line, not a season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 2 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 2 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 3 | Gloomy |
| May | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 3 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 3 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 2 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 2 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 2 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
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 Tórshavn, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Dry (%) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 100 |
| Feb | 100 |
| Mar | 100 |
| Apr | 100 |
| May | 100 |
| Jun | 100 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 100 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 100 |
| Nov | 100 |
| Dec | 100 |
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.
Across the year, average wind speed in Tórshavn is typically breezy, near 28 km/h, and varies a lot with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Sep 27 to Apr 18. The windiest month is January, averaging about 34 km/h (windy).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 19 to Sep 26, with July the calmest month at about 21 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 34 | 33 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 33 |
| Feels | windy | windy | windy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | windy | windy | windy |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | windy |
| Feb | 33 | windy |
| Mar | 32 | windy |
| Apr | 28 | breezy |
| May | 24 | breezy |
| Jun | 22 | breezy |
| Jul | 21 | breezy |
| Aug | 22 | breezy |
| Sep | 27 | breezy |
| Oct | 30 | windy |
| Nov | 32 | windy |
| Dec | 33 | windy |
Best time to visit Tórshavn
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Tórshavn throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early September, Tórshavn is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
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 time of year to visit Tórshavn for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the first week of August.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.3 | poor |
| Feb | 0.2 | poor |
| Mar | 0.2 | poor |
| Apr | 0.5 | poor |
| May | 1.1 | poor |
| Jun | 1.8 | poor |
| Jul | 2.3 | poor |
| Aug | 2.5 | poor |
| Sep | 2.1 | poor |
| Oct | 1.4 | poor |
| Nov | 0.8 | poor |
| Dec | 0.5 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Tórshavn rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.
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 Tórshavn, by month
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.
Tórshavn packs about the same all year — highs hold near 11°C. Across the year the things worth having are a warm layer, rain gear, a windbreaker and a heavy coat.
In August, Tórshavn sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 10°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear and a windbreaker. About 12 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Tórshavn
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 15 km away) is warmest in August at about 10°C and coldest in February near 7°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Bracing |
| Feb | 7 | Bracing |
| Mar | 7 | Bracing |
| Apr | 7 | Bracing |
| May | 8 | Bracing |
| Jun | 9 | Bracing |
| Jul | 10 | Bracing |
| Aug | 10 | Bracing |
| Sep | 10 | Bracing |
| Oct | 10 | Bracing |
| Nov | 9 | Bracing |
| Dec | 8 | Bracing |
UV index (midday) in Tórshavn by month
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 Tórshavn peaks around July 14 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Level | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Low |
| Feb | 0 | Low |
| Mar | 1 | Low |
| Apr | 2 | Moderate |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 4 | Moderate |
| Jul | 5 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 2 | Low |
| Oct | 1 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Average hourly UV index in Tórshavn
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 July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 6 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5.5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 4 | 0 |
| Jun | 5.5 | 0 |
| Jul | 6 | 0 |
| Aug | 2 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Growing season
Tórshavn is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 5 to January 29 (331 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 94 | 91 | 93 | 97 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98 | 94 |
| Frost nights | 6 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 94 | 6 |
| Feb | 91 | 15 |
| Mar | 93 | 6 |
| Apr | 97 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 98 | 0 |
| Dec | 94 | 2 |
Growing degree days
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. Tórshavn banks about 21 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 0 |
| Jul | 4 |
| Aug | 15 |
| Sep | 2 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Tórshavn receives about 2.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.1 and 5.0 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Mar 25 to Sep 11. The brightest month is June, averaging about 4.9 kWh/m² (bright).
The dimmest month is December, down near 0.1 kWh/m² — roughly 98% less than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Level | Dim | Dim | Dim | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate | Dim | Dim | Dim |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.2 | Dim |
| Feb | 0.8 | Dim |
| Mar | 1.9 | Dim |
| Apr | 3.4 | Moderate |
| May | 4.7 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.9 | Bright |
| Jul | 4.4 | Bright |
| Aug | 3.5 | Moderate |
| Sep | 2.1 | Moderate |
| Oct | 1.0 | Dim |
| Nov | 0.3 | Dim |
| Dec | 0.1 | Dim |
Where is Tórshavn?
Tórshavn sits at 62.0°N, 6.8°W, 1 m above sea level, in Faroe Islands. The nearest listed city is Isle of Lewis, 422 km away.
Topography around Tórshavn
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Tórshavn.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Tórshavn has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 345 m around an average of 80 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 765 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 887 m.
The land around Tórshavn is covered by grassland (42%) and water (39%) within 3 km, water (70%) and grassland (29%) within 16 km, and water (87%) within 80 km.
Faroe Islands travel facts
- Power plugs
- Type C / E / F / K
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 94% of US
- price level, 2024
- GDP per capita
- $74,175
- 2024
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- 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 Tórshavn (62.0097°, -6.7716°, elevation 1 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).