Climate and average weather in Arles

In Arles, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and clear and the winters are cool and mostly clear.

Best: mid March to late June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Arles typically varies from 4°C to 32°C, and is rarely below -2°C or above 36°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 Arles for warm-weather activities are from mid March to late June and late August to late October.

Hottest
Jul
32°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Nov
93 mm
Driest
Jul
21 mm
Rain / yr
678 mm
79 wet days
Daylight
8.7–15.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
24 m
43.7°N
Clearest
Jul
29% cloud
Air quality
Good
PM10 22.3 µg/m³ · 2019

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

Arles 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 mid March to late June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.2 months, from June 6 to September 11, with daily high temperatures above 27°C. The hottest month of the year in Arles is July, with an average high of 32°C and low of 20°C.

The cool season lasts 3.7 months, from November 14 to March 6, with daily high temperatures below 15°C. The coldest month of the year in Arles is January, with an average low of 4°C and high of 11°C.

Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 12°C) in July.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan114
Feb134
Mar177
Apr209
May2413
Jun2917
Jul3220
Aug3119
Sep2616
Oct2112
Nov157
Dec124

How hot and cold Arles 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, Arles feels like about 32°C (around July 25). About 18 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -0°C (around January 29), with roughly 24 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan111104
Feb131304
Mar171747
Apr202089
May24241313
Jun29291717
Jul32322020
Aug31311919
Sep26261616
Oct21211212
Nov151557
Dec121214

Average hourly temperature in Arles

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 32°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

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

Arles weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan11° / 587.10.69.13.2
Feb13° / 405.10.310.24.0
Mar17° / 425.90.111.66.1
Apr20° / 658.7013.26.6
May24° / 13°587.3014.57.3
Jun29° / 17°334.7015.26.6
Jul32° / 20°213.7014.95.1
Aug31° / 19°344.1013.85.3
Sep26° / 16°906.5012.37.3
Oct21° / 12°918.5010.86.8
Nov15° / 939.50.19.54.8
Dec12° / 527.60.28.83.4

Chance of rain

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

Arles gets about 678 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 4.6 months, from around Sep 12 to Jan 28, peaking in November at about 33% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 20.

November is the wettest month by volume, with 93 mm over about 10 wet days; July is the driest, with 21 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetNov 5 · 33%Jul 20 · 10%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan237
Feb195
Mar196
Apr289
May247
Jun165
Jul114
Aug134
Sep227
Oct289
Nov3110
Dec248

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Arles collects about 678 mm of rain across 79 wet days — roughly 57 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 93 mm, while July is the driest at just 21 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 41% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec584042655833213490919352
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan5871
Feb4050
Mar4260
Apr6590
May5870
Jun3350
Jul2140
Aug3440
Sep9070
Oct9190
Nov93100
Dec5280

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Arles, 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 June 7 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around September 29. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 84% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 19 and lasts for 2.6 months, ending around June 6. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 45% 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 25 · 86%May 4 · 50%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5644
Feb6139
Mar6139
Apr5644
May5644
Jun7228
Jul8416
Aug8020
Sep6931
Oct5644
Nov5545
Dec5743

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 19, brings about 15 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 8 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.18:185:23
Feb10.27:506:02
Mar11.67:026:40
Apr13.26:067:18
May14.55:227:53
Jun15.25:058:19
Jul14.95:188:16
Aug13.85:517:40
Sep12.36:276:45
Oct10.87:035:50
Nov9.57:445:10
Dec8.88:155:00

Sunny days

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

Arles averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 11 and 21 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.5 months, from around Jun 11 to Sep 26. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 12 sunny days — about 40% fewer than the July peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2521 daysMay 411 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan14Mixed
Feb13Mixed
Mar15Mixed
Apr12Mixed
May13Mixed
Jun16Bright
Jul21Bright
Aug20Bright
Sep16Bright
Oct12Mixed
Nov12Mixed
Dec13Mixed

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 Arles, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.3 months, from around June 3 to October 10. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 40% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 11 to June 2, and April 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 9 · 100%Aug 7 · 56%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr982000
May8216200
Jun55271620
Jul40262670
Aug352427131
Sep51261940
Oct6725810
Nov937000
Dec1000000

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 Arles is steady company: average speeds sit near 14 km/hlight breeze — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeJan 30 · 15 km/hAug 18 · 12 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan14light breeze
Feb15light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May14light breeze
Jun13light breeze
Jul13light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep13light breeze
Oct13light breeze
Nov14light breeze
Dec14light breeze

Best time to visit Arles

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late March, Arles 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 Arles for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid March to late June and again from late August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of May.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 22 · 7.6

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
Jan3.2poor
Feb4.1fair
Mar6.0good
Apr6.7good
May7.3good
Jun6.6good
Jul5.1fair
Aug5.4fair
Sep7.3good
Oct6.8good
Nov4.8fair
Dec3.4poor

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 Arles for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the last week of June.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 23 · 8.2

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 Arles, 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 32°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 11°C), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Arles sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 4 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Arles

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 34 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in February near 12°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 26 to Sep 23 — about 3 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan13Bracing
Feb12Bracing
Mar13Bracing
Apr14Bracing
May16Cool
Jun19Cool
Jul21Refreshing
Aug22Refreshing
Sep20Refreshing
Oct19Cool
Nov16Cool
Dec14Bracing

UV index (midday) in Arles 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 Arles peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. 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 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May6High
Jun7Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Arles

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 July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 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
Feb00
Mar40
Apr6.50
May72
Jun84
Jul8.55
Aug73
Sep50
Oct20
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Arles is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about February 25 to December 1 (280 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeFeb 2590%Dec 190%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan8131
Feb8527
Mar980
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov960
Dec8529

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. Arles banks about 2,371 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar53
Apr139
May267
Jun387
Jul485
Aug469
Sep326
Oct201
Nov43
Dec0

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.

Arles receives about 4.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.5 and 7.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 19 to Sep 19. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.6 kWh/m² — roughly 78% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 297.4 kWhDec 231.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.8Dim
Feb2.8Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May6.4Intense
Jun7.2Intense
Jul7.2Intense
Aug6.3Intense
Sep4.7Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov2.0Dim
Dec1.6Dim

Where is Arles?

Arles sits at 43.7°N, 4.6°E, 24 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Nîmes, 28 km away.

Topography around Arles

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Arles has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 39 m around an average of 6 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 279 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,877 m.

The land around Arles is covered by artificial surfaces (32%), grassland (26%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, cropland (31%), grassland (27%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and trees (41%) and water (27%) within 80 km.

3 km
39 m
16 km
279 m
80 km
1,877 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Nîmes 28 km · Miramas 32 km · Avignon 33 km · Istres 34 km · Le Pontet 37 km · Fos-sur-Mer 37 km · Cavaillon 37 km · Salon-de-Provence 38 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 77% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$48,986
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.3
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 539
Religion
Roman Catholic 47%none 33%Muslim 4%Protestant 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 Arles (43.6768°, 4.6303°, elevation 24 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).