Besançon weather in March

In March, Besançon sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 95 mm of precipitation across 12.9 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 9°C in the first days to 13°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 42 min at the start of March to 12 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Besançon's 6th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Besançon's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 12°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 3°; 4th coldest
Precipitation: 95 mm; 12.9 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 36 min; 6:58 AM – 6:33 PM
Cloud cover: 62%; 6th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 3.3 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.9; out of 10

Besançon is commune in Doubs, France.

Air quality: Good; PM2.5 9.2 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 1,974/km²; people per km²

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

← February Besançon year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 9°C in the first days to 13°C by the end.

A typical March day in Besançon reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 6°C and 18°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 5°C warmer than February and about 4°C cooler than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14
Avg low (°C)	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	2
2	9	2
3	10	2
4	10	2
5	10	2
6	10	2
7	10	3
8	11	3
9	11	3
10	11	3
11	11	3
12	11	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	13	4
22	13	4
23	13	4
24	13	4
25	13	4
26	13	4
27	13	4
28	13	4
29	13	4
30	13	5
31	14	5

How March really feels in Besançon

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 12 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Besançon weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 8th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	6° / 1°	108	13.6	3.9	8.7	0.3
Feb	7° / 1°	95	12.4	4.2	9.9	0.9
Mar	12° / 3°	95	12.9	2	11.6	2.9
Apr	16° / 6°	88	12.8	0.5	13.3	4.4
May	19° / 10°	110	14.2	0	14.8	5.5
Jun	23° / 13°	85	12.6	0	15.6	6.4
Jul	26° / 15°	76	11.9	0	15.3	6.6
Aug	25° / 15°	79	10.6	0	14	6.8
Sep	21° / 12°	93	11.2	0	12.4	6.2
Oct	16° / 8°	105	12.4	0.1	10.6	4.5
Nov	10° / 4°	115	13.7	1.8	9.1	1.9
Dec	6° / 2°	124	15.2	3.8	8.3	0.5

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	33	34	34	34	34	35	37	37	38	39	40	41	42	42	42	43	43	44	43	43	42	42	41	40	41	40	40	39	39	38	38
Cloudier (%)	67	66	66	66	66	65	63	63	62	61	60	59	58	58	58	57	57	56	57	57	58	58	59	60	59	60	60	61	61	62	62

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	35	65
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	40	60
12	41	59
13	42	58
14	42	58
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	41	59
24	40	60
25	41	59
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	38	62
31	38	62

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Besançon gets around 95 mm of rain and snow over 12.9 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 41% and peaks near 44% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	44	44	44	44	44	43	42	41	40	39	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	38	38	39	40	40	41	42	43	43	44	44	44	44	44
Snow chance (%)	10	10	10	10	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	10
2	44	10
3	44	10
4	44	10
5	44	9
6	43	9
7	42	8
8	41	8
9	40	7
10	39	7
11	38	6
12	38	6
13	37	6
14	37	5
15	37	5
16	37	5
17	37	5
18	38	5
19	38	5
20	39	5
21	40	5
22	40	5
23	41	5
24	42	5
25	43	5
26	43	5
27	44	5
28	44	5
29	44	5
30	44	4
31	44	4

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 12 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	12	light breeze
2	12	light breeze
3	12	light breeze
4	12	calm
5	12	calm
6	12	calm
7	12	calm
8	12	calm
9	12	calm
10	12	calm
11	12	calm
12	12	calm
13	12	calm
14	12	calm
15	12	calm
16	12	calm
17	11	calm
18	11	calm
19	11	calm
20	11	calm
21	11	calm
22	11	calm
23	11	calm
24	11	calm
25	11	calm
26	11	calm
27	11	calm
28	11	calm
29	11	calm
30	11	calm
31	11	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 42 min at the start of March to 12 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 108 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:28 AM to 6:27 AM, and sunset from 6:11 PM to 6:54 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	10.7	10.8	10.8	10.9	10.9	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.4	12.5
Sunrise (AM)	7:28	7:26	7:24	7:22	7:20	7:18	7:16	7:14	7:12	7:10	7:08	7:06	7:04	7:02	7:00	6:58	6:56	6:54	6:52	6:50	6:48	6:46	6:44	6:42	6:40	6:38	6:36	6:34	6:32	6:29	6:27
Sunset (PM)	6:11	6:12	6:14	6:15	6:17	6:18	6:20	6:21	6:23	6:24	6:26	6:27	6:29	6:30	6:31	6:33	6:34	6:36	6:37	6:39	6:40	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:46	6:47	6:49	6:50	6:52	6:53	6:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.7	7:28	6:11
2	10.8	7:26	6:12
3	10.8	7:24	6:14
4	10.9	7:22	6:15
5	10.9	7:20	6:17
6	11.0	7:18	6:18
7	11.1	7:16	6:20
8	11.1	7:14	6:21
9	11.2	7:12	6:23
10	11.2	7:10	6:24
11	11.3	7:08	6:26
12	11.3	7:06	6:27
13	11.4	7:04	6:29
14	11.5	7:02	6:30
15	11.5	7:00	6:31
16	11.6	6:58	6:33
17	11.6	6:56	6:34
18	11.7	6:54	6:36
19	11.8	6:52	6:37
20	11.8	6:50	6:39
21	11.9	6:48	6:40
22	11.9	6:46	6:42
23	12.0	6:44	6:43
24	12.0	6:42	6:44
25	12.1	6:40	6:46
26	12.2	6:38	6:47
27	12.2	6:36	6:49
28	12.3	6:34	6:50
29	12.3	6:32	6:52
30	12.4	6:29	6:53
31	12.5	6:27	6:54

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 3.3 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.96 kWh/m² to a high of 5.88 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 3.3 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	3.0	3.0	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.1
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.6	Moderate
2	2.6	Moderate
3	2.7	Moderate
4	2.7	Moderate
5	2.8	Moderate
6	2.8	Moderate
7	2.9	Moderate
8	2.9	Moderate
9	3.0	Moderate
10	3.0	Moderate
11	3.1	Moderate
12	3.1	Moderate
13	3.2	Moderate
14	3.2	Moderate
15	3.3	Moderate
16	3.3	Moderate
17	3.4	Moderate
18	3.4	Moderate
19	3.5	Moderate
20	3.5	Moderate
21	3.6	Moderate
22	3.6	Moderate
23	3.7	Moderate
24	3.7	Moderate
25	3.8	Moderate
26	3.8	Moderate
27	3.9	Moderate
28	3.9	Moderate
29	4.0	Moderate
30	4.0	Bright
31	4.1	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Besançon?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

2.9

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Besançon.

What to pack for Besançon in March

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

In March, Besançon sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Besançon in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Besançon peaks around July 14 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 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	2	4	5	6	7	8	6	4	3	2	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Low
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	5	High
May	6	High
Jun	7	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	6	High
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Besançon?

Besançon sits at 47.2°N, 6.0°E, 300 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Vesoul, 43 km away.

Topography around Besançon

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Besançon has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 222 m around an average of 310 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 477 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,488 m.

The land around Besançon is covered by trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (42%) within 3 km, trees (57%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and trees (49%), grassland (28%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

222 m

trees 46%

16 km

477 m

trees 57%

80 km

1,488 m

trees 49%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← February Besançon year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Vesoul 43 km · Dole 44 km · Pontarlier 46 km · La Chaux-de-Fonds 63 km · Montbéliard 65 km · Audincourt 68 km · Yverdon-les-Bains 70 km · Lons-le-Saunier 73 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

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 Besançon (47.2488°, 6.0182°, elevation 300 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. 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	2
2	9	2
3	10	2
4	10	2
5	10	2
6	10	2
7	10	3
8	11	3
9	11	3
10	11	3
11	11	3
12	11	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	13	4
22	13	4
23	13	4
24	13	4
25	13	4
26	13	4
27	13	4
28	13	4
29	13	4
30	13	5
31	14	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	35	65
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	40	60
12	41	59
13	42	58
14	42	58
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	41	59
24	40	60
25	41	59
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	38	62
31	38	62

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	10
2	44	10
3	44	10
4	44	10
5	44	9
6	43	9
7	42	8
8	41	8
9	40	7
10	39	7
11	38	6
12	38	6
13	37	6
14	37	5
15	37	5
16	37	5
17	37	5
18	38	5
19	38	5
20	39	5
21	40	5
22	40	5
23	41	5
24	42	5
25	43	5
26	43	5
27	44	5
28	44	5
29	44	5
30	44	4
31	44	4

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	2
2	9	2
3	10	2
4	10	2
5	10	2
6	10	2
7	10	3
8	11	3
9	11	3
10	11	3
11	11	3
12	11	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	13	4
22	13	4
23	13	4
24	13	4
25	13	4
26	13	4
27	13	4
28	13	4
29	13	4
30	13	5
31	14	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	35	65
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	40	60
12	41	59
13	42	58
14	42	58
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	41	59
24	40	60
25	41	59
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	38	62
31	38	62

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	10
2	44	10
3	44	10
4	44	10
5	44	9
6	43	9
7	42	8
8	41	8
9	40	7
10	39	7
11	38	6
12	38	6
13	37	6
14	37	5
15	37	5
16	37	5
17	37	5
18	38	5
19	38	5
20	39	5
21	40	5
22	40	5
23	41	5
24	42	5
25	43	5
26	43	5
27	44	5
28	44	5
29	44	5
30	44	4
31	44	4

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	2
2	9	2
3	10	2
4	10	2
5	10	2
6	10	2
7	10	3
8	11	3
9	11	3
10	11	3
11	11	3
12	11	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	13	4
22	13	4
23	13	4
24	13	4
25	13	4
26	13	4
27	13	4
28	13	4
29	13	4
30	13	5
31	14	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	35	65
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	38	62
10	39	61
11	40	60
12	41	59
13	42	58
14	42	58
15	42	58
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	41	59
24	40	60
25	41	59
26	40	60
27	40	60
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	38	62
31	38	62

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	10
2	44	10
3	44	10
4	44	10
5	44	9
6	43	9
7	42	8
8	41	8
9	40	7
10	39	7
11	38	6
12	38	6
13	37	6
14	37	5
15	37	5
16	37	5
17	37	5
18	38	5
19	38	5
20	39	5
21	40	5
22	40	5
23	41	5
24	42	5
25	43	5
26	43	5
27	44	5
28	44	5
29	44	5
30	44	4
31	44	4

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100