Besançon weather in May

In May, Besançon sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 110 mm of rain across 14.2 wet days and about 14.8 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 12 min at the start of May to 15 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Besançon's 7th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Besançon's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 110 mm; 14.2 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 54 min; 5:06 AM – 7:58 PM
Cloud cover: 64%; 7th clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 5.31 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.5; 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.

← April Besançon year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical May day in Besançon reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

	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)	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12

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

How May really feels in Besançon

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 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

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Besançon weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 3rd-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 May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 63%.

	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	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	35	35	35	35	35	36	37	37	38	39	40	40	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	41	40	40
Cloudier (%)	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	65	65	65	65	65	64	63	63	62	61	60	60	58	58	58	58	59	59	59	59	60	60

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	35	65
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	42	58
23	42	58
24	42	58
25	42	58
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Besançon gets around 110 mm of rain over 14.2 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 47% and peaks near 51% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	50	50	51	51	51	51	50	50	50	49	49	49	49	48	48	47	46	45	45	44	43	43	42	42	42	42	43	43	44	44	45

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	51
4	51
5	51
6	51
7	50
8	50
9	50
10	49
11	49
12	49
13	49
14	48
15	48
16	47
17	46
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	42
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	45

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 88% 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 (%)	97	97	96	96	95	95	94	94	94	94	93	93	93	93	93	92	92	91	89	88	87	86	85	83	81	80	77	76	74	73	71
Comfortable (%)	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	17	18	20	21	22	23	24
Humid (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	4	4	5

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	3	0
2	97	3	0
3	96	4	0
4	96	4	0
5	95	5	0
6	95	5	0
7	94	6	0
8	94	6	0
9	94	6	0
10	94	6	0
11	93	7	0
12	93	7	0
13	93	7	0
14	93	7	0
15	93	7	0
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	91	9	0
19	89	10	1
20	88	11	1
21	87	12	1
22	86	13	1
23	85	14	1
24	83	15	2
25	81	17	2
26	80	18	2
27	77	20	3
28	76	21	3
29	74	22	4
30	73	23	4
31	71	24	5

Wind in May

Winds average 10 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 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)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9
Feels	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	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 12 min at the start of May to 15 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:28 AM to 4:51 AM, and sunset from 7:38 PM to 8:15 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)	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.4	15.4
Sunrise (AM)	5:28	5:26	5:25	5:23	5:22	5:20	5:19	5:17	5:16	5:14	5:13	5:11	5:10	5:09	5:07	5:06	5:05	5:04	5:03	5:01	5:00	4:59	4:58	4:57	4:56	4:55	4:54	4:54	4:53	4:52	4:51
Sunset (PM)	7:38	7:40	7:41	7:42	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:56	7:57	7:58	7:59	8:01	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:10	8:11	8:12	8:13	8:14	8:15

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.2	5:28	7:38
2	14.2	5:26	7:40
3	14.3	5:25	7:41
4	14.3	5:23	7:42
5	14.4	5:22	7:44
6	14.4	5:20	7:45
7	14.5	5:19	7:46
8	14.5	5:17	7:48
9	14.6	5:16	7:49
10	14.6	5:14	7:50
11	14.6	5:13	7:52
12	14.7	5:11	7:53
13	14.7	5:10	7:54
14	14.8	5:09	7:56
15	14.8	5:07	7:57
16	14.9	5:06	7:58
17	14.9	5:05	7:59
18	15.0	5:04	8:01
19	15.0	5:03	8:02
20	15.0	5:01	8:03
21	15.1	5:00	8:04
22	15.1	4:59	8:06
23	15.1	4:58	8:07
24	15.2	4:57	8:08
25	15.2	4:56	8:09
26	15.2	4:55	8:10
27	15.3	4:54	8:11
28	15.3	4:54	8:12
29	15.3	4:53	8:13
30	15.4	4:52	8:14
31	15.4	4:51	8:15

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.31 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 — May's 5.31 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.9	Bright
2	4.9	Bright
3	4.9	Bright
4	4.9	Bright
5	4.9	Bright
6	4.9	Bright
7	5.0	Bright
8	5.0	Bright
9	5.0	Bright
10	5.1	Bright
11	5.1	Bright
12	5.1	Bright
13	5.2	Bright
14	5.2	Bright
15	5.3	Bright
16	5.3	Bright
17	5.3	Bright
18	5.4	Bright
19	5.4	Bright
20	5.5	Bright
21	5.5	Bright
22	5.5	Bright
23	5.6	Bright
24	5.6	Bright
25	5.6	Bright
26	5.6	Bright
27	5.6	Bright
28	5.7	Bright
29	5.7	Bright
30	5.7	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Besançon?

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

5.5

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

2.6

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Besançon for sightseeing.

What to pack for Besançon in May

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

In May, Besançon sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Besançon in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 6 — 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

← April Besançon year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	35	65
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	42	58
23	42	58
24	42	58
25	42	58
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	51
4	51
5	51
6	51
7	50
8	50
9	50
10	49
11	49
12	49
13	49
14	48
15	48
16	47
17	46
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	42
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	45

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	3	0
2	97	3	0
3	96	4	0
4	96	4	0
5	95	5	0
6	95	5	0
7	94	6	0
8	94	6	0
9	94	6	0
10	94	6	0
11	93	7	0
12	93	7	0
13	93	7	0
14	93	7	0
15	93	7	0
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	91	9	0
19	89	10	1
20	88	11	1
21	87	12	1
22	86	13	1
23	85	14	1
24	83	15	2
25	81	17	2
26	80	18	2
27	77	20	3
28	76	21	3
29	74	22	4
30	73	23	4
31	71	24	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	35	65
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	42	58
23	42	58
24	42	58
25	42	58
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	51
4	51
5	51
6	51
7	50
8	50
9	50
10	49
11	49
12	49
13	49
14	48
15	48
16	47
17	46
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	42
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	45

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	3	0
2	97	3	0
3	96	4	0
4	96	4	0
5	95	5	0
6	95	5	0
7	94	6	0
8	94	6	0
9	94	6	0
10	94	6	0
11	93	7	0
12	93	7	0
13	93	7	0
14	93	7	0
15	93	7	0
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	91	9	0
19	89	10	1
20	88	11	1
21	87	12	1
22	86	13	1
23	85	14	1
24	83	15	2
25	81	17	2
26	80	18	2
27	77	20	3
28	76	21	3
29	74	22	4
30	73	23	4
31	71	24	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	35	65
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	42	58
23	42	58
24	42	58
25	42	58
26	41	59
27	41	59
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	51
4	51
5	51
6	51
7	50
8	50
9	50
10	49
11	49
12	49
13	49
14	48
15	48
16	47
17	46
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	42
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	45

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	3	0
2	97	3	0
3	96	4	0
4	96	4	0
5	95	5	0
6	95	5	0
7	94	6	0
8	94	6	0
9	94	6	0
10	94	6	0
11	93	7	0
12	93	7	0
13	93	7	0
14	93	7	0
15	93	7	0
16	92	8	0
17	92	8	0
18	91	9	0
19	89	10	1
20	88	11	1
21	87	12	1
22	86	13	1
23	85	14	1
24	83	15	2
25	81	17	2
26	80	18	2
27	77	20	3
28	76	21	3
29	74	22	4
30	73	23	4
31	71	24	5