Climate and average weather in Bourges

In Bourges, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Bourges typically varies from 2°C to 26°C, and is rarely below -5°C or above 33°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Bourges for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
26°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Dec
76 mm
Driest
Aug
50 mm
Rain / yr
745 mm
128 wet days
Daylight
8.3–15.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
144 m
47.1°N
Clearest
Aug
56% cloud
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 14.5 µg/m³ · 2019

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

Bourges 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 May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.5 months, from June 2 to September 16, with daily high temperatures above 22°C. The hottest month of the year in Bourges is July, with an average high of 26°C and low of 15°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 15 to March 4, with daily high temperatures below 11°C. The coldest month of the year in Bourges is January, with an average low of 2°C and high of 7°C.

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

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan72
Feb92
Mar134
Apr166
May2010
Jun2313
Jul2615
Aug2615
Sep2212
Oct179
Nov115
Dec82

How hot and cold Bourges 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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°C (around February 7), with roughly 98 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in February.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan77-22
Feb99-22
Mar131314
Apr161646
May2020910
Jun23231313
Jul26261515
Aug26261515
Sep22221212
Oct171779
Nov111125
Dec88-12

Average hourly temperature in Bourges

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 26°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

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

Bourges 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
Jan / 6612.21.38.71.0
Feb / 5610.71.6101.5
Mar13° / 5810.90.511.63.5
Apr16° / 6410.80.113.34.8
May20° / 10°7011.8014.85.8
Jun23° / 13°549.4015.66.8
Jul26° / 15°518.5015.36.9
Aug26° / 15°508.40147.0
Sep22° / 12°578.4012.46.7
Oct17° / 7411.40.110.65.0
Nov11° / 7112.60.29.12.5
Dec / 7612.90.88.41.2

Chance of rain

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

Bourges gets about 745 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 1.7 months, from around Apr 19 to Jun 8, peaking in May at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 31.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 76 mm over about 13 wet days; August is the driest, with 50 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 2 · 43%Aug 31 · 25%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3912
Feb3911
Mar3411
Apr3611
May3912
Jun329
Jul279
Aug268
Sep308
Oct3711
Nov4113
Dec4113

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Bourges collects about 745 mm of rain across 128 wet days — roughly 62 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 76 mm, while August is the driest at just 50 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec665658647054515057747176
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan66121
Feb56112
Mar58111
Apr64110
May70120
Jun5490
Jul5190
Aug5080
Sep5780
Oct74110
Nov71130
Dec76131

Snow in Bourges

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.

Bourges averages about 5 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 27 to Mar 13 — about 3.5 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.8 days of snow and an estimated 5 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 13 cm of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 9
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan14
Feb25
Mar11
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec12

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

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

The clearer part of the year begins around May 20 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around September 24. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 25 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around March 9. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 77% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 4 · 49%Jan 7 · 21%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2377
Feb2872
Mar3565
Apr3664
May3367
Jun4060
Jul4753
Aug4852
Sep3961
Oct3070
Nov2674
Dec2476

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 14, brings about 15 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 8 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.78:395:21
Feb10.08:066:04
Mar11.67:136:47
Apr13.36:107:31
May14.85:218:12
Jun15.65:008:41
Jul15.35:158:37
Aug14.05:537:56
Sep12.46:356:55
Oct10.67:175:54
Nov9.18:035:08
Dec8.48:374:56

Sunny days

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

Bourges averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around Jun 14 to Sep 30. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is January, down near 4 sunny days — about 53% fewer than the August peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedAug 149 daysJan 13 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May5Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug9Mixed
Sep8Mixed
Oct6Gloomy
Nov4Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

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 Bourges, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.5 months, from around May 27 to September 11. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 21% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 12 to May 26, 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 7 · 100%Jul 30 · 75%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr99100
May831430
Jun5627151
Jul4138182
Aug4435182
Sep702560
Oct851410
Nov99100
Dec100000

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 Bourges is typically calm, near 12 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Oct 23 to Apr 19. The windiest month is December, averaging about 13 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 20 to Oct 22, with August the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeDec 25 · 14 km/hAug 4 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan13light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May11calm
Jun11calm
Jul11calm
Aug10calm
Sep11calm
Oct12calm
Nov12light breeze
Dec13light breeze

Best time to visit Bourges

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Bourges 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 time of year to visit Bourges for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the last week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 31 · 7.2

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
Jan1.0poor
Feb1.5poor
Mar3.5poor
Apr4.8fair
May5.8good
Jun6.8good
Jul7.0good
Aug7.0good
Sep6.7good
Oct5.0fair
Nov2.5poor
Dec1.2poor

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 Bourges for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 28 · 6.9

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 Bourges, 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 26°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 7°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Bourges sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 15°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Bourges 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 Bourges peaks around July 19 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 19UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May6High
Jun7High
Jul7Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Bourges

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 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4 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
Mar3.50
Apr5.50
May72
Jun7.53.5
Jul84
Aug73
Sep50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Bourges is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 27 to November 12 (231 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 2790%Nov 1290%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan6631
Feb6428
Mar8525
Apr960
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct980
Nov8718
Dec7131

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. Bourges banks about 1,349 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr32
May146
Jun247
Jul322
Aug318
Sep199
Oct85
Nov1
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.

Bourges receives about 3.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.9 and 5.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 19 to Sep 20. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.8 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.9 kWh/m² — roughly 84% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 245.9 kWhDec 250.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.1Dim
Feb1.9Dim
Mar3.3Moderate
Apr4.6Bright
May5.4Bright
Jun5.8Bright
Jul5.8Bright
Aug5.1Bright
Sep3.8Moderate
Oct2.3Moderate
Nov1.3Dim
Dec0.9Dim

Where is Bourges?

Bourges sits at 47.1°N, 2.4°E, 144 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Vierzon, 29 km away.

Topography around Bourges

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bourges has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 56 m around an average of 140 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 220 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 441 m.

The land around Bourges is covered by artificial surfaces (49%) and trees (29%) within 3 km, cropland (57%) and trees (23%) within 16 km, and trees (38%), cropland (38%) and grassland (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
56 m
16 km
220 m
80 km
441 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Vierzon 29 km · Romorantin-Lanthenay 58 km · Nevers 58 km · Châteauroux 61 km · Gien 70 km · Montluçon 84 km · Moulins 91 km · Olivet 94 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 Bourges (47.0833°, 2.4°, elevation 144 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).