Carcassonne in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Carcassonne sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 222 mm of precipitation over about 33 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Carcassonne's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Carcassonne's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 9°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 3°C
- Precipitation
- 222 mm
- 33 wet days
- Avg wind
- 14 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.9
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Carcassonne in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C.
A typical winter day in Carcassonne reaches about 9°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Carcassonne
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 73 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Carcassonne weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9° / 3° | 81 | 11.7 | 2.2 | 9.2 | 1.6 |
| Feb | 10° / 3° | 64 | 10.3 | 2.1 | 10.2 | 2.1 |
| Mar | 13° / 5° | 69 | 10.4 | 1.2 | 11.6 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 16° / 7° | 82 | 11.8 | 0.2 | 13.2 | 4.7 |
| May | 20° / 11° | 78 | 11.3 | 0.1 | 14.4 | 6.0 |
| Jun | 24° / 14° | 53 | 7.6 | 0 | 15.1 | 7.2 |
| Jul | 26° / 16° | 37 | 7 | 0 | 14.9 | 7.3 |
| Aug | 27° / 16° | 41 | 7.5 | 0 | 13.8 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 23° / 13° | 53 | 7.7 | 0 | 12.3 | 7.2 |
| Oct | 18° / 10° | 67 | 9.4 | 0 | 10.8 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 13° / 6° | 83 | 11.1 | 0.5 | 9.5 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 10° / 4° | 77 | 11.1 | 1.1 | 8.9 | 2.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Carcassonne gets around 222 mm of rain and snow over 33 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 14 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.8 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Carcassonne?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Carcassonne.
What to pack for Carcassonne in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Carcassonne sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 33 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Carcassonne in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 13°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 64 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 30 to Sep 19 — about 2.7 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Bracing |
| Feb | 12 | Bracing |
| Mar | 12 | Bracing |
| Apr | 14 | Bracing |
| May | 16 | Cool |
| Jun | 19 | Cool |
| Jul | 21 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 22 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 20 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 18 | Cool |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 14 | Bracing |
UV index in Carcassonne in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Carcassonne peaks around July 16 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 5 | High |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Air quality in Carcassonne in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Carcassonne is worst in March — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | Moderate |
| Feb | 13 | Moderate |
| Mar | 15 | Moderate |
| Apr | 15 | Moderate |
| May | 12 | Good |
| Jun | 12 | Good |
| Jul | 10 | Good |
| Aug | 10 | Good |
| Sep | 10 | Good |
| Oct | 11 | Good |
| Nov | 11 | Good |
| Dec | 13 | Moderate |
Where is Carcassonne?
Carcassonne sits at 43.2°N, 2.3°E, 113 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Castres, 44 km away.
Topography around Carcassonne
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Carcassonne.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Carcassonne has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 130 m around an average of 119 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 579 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,862 m.
The land around Carcassonne is covered by artificial surfaces (35%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, trees (43%) within 16 km, and trees (49%) and cropland (21%) within 80 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 Carcassonne (43.2165°, 2.3486°, elevation 113 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.