Climate and average weather in Port-aux-Français
In Port-aux-Français, the summers are cool, showery, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cold, windy, snowy, and mostly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Port-aux-Français typically varies from -1°C to 10°C, and is rarely below -4°C or above 13°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Port-aux-Français for warm-weather activities is from early January to late March.
- Hottest
- Feb
- 10°
- Coldest
- Jul
- -1°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 88 mm
- Driest
- Feb
- 58 mm
- Rain / yr
- 891 mm
- 170 wet days
- Daylight
- 8.0–16.0 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 11 m
- 49.3°S
- Clearest
- Jul
- 71% cloud
Port-aux-Français is research station in Kerguelen, French Southern and Antarctic Territories.
- Founded
- 1951
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Port-aux-Français 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 early January to late March.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Port-aux-Français, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Port-aux-Français stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is February, with an average high of 10°C and low of 4°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of -1°C and high of 4°C.
Days typically run about 5°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Avg low (°C) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 4 |
| Feb | 10 | 4 |
| Mar | 9 | 4 |
| Apr | 7 | 3 |
| May | 5 | 1 |
| Jun | 4 | 0 |
| Jul | 4 | -1 |
| Aug | 4 | -1 |
| Sep | 4 | 0 |
| Oct | 5 | 0 |
| Nov | 7 | 2 |
| Dec | 8 | 3 |
How hot and cold Port-aux-Français really feels
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 -7°C (around August 2), with roughly 365 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Air high (°C) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -1 | 0 | -1 | -2 | -4 | -6 | -7 | -7 | -7 | -6 | -4 | -2 |
| Air low (°C) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 9 | -1 | 4 |
| Feb | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar | 9 | 9 | -1 | 4 |
| Apr | 7 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
| May | 5 | 5 | -4 | 1 |
| Jun | 4 | 4 | -6 | 0 |
| Jul | 4 | 4 | -7 | -1 |
| Aug | 4 | 4 | -7 | -1 |
| Sep | 4 | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| Oct | 5 | 5 | -6 | 0 |
| Nov | 7 | 7 | -4 | 2 |
| Dec | 8 | 8 | -2 | 3 |
Average hourly temperature in Port-aux-Français
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 February afternoons, near 10°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near -1°C.
Port-aux-Français weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9° / 4° | 68 | 13.5 | 0.6 | 15.6 | 1.8 |
| Feb | 10° / 4° | 58 | 11.6 | 0.2 | 14.2 | 1.9 |
| Mar | 9° / 4° | 71 | 13.1 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 7° / 3° | 76 | 13.3 | 1.5 | 10.6 | 1.0 |
| May | 5° / 1° | 79 | 14.6 | 3.6 | 8.9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 4° / 0° | 77 | 14.4 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 4° / -1° | 88 | 15.9 | 7.5 | 8.4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 4° / -1° | 78 | 14.1 | 6.4 | 9.8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 4° / -1° | 78 | 14.5 | 7.2 | 11.6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 5° / 0° | 69 | 14.3 | 4.5 | 13.5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 7° / 2° | 72 | 15.5 | 2.8 | 15.1 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 8° / 3° | 77 | 15.6 | 0.8 | 16 | 1.2 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Port-aux-Français gets about 891 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 2.9 months, from around Oct 9 to Jan 5, peaking in November at about 53% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 2.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 88 mm over about 16 wet days; February is the driest, with 58 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 44 | 42 | 42 | 44 | 47 | 48 | 51 | 47 | 47 | 48 | 51 | 50 |
| Rain days | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 14 |
| Feb | 42 | 12 |
| Mar | 42 | 13 |
| Apr | 44 | 13 |
| May | 47 | 15 |
| Jun | 48 | 14 |
| Jul | 51 | 16 |
| Aug | 47 | 14 |
| Sep | 47 | 15 |
| Oct | 48 | 14 |
| Nov | 51 | 16 |
| Dec | 50 | 16 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Port-aux-Français collects about 891 mm of rain across 170 wet days — roughly 74 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 88 mm, while February is the driest at just 58 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 28% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 68 | 58 | 71 | 76 | 79 | 77 | 88 | 78 | 78 | 69 | 72 | 77 |
| Rain days | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
| Snow days | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 14 | 1 |
| Feb | 58 | 12 | 0 |
| Mar | 71 | 13 | 1 |
| Apr | 76 | 13 | 2 |
| May | 79 | 15 | 4 |
| Jun | 77 | 14 | 6 |
| Jul | 88 | 16 | 8 |
| Aug | 78 | 14 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 15 | 7 |
| Oct | 69 | 14 | 5 |
| Nov | 72 | 16 | 3 |
| Dec | 77 | 16 | 1 |
Snow in Port-aux-Français
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.
Port-aux-Français averages about 41 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Mar 13 to Jan 11 — about 10 months.
July is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 34 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 168 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 21 | 34 | 26 | 29 | 17 | 10 | 3 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 2 |
| Feb | 0 | 1 |
| Mar | 1 | 2 |
| Apr | 2 | 5 |
| May | 4 | 18 |
| Jun | 6 | 21 |
| Jul | 8 | 34 |
| Aug | 6 | 26 |
| Sep | 7 | 29 |
| Oct | 5 | 17 |
| Nov | 3 | 10 |
| Dec | 1 | 3 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Port-aux-Français, 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 April 16 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around October 10. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 34% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around April 15. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 82% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 18 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 31 | 32 | 23 | 23 | 21 |
| Cloudier (%) | 82 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 70 | 66 | 66 | 69 | 68 | 77 | 77 | 79 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | 82 |
| Feb | 20 | 80 |
| Mar | 20 | 80 |
| Apr | 25 | 75 |
| May | 30 | 70 |
| Jun | 34 | 66 |
| Jul | 34 | 66 |
| Aug | 31 | 69 |
| Sep | 32 | 68 |
| Oct | 23 | 77 |
| Nov | 23 | 77 |
| Dec | 21 | 79 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 January 1, brings about 16 hours of light; the shortest, around June 12, only 8 hours — a swing of roughly 8 hours.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 9.8 | 11.6 | 13.5 | 15.1 | 16.0 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 4:40 | 5:28 | 6:15 | 7:03 | 7:48 | 8:20 | 8:14 | 7:30 | 6:24 | 5:19 | 4:29 | 4:15 |
| Sunset (PM) | 8:16 | 7:40 | 6:42 | 5:35 | 4:42 | 4:19 | 4:35 | 5:16 | 6:03 | 6:49 | 7:39 | 8:16 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.6 | 4:40 | 8:16 |
| Feb | 14.2 | 5:28 | 7:40 |
| Mar | 12.5 | 6:15 | 6:42 |
| Apr | 10.6 | 7:03 | 5:35 |
| May | 8.9 | 7:48 | 4:42 |
| Jun | 8.0 | 8:20 | 4:19 |
| Jul | 8.4 | 8:14 | 4:35 |
| Aug | 9.8 | 7:30 | 5:16 |
| Sep | 11.6 | 6:24 | 6:03 |
| Oct | 13.5 | 5:19 | 6:49 |
| Nov | 15.1 | 4:29 | 7:39 |
| Dec | 16.0 | 4:15 | 8:16 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Port-aux-Français averages about 3 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 5 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 5.7 months, from around Apr 12 to Oct 1. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 4 sunny days (gloomy).
The greyest month is December, down near 1 sunny days — about 74% fewer than the July peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 1 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 2 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 3 | Gloomy |
| May | 4 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 4 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 4 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 4 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 3 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 2 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 1 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 1 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
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 Port-aux-Français, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Dry (%) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 100 |
| Feb | 100 |
| Mar | 100 |
| Apr | 100 |
| May | 100 |
| Jun | 100 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 100 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 100 |
| Nov | 100 |
| Dec | 100 |
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 Port-aux-Français is typically breezy, near 26 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around Jul 12 to Dec 11. The windiest month is October, averaging about 28 km/h (breezy).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Jan 24 to Jul 11, with June the calmest month at about 25 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Feels | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy | breezy |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | breezy |
| Feb | 25 | breezy |
| Mar | 25 | breezy |
| Apr | 25 | breezy |
| May | 25 | breezy |
| Jun | 25 | breezy |
| Jul | 26 | breezy |
| Aug | 27 | breezy |
| Sep | 28 | breezy |
| Oct | 28 | breezy |
| Nov | 27 | breezy |
| Dec | 26 | breezy |
Best time to visit Port-aux-Français
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Port-aux-Français throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid March, Port-aux-Français is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
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 Port-aux-Français for general outdoor tourist activities is from early January to mid March, with a peak score in the first week of February.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.7 | poor |
| Feb | 1.9 | poor |
| Mar | 1.6 | poor |
| Apr | 1.0 | poor |
| May | 0.2 | poor |
| Jun | 0.0 | poor |
| Jul | 0.0 | poor |
| Aug | 0.0 | poor |
| Sep | 0.0 | poor |
| Oct | 0.1 | poor |
| Nov | 0.6 | poor |
| Dec | 1.2 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Port-aux-Français rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.
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 Port-aux-Français, by month
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 February (highs near 10°C), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. In the cold season around July (highs near 4°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker.
In February, Port-aux-Français sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 12 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Port-aux-Français
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea offshore is warmest in March at about 7°C and coldest in September near 3°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Bracing |
| Feb | 6 | Bracing |
| Mar | 7 | Bracing |
| Apr | 6 | Bracing |
| May | 5 | Bracing |
| Jun | 4 | Bracing |
| Jul | 3 | Bracing |
| Aug | 3 | Bracing |
| Sep | 3 | Bracing |
| Oct | 3 | Bracing |
| Nov | 4 | Bracing |
| Dec | 5 | Bracing |
UV index (midday) in Port-aux-Français by month
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 Port-aux-Français peaks around January 19 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 9 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Level | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | Very high |
| Feb | 8 | Very high |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 2 | Moderate |
| May | 1 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 1 | Low |
| Aug | 2 | Low |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 7 | Very high |
| Dec | 8 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Port-aux-Français
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 January the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 8.5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 8.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 5.5 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.5 | 5.5 |
| Feb | 8 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 5 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 5 | 0 |
| Nov | 8 | 4 |
| Dec | 8.5 | 5 |
Growing season
The growing season in Port-aux-Français typically lasts about 251 days, from around October 9 to June 16 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from November 21 to April 26.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 99 | 93 | 75 | 52 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 57 | 84 | 98 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 19 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 99 | 0 |
| Apr | 93 | 0 |
| May | 75 | 31 |
| Jun | 52 | 30 |
| Jul | 38 | 31 |
| Aug | 38 | 31 |
| Sep | 38 | 30 |
| Oct | 57 | 31 |
| Nov | 84 | 19 |
| Dec | 98 | 0 |
Growing degree days
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. Port-aux-Français banks about 0 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 0 |
| Jul | 0 |
| Aug | 0 |
| Sep | 0 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Port-aux-Français receives about 3.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.8 and 5.9 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Sep 19 to Mar 15. The brightest month is December, averaging about 5.8 kWh/m² (bright).
The dimmest month is June, down near 0.9 kWh/m² — roughly 85% less than the December peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.6 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.9 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Dim | Dim | Dim | Dim | Dim | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.6 | Bright |
| Feb | 4.6 | Bright |
| Mar | 3.2 | Moderate |
| Apr | 1.9 | Dim |
| May | 1.2 | Dim |
| Jun | 0.8 | Dim |
| Jul | 1.1 | Dim |
| Aug | 1.8 | Dim |
| Sep | 3.1 | Moderate |
| Oct | 4.3 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.4 | Bright |
| Dec | 5.9 | Bright |
Where is Port-aux-Français?
Port-aux-Français sits at 49.3°S, 70.2°E, 11 m above sea level, in French Southern Territories. The nearest listed city is Saint-Joseph, 3,367 km away.
Topography around Port-aux-Français
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Port-aux-Français.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Port-aux-Français has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 68 m around an average of 20 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 854 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,652 m.
The land around Port-aux-Français is covered by grassland (42%), water (36%) and bare terrain (20%) within 3 km, water (41%) and grassland (37%) within 16 km, and water (69%) within 80 km.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Port-aux-Français (-49.3492°, 70.2194°, elevation 11 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).