Cologne in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Cologne sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 187 mm of precipitation over about 36 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.

Over the season highs climb from about 8°C in early March to 20°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.

Spring is Cologne's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Cologne's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 14°C; 2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low: 6°C
Precipitation: 187 mm; 36 wet days
Avg wind: 12 km/h
Travel score: 3.9; 2nd-best season
Months: Mar · Apr · May

← Winter Cologne year-round climate Summer →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Cologne in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 8°C in early March to 20°C by late May.

A typical spring day in Cologne reaches about 14°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.

How spring really feels in Cologne

Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 20 that feel at or below 0°C.

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 spring is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Cologne weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) 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	5° / 1°	90	14.8	2.8	8.2	0.1
Feb	6° / 1°	74	12.7	3.4	9.7	0.5
Mar	10° / 3°	73	13.7	1.3	11.5	2.1
Apr	14° / 6°	52	10.8	0.2	13.5	4.1
May	18° / 10°	62	11.9	0	15.3	5.5
Jun	21° / 12°	70	12.2	0	16.2	6.0
Jul	23° / 15°	80	13.2	0	15.8	6.3
Aug	23° / 14°	80	11.9	0	14.3	6.4
Sep	19° / 11°	71	11.3	0	12.4	5.8
Oct	14° / 8°	83	12.8	0	10.4	3.8
Nov	9° / 4°	85	14.2	0.7	8.7	1.5
Dec	6° / 2°	101	16	3.2	7.8	0.3

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time across spring.

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitationSnow

Cologne gets around 187 mm of rain and snow over 36 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

Wind in Spring

Winds average 12 km/h across spring.

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min in early March to 15 h 54 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.0 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in spring

Is spring a good time to visit Cologne?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

3.9

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

0.8

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

spring is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Cologne.

What to pack for Cologne in Spring

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

In spring, Cologne sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 6°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 36 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Cologne in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages 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 Cologne peaks around July 13 at about 6 (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.

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

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

Air quality in Cologne in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Cologne is worst in April — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (December, 9 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	10	11	14	15	13	14	12	12	12	10	9	9
Level	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	10	Good
Feb	11	Good
Mar	14	Moderate
Apr	15	Moderate
May	13	Moderate
Jun	14	Moderate
Jul	12	Good
Aug	12	Moderate
Sep	12	Good
Oct	10	Good
Nov	9	Good
Dec	9	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Cologne?

Cologne sits at 50.9°N, 7.0°E, 58 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Altstadt Sud, 1.0 km away.

Topography around Cologne

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cologne has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 52 m around an average of 52 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 185 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,018 m.

The land around Cologne is covered by artificial surfaces (62%) and trees (29%) within 3 km, trees (43%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 16 km, and trees (49%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

52 m

artificial surfaces 62%

16 km

185 m

trees 43%

80 km

1,018 m

trees 49%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← Winter Cologne year-round climate Summer →

Spring weather nearby: Altstadt Sud 1.0 km · Altstadt Nord 1.0 km · Neustadt/Süd 1.0 km · Deutz 2.0 km · Neustadt/Nord 2.0 km · Neuehrenfeld 3.0 km · Humboldtkolonie 3.0 km · Nippes 4.0 km

Germany travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 80% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $60,496; 2025
Happiness: 6.9 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 0.9; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 3.8; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Very high; EF EPI 615
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 Cologne (50.9333°, 6.95°, elevation 58 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.