Athens in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Athens sees average daytime highs around 13°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 156 mm of precipitation over about 22 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 13°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Athens's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Athens's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 13°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 6°C
- Precipitation
- 156 mm
- 22 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.1
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Athens in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 13°C.
A typical winter day in Athens reaches about 13°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Athens
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Athens 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 | 13° / 6° | 52 | 7.3 | 0.6 | 9.7 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 14° / 6° | 47 | 7.2 | 0.6 | 10.5 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 16° / 8° | 49 | 6.4 | 0.2 | 11.7 | 5.8 |
| Apr | 21° / 11° | 29 | 5.4 | 0 | 13 | 7.3 |
| May | 26° / 15° | 23 | 4.9 | 0 | 14 | 7.9 |
| Jun | 31° / 20° | 11 | 2.5 | 0 | 14.6 | 5.8 |
| Jul | 33° / 22° | 6 | 1.3 | 0 | 14.4 | 4.7 |
| Aug | 33° / 22° | 4 | 1.1 | 0 | 13.5 | 4.9 |
| Sep | 29° / 19° | 15 | 2.5 | 0 | 12.3 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 24° / 15° | 27 | 3.9 | 0 | 11 | 8.1 |
| Nov | 18° / 11° | 45 | 6.6 | 0 | 9.9 | 6.4 |
| Dec | 14° / 7° | 58 | 7.8 | 0.4 | 9.4 | 4.3 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Athens gets around 156 mm of rain and snow over 22 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 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 hours 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 2.4 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Athens?
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 reasonable time to visit Athens for sightseeing.
What to pack for Athens in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Athens sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 22 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Athens in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 16°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 15 km away) is warmest in August at about 26°C and coldest in February near 15°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from May 28 to Nov 16 — about 5.7 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 |
| Comfort | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Warm | Warm | Warm | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | Cool |
| Feb | 15 | Bracing |
| Mar | 15 | Bracing |
| Apr | 16 | Cool |
| May | 19 | Cool |
| Jun | 22 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 25 | Warm |
| Aug | 26 | Warm |
| Sep | 25 | Warm |
| Oct | 23 | Refreshing |
| Nov | 20 | Refreshing |
| Dec | 17 | Cool |
UV index in Athens 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 Athens peaks around July 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (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) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Very high | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 7 | Very high |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | Very high |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Air quality in Athens 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 Athens is worst in August — around 31 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (December, 12 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Athens's WHO annual average of 19.3 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 17 | 20 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 24 | 31 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Moderate |
| Feb | 20 | Moderate |
| Mar | 24 | Moderate |
| Apr | 23 | Moderate |
| May | 21 | Moderate |
| Jun | 17 | Moderate |
| Jul | 24 | Moderate |
| Aug | 31 | Moderate |
| Sep | 15 | Moderate |
| Oct | 14 | Moderate |
| Nov | 15 | Moderate |
| Dec | 12 | Moderate |
Where is Athens?
Athens sits at 38.0°N, 23.7°E, 70 m above sea level, in Greece. The nearest listed city is Výronas, 3.0 km away.
Topography around Athens
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Athens.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Athens has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 298 m around an average of 90 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,025 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,714 m.
The land around Athens is covered by artificial surfaces (87%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (41%) within 16 km, and water (51%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.
Greece travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 60% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $26,948
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.7 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 97%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.8
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 8.3
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- High
- EF EPI 592
- 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 Athens (37.9838°, 23.7278°, elevation 70 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.