Nuuk weather in August

In August, Nuuk sees average daytime highs of 10°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 78 mm of precipitation across 11.4 wet days and about 16.1 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 11°C in the first days to 9°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 17 h 42 min at the start of August to 14 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is Nuuk's 11th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nuuk's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 10°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 11th coldest
Precipitation: 78 mm; 11.4 wet days
Daylight: 16 h 06 min; 4:28 AM – 8:34 PM
Cloud cover: 77%; 11th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 3.42 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.1; out of 10

Nuuk is capital of Greenland.

Density: 22/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1721

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

← July Nuuk year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 11°C in the first days to 9°C by the end.

A typical August day in Nuuk reaches about 10°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 7°C and 14°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs about 1°C cooler than July and about 4°C warmer than September.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	6
2	11	6
3	11	6
4	11	6
5	11	6
6	11	5
7	11	5
8	11	5
9	11	5
10	11	5
11	11	5
12	11	5
13	11	5
14	10	5
15	10	5
16	10	5
17	10	5
18	10	5
19	10	5
20	10	5
21	10	5
22	10	5
23	9	5
24	9	5
25	9	5
26	9	4
27	9	4
28	9	4
29	9	4
30	9	4
31	9	4

How August really feels in Nuuk

Once humidity and wind are folded in, August averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

August sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Nuuk weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 2nd-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-10° / -15°	56	9.4	11.7	4.9	0.0
Feb	-10° / -15°	42	7.1	9.5	7.9	0.0
Mar	-8° / -13°	48	7.8	9.4	11.2	0.0
Apr	-2° / -7°	53	8.1	9	14.6	0.0
May	3° / -2°	58	8.2	6.9	17.9	0.0
Jun	8° / 3°	65	9.6	1.9	20.2	1.4
Jul	11° / 5°	62	9	0.2	19.2	2.6
Aug	10° / 5°	78	11.4	0.3	16.1	2.1
Sep	6° / 2°	97	12.4	3.5	12.7	0.6
Oct	1° / -4°	79	10.4	8.3	9.3	0.0
Nov	-5° / -10°	77	11.1	11.3	6	0.0
Dec	-8° / -13°	62	10.5	11.7	3.8	0.0

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 77%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	31	31	30	30	30	28	28	27	26	25	24	24	23	23	22	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	20	20
Cloudier (%)	69	69	70	70	70	72	72	73	74	75	76	76	77	77	78	79	79	79	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	81	81	81	81	80	80

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	30	70
4	30	70
5	30	70
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	26	74
10	25	75
11	24	76
12	24	76
13	23	77
14	23	77
15	22	78
16	21	79
17	21	79
18	21	79
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	19	81
30	20	80
31	20	80

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitationSnow

Nuuk gets around 78 mm of rain and snow over 11.4 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 37% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	32	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	35	35	36	36	37	37	38	38	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39
Snow chance (%)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	32	1
2	32	1
3	33	0
4	33	0
5	33	0
6	33	0
7	34	0
8	34	0
9	34	0
10	35	0
11	35	0
12	36	0
13	36	0
14	37	0
15	37	0
16	38	0
17	38	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	39	1
21	39	1
22	39	1
23	39	1
24	39	1
25	39	1
26	39	2
27	39	2
28	39	2
29	39	2
30	39	2
31	39	2

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, August lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in August

Winds average 12 km/h in August.

Across August, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	11	calm
2	11	calm
3	11	calm
4	11	calm
5	11	calm
6	11	calm
7	11	calm
8	11	calm
9	11	calm
10	11	calm
11	11	calm
12	11	calm
13	12	calm
14	12	calm
15	12	calm
16	12	calm
17	12	calm
18	12	calm
19	12	calm
20	12	calm
21	12	calm
22	12	light breeze
23	12	light breeze
24	12	light breeze
25	12	light breeze
26	12	light breeze
27	12	light breeze
28	12	light breeze
29	12	light breeze
30	12	light breeze
31	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 17 h 42 min at the start of August to 14 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 198 minutes over August. Sunrise moves from 3:41 AM to 5:14 AM, and sunset from 9:25 PM to 7:40 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	17.7	17.6	17.5	17.4	17.3	17.2	17.1	17.0	16.9	16.7	16.6	16.5	16.4	16.3	16.2	16.1	16.0	15.9	15.8	15.6	15.5	15.4	15.3	15.2	15.1	15.0	14.9	14.8	14.6	14.5	14.4
Sunrise (AM)	3:41	3:44	3:48	3:51	3:54	3:57	4:00	4:03	4:06	4:10	4:13	4:16	4:19	4:22	4:25	4:28	4:31	4:35	4:38	4:41	4:44	4:47	4:50	4:53	4:56	4:59	5:02	5:05	5:08	5:11	5:14
Sunset (PM)	9:25	9:21	9:18	9:15	9:11	9:08	9:05	9:01	8:58	8:55	8:51	8:48	8:44	8:41	8:37	8:34	8:30	8:27	8:23	8:19	8:16	8:12	8:09	8:05	8:01	7:58	7:54	7:51	7:47	7:43	7:40

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	17.7	3:41	9:25
2	17.6	3:44	9:21
3	17.5	3:48	9:18
4	17.4	3:51	9:15
5	17.3	3:54	9:11
6	17.2	3:57	9:08
7	17.1	4:00	9:05
8	17.0	4:03	9:01
9	16.9	4:06	8:58
10	16.7	4:10	8:55
11	16.6	4:13	8:51
12	16.5	4:16	8:48
13	16.4	4:19	8:44
14	16.3	4:22	8:41
15	16.2	4:25	8:37
16	16.1	4:28	8:34
17	16.0	4:31	8:30
18	15.9	4:35	8:27
19	15.8	4:38	8:23
20	15.6	4:41	8:19
21	15.5	4:44	8:16
22	15.4	4:47	8:12
23	15.3	4:50	8:09
24	15.2	4:53	8:05
25	15.1	4:56	8:01
26	15.0	4:59	7:58
27	14.9	5:02	7:54
28	14.8	5:05	7:51
29	14.6	5:08	7:47
30	14.5	5:11	7:43
31	14.4	5:14	7:40

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 3.42 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.06 kWh/m² to a high of 5.72 kWh/m² in May across the year — August's 3.42 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.8	2.8
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.1	Bright
2	4.1	Bright
3	4.0	Bright
4	4.0	Moderate
5	3.9	Moderate
6	3.9	Moderate
7	3.8	Moderate
8	3.8	Moderate
9	3.7	Moderate
10	3.7	Moderate
11	3.6	Moderate
12	3.6	Moderate
13	3.5	Moderate
14	3.5	Moderate
15	3.4	Moderate
16	3.4	Moderate
17	3.3	Moderate
18	3.3	Moderate
19	3.2	Moderate
20	3.2	Moderate
21	3.2	Moderate
22	3.1	Moderate
23	3.1	Moderate
24	3.0	Moderate
25	3.0	Moderate
26	3.0	Moderate
27	2.9	Moderate
28	2.9	Moderate
29	2.9	Moderate
30	2.8	Moderate
31	2.8	Moderate

Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit Nuuk?

Our two travel scores rate August for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

2.1

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nuuk.

What to pack for Nuuk in August

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

In August, Nuuk sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 5°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Nuuk in August

The nearest coast averages about 5°C in August — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 5°C and coldest in February near -0°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)	0	0	0	0	1	3	5	5	4	3	2	1
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	0	Bracing
Feb	0	Bracing
Mar	0	Bracing
Apr	0	Bracing
May	1	Bracing
Jun	3	Bracing
Jul	5	Bracing
Aug	5	Bracing
Sep	4	Bracing
Oct	3	Bracing
Nov	2	Bracing
Dec	1	Bracing

UV index in Nuuk in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nuuk peaks around June 17 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	0	0	1	3	3	5	4	3	2	1	0	0
Level	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	0	Low
Feb	0	Low
Mar	1	Low
Apr	3	Moderate
May	3	Moderate
Jun	5	Moderate
Jul	4	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	2	Low
Oct	1	Low
Nov	0	Low
Dec	0	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Nuuk?

Nuuk sits at 64.2°N, 51.7°W, 5 m above sea level, in Greenland. The nearest listed city is Keflavik, 1,404 km away.

Topography around Nuuk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nuuk has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 349 m around an average of 21 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,157 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,598 m.

The land around Nuuk is covered by water (65%) within 3 km, water (51%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and water (47%), moss and lichen (21%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

349 m

water 65%

16 km

1,157 m

water 51%

80 km

1,598 m

water 47%

grasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen

← July Nuuk year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

August weather nearby: Keflavik 1,404 km · Reykjanesbær 1,405 km · Kópavogur 1,432 km · Hafnarfjörður 1,432 km · Reykjavik 1,432 km · Akureyri 1,574 km · Vik 1,590 km · Corner Brook 1,734 km

Greenland travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / E / F / K; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 77% of US; price level, 2023
GDP per capita: $58,499; 2023
Homicide rate: 5.4; per 100k, 2016
Income group: High; World Bank

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 Nuuk (64.1835°, -51.7216°, elevation 5 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	6
2	11	6
3	11	6
4	11	6
5	11	6
6	11	5
7	11	5
8	11	5
9	11	5
10	11	5
11	11	5
12	11	5
13	11	5
14	10	5
15	10	5
16	10	5
17	10	5
18	10	5
19	10	5
20	10	5
21	10	5
22	10	5
23	9	5
24	9	5
25	9	5
26	9	4
27	9	4
28	9	4
29	9	4
30	9	4
31	9	4

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	30	70
4	30	70
5	30	70
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	26	74
10	25	75
11	24	76
12	24	76
13	23	77
14	23	77
15	22	78
16	21	79
17	21	79
18	21	79
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	19	81
30	20	80
31	20	80

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	32	1
2	32	1
3	33	0
4	33	0
5	33	0
6	33	0
7	34	0
8	34	0
9	34	0
10	35	0
11	35	0
12	36	0
13	36	0
14	37	0
15	37	0
16	38	0
17	38	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	39	1
21	39	1
22	39	1
23	39	1
24	39	1
25	39	1
26	39	2
27	39	2
28	39	2
29	39	2
30	39	2
31	39	2

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	6
2	11	6
3	11	6
4	11	6
5	11	6
6	11	5
7	11	5
8	11	5
9	11	5
10	11	5
11	11	5
12	11	5
13	11	5
14	10	5
15	10	5
16	10	5
17	10	5
18	10	5
19	10	5
20	10	5
21	10	5
22	10	5
23	9	5
24	9	5
25	9	5
26	9	4
27	9	4
28	9	4
29	9	4
30	9	4
31	9	4

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	30	70
4	30	70
5	30	70
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	26	74
10	25	75
11	24	76
12	24	76
13	23	77
14	23	77
15	22	78
16	21	79
17	21	79
18	21	79
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	19	81
30	20	80
31	20	80

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	32	1
2	32	1
3	33	0
4	33	0
5	33	0
6	33	0
7	34	0
8	34	0
9	34	0
10	35	0
11	35	0
12	36	0
13	36	0
14	37	0
15	37	0
16	38	0
17	38	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	39	1
21	39	1
22	39	1
23	39	1
24	39	1
25	39	1
26	39	2
27	39	2
28	39	2
29	39	2
30	39	2
31	39	2

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	6
2	11	6
3	11	6
4	11	6
5	11	6
6	11	5
7	11	5
8	11	5
9	11	5
10	11	5
11	11	5
12	11	5
13	11	5
14	10	5
15	10	5
16	10	5
17	10	5
18	10	5
19	10	5
20	10	5
21	10	5
22	10	5
23	9	5
24	9	5
25	9	5
26	9	4
27	9	4
28	9	4
29	9	4
30	9	4
31	9	4

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	30	70
4	30	70
5	30	70
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	26	74
10	25	75
11	24	76
12	24	76
13	23	77
14	23	77
15	22	78
16	21	79
17	21	79
18	21	79
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	19	81
30	20	80
31	20	80

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	32	1
2	32	1
3	33	0
4	33	0
5	33	0
6	33	0
7	34	0
8	34	0
9	34	0
10	35	0
11	35	0
12	36	0
13	36	0
14	37	0
15	37	0
16	38	0
17	38	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	39	1
21	39	1
22	39	1
23	39	1
24	39	1
25	39	1
26	39	2
27	39	2
28	39	2
29	39	2
30	39	2
31	39	2

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100