Nuuk weather in May

In May, Nuuk sees average daytime highs of 3°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 58 mm of precipitation across 8.2 wet days and about 17.9 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 1°C in the first days to 6°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 16 h 18 min at the start of May to 19 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Nuuk's 6th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nuuk's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 3°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: -2°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 58 mm; 8.2 wet days
Daylight: 17 h 54 min; 3:25 AM – 9:21 PM
Cloud cover: 74%; 6th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 5.72 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.0; 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.

← April Nuuk year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 1°C in the first days to 6°C by the end.

A typical May day in Nuuk reaches about 3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -2°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -1°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 5°C warmer than April and about 5°C cooler than June.

	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)	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6
Avg low (°C)	-4	-4	-4	-3	-3	-3	-3	-3	-3	-2	-2	-2	-2	-2	-2	-2	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	1	-4
2	1	-4
3	1	-4
4	1	-3
5	2	-3
6	2	-3
7	2	-3
8	2	-3
9	2	-3
10	2	-2
11	3	-2
12	3	-2
13	3	-2
14	3	-2
15	3	-2
16	3	-2
17	4	-1
18	4	-1
19	4	-1
20	4	-1
21	4	-1
22	4	-1
23	4	-1
24	5	-1
25	5	0
26	5	0
27	5	0
28	5	0
29	6	0
30	6	0
31	6	1

How May really feels in Nuuk

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Nuuk weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 8th-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 May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%.

	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 (%)	26	26	26	26	26	27	28	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	25	25
Cloudier (%)	74	74	74	74	74	73	72	72	72	72	72	73	73	73	73	73	74	74	74	74	74	76	76	76	76	76	76	76	76	75	75

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

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Nuuk gets around 58 mm of rain and snow over 8.2 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 27% and peaks near 29% on the wettest days, and about 7 days bring snow.

	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 (%)	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	26	26	27	27
Snow chance (%)	30	30	29	29	28	27	27	26	25	24	24	23	23	22	22	22	21	21	20	20	20	19	19	19	18	18	17	16	15	14	13

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

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May 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 May

Winds average 12 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 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)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 16 h 18 min at the start of May to 19 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 186 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:15 AM to 2:43 AM, and sunset from 8:33 PM to 10:06 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)	16.3	16.4	16.5	16.6	16.7	16.9	17.0	17.1	17.2	17.3	17.4	17.5	17.6	17.7	17.8	17.9	18.0	18.1	18.2	18.3	18.4	18.5	18.6	18.7	18.8	18.9	19.0	19.1	19.2	19.3	19.4
Sunrise (AM)	4:15	4:11	4:08	4:05	4:01	3:58	3:54	3:51	3:48	3:44	3:41	3:38	3:35	3:32	3:28	3:25	3:22	3:19	3:16	3:13	3:10	3:07	3:04	3:01	2:59	2:56	2:53	2:50	2:48	2:45	2:43
Sunset (PM)	8:33	8:37	8:40	8:43	8:46	8:49	8:52	8:56	8:59	9:02	9:05	9:08	9:12	9:15	9:18	9:21	9:24	9:27	9:30	9:34	9:37	9:40	9:43	9:46	9:49	9:52	9:55	9:57	10:00	10:03	10:06

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	16.3	4:15	8:33
2	16.4	4:11	8:37
3	16.5	4:08	8:40
4	16.6	4:05	8:43
5	16.7	4:01	8:46
6	16.9	3:58	8:49
7	17.0	3:54	8:52
8	17.1	3:51	8:56
9	17.2	3:48	8:59
10	17.3	3:44	9:02
11	17.4	3:41	9:05
12	17.5	3:38	9:08
13	17.6	3:35	9:12
14	17.7	3:32	9:15
15	17.8	3:28	9:18
16	17.9	3:25	9:21
17	18.0	3:22	9:24
18	18.1	3:19	9:27
19	18.2	3:16	9:30
20	18.3	3:13	9:34
21	18.4	3:10	9:37
22	18.5	3:07	9:40
23	18.6	3:04	9:43
24	18.7	3:01	9:46
25	18.8	2:59	9:49
26	18.9	2:56	9:52
27	19.0	2:53	9:55
28	19.1	2:50	9:57
29	19.2	2:48	10:00
30	19.3	2:45	10:03
31	19.4	2:43	10:06

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.72 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

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 — May's 5.72 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.2	Bright
2	5.3	Bright
3	5.3	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.4	Bright
6	5.4	Bright
7	5.4	Bright
8	5.5	Bright
9	5.5	Bright
10	5.5	Bright
11	5.6	Bright
12	5.6	Bright
13	5.6	Bright
14	5.7	Bright
15	5.7	Bright
16	5.7	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.8	Bright
19	5.8	Bright
20	5.8	Bright
21	5.9	Bright
22	5.9	Bright
23	5.9	Bright
24	5.9	Bright
25	5.9	Bright
26	5.9	Bright
27	5.9	Bright
28	5.9	Bright
29	5.9	Bright
30	5.8	Bright
31	5.8	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Nuuk?

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

0.0

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nuuk.

What to pack for Nuuk in May

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

In May, Nuuk sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat, rain gear and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Nuuk in May

The nearest coast averages about 1°C in May — 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 May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May 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

← April Nuuk year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May 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	1	-4
2	1	-4
3	1	-4
4	1	-3
5	2	-3
6	2	-3
7	2	-3
8	2	-3
9	2	-3
10	2	-2
11	3	-2
12	3	-2
13	3	-2
14	3	-2
15	3	-2
16	3	-2
17	4	-1
18	4	-1
19	4	-1
20	4	-1
21	4	-1
22	4	-1
23	4	-1
24	5	-1
25	5	0
26	5	0
27	5	0
28	5	0
29	6	0
30	6	0
31	6	1

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

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

	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	1	-4
2	1	-4
3	1	-4
4	1	-3
5	2	-3
6	2	-3
7	2	-3
8	2	-3
9	2	-3
10	2	-2
11	3	-2
12	3	-2
13	3	-2
14	3	-2
15	3	-2
16	3	-2
17	4	-1
18	4	-1
19	4	-1
20	4	-1
21	4	-1
22	4	-1
23	4	-1
24	5	-1
25	5	0
26	5	0
27	5	0
28	5	0
29	6	0
30	6	0
31	6	1

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

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

	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	1	-4
2	1	-4
3	1	-4
4	1	-3
5	2	-3
6	2	-3
7	2	-3
8	2	-3
9	2	-3
10	2	-2
11	3	-2
12	3	-2
13	3	-2
14	3	-2
15	3	-2
16	3	-2
17	4	-1
18	4	-1
19	4	-1
20	4	-1
21	4	-1
22	4	-1
23	4	-1
24	5	-1
25	5	0
26	5	0
27	5	0
28	5	0
29	6	0
30	6	0
31	6	1

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

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

	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