Reykjavik weather in August

In August, Reykjavik sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 93 mm of rain across 14.9 wet days and about 16.1 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 12°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% 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 Reykjavik's 11th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Reykjavik's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 13°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 11th coldest
Rainfall: 93 mm; 14.9 wet days
Daylight: 16 h 06 min; 5:29 AM – 9:34 PM
Cloud cover: 79%; 11th clearest
Wind: 13 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 3.38 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.2; out of 10

Reykjavik is capital and largest city in Iceland.

Air quality: Good; PM2.5 6.8 µg/m³ · 2018
Density: 487/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1786

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

← July Reykjavik 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 14°C in the first days to 12°C by the end.

A typical August day in Reykjavik reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs on par with July and about 3°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)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

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

How August really feels in Reykjavik

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.

Reykjavik weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 2nd-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	2° / -3°	124	17.9	12.1	4.9	0.0
Feb	2° / -3°	122	16.6	12.1	7.9	0.0
Mar	3° / -2°	114	16.9	11.7	11.2	0.0
Apr	6° / 1°	90	15.3	5.3	14.6	0.4
May	9° / 4°	83	14.8	0.5	17.9	1.7
Jun	12° / 8°	69	12.8	0.1	20.2	2.9
Jul	14° / 9°	76	13.3	0	19.2	3.6
Aug	13° / 9°	93	14.9	0	16.1	3.2
Sep	11° / 6°	126	16.8	0.3	12.7	2.0
Oct	7° / 3°	111	14.8	2.5	9.3	0.6
Nov	4° / -0°	113	15.5	6.7	6	0.0
Dec	2° / -2°	124	16.6	11.2	3.8	0.0

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 79%.

	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 (%)	19	19	19	19	21	21	21	21	22	22	23	23	24	24	24	24	25	25	23	22	22	22	21	20	20	19	18	18	17	17	16
Cloudier (%)	81	81	81	81	79	79	79	79	78	78	77	77	76	76	76	76	75	75	77	78	78	78	79	80	80	81	82	82	83	83	84

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	19	81
2	19	81
3	19	81
4	19	81
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	21	79
8	21	79
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	23	77
12	23	77
13	24	76
14	24	76
15	24	76
16	24	76
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	23	77
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	21	79
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	16	84

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitation

Reykjavik gets around 93 mm of rain over 14.9 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 48% and peaks near 54% on the wettest days. 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 (%)	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	48	48	49	49	50	50	51	52	52	53	53	53	54	54

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	46
10	46
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	49
21	49
22	50
23	50
24	51
25	52
26	52
27	53
28	53
29	53
30	54
31	54

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 99% 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 (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in August

Winds average 13 km/h in August.

Across August, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 14 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	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14
Feels	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	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	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	12	calm
2	12	calm
3	12	calm
4	12	calm
5	12	calm
6	12	light breeze
7	12	light breeze
8	12	light breeze
9	12	light breeze
10	12	light breeze
11	12	light breeze
12	12	light breeze
13	12	light breeze
14	12	light breeze
15	12	light breeze
16	13	light breeze
17	13	light breeze
18	13	light breeze
19	13	light breeze
20	13	light breeze
21	13	light breeze
22	13	light breeze
23	13	light breeze
24	13	light breeze
25	13	light breeze
26	13	light breeze
27	14	light breeze
28	14	light breeze
29	14	light breeze
30	14	light breeze
31	14	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 4:42 AM to 6:15 AM, and sunset from 10:25 PM to 8:40 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	16.8	16.7	16.6	16.5	16.4	16.3	16.2	16.1	16.0	15.9	15.7	15.6	15.5	15.4	15.3	15.2	15.1	15.0	14.9	14.7	14.6	14.5	14.4
Sunrise (AM)	4:42	4:46	4:49	4:52	4:55	4:58	5:01	5:04	5:07	5:11	5:14	5:17	5:20	5:23	5:26	5:29	5:32	5:36	5:39	5:42	5:45	5:48	5:51	5:54	5:57	6:00	6:03	6:06	6:09	6:12	6:15
Sunset (PM)	10:25	10:22	10:18	10:15	10:12	10:08	10:05	10:02	9:58	9:55	9:51	9:48	9:45	9:41	9:38	9:34	9:31	9:27	9:23	9:20	9:16	9:13	9:09	9:06	9:02	8:58	8:55	8:51	8:47	8:44	8:40

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	17.7	4:42	10:25
2	17.6	4:46	10:22
3	17.5	4:49	10:18
4	17.4	4:52	10:15
5	17.3	4:55	10:12
6	17.2	4:58	10:08
7	17.1	5:01	10:05
8	17.0	5:04	10:02
9	16.8	5:07	9:58
10	16.7	5:11	9:55
11	16.6	5:14	9:51
12	16.5	5:17	9:48
13	16.4	5:20	9:45
14	16.3	5:23	9:41
15	16.2	5:26	9:38
16	16.1	5:29	9:34
17	16.0	5:32	9:31
18	15.9	5:36	9:27
19	15.7	5:39	9:23
20	15.6	5:42	9:20
21	15.5	5:45	9:16
22	15.4	5:48	9:13
23	15.3	5:51	9:09
24	15.2	5:54	9:06
25	15.1	5:57	9:02
26	15.0	6:00	8:58
27	14.9	6:03	8:55
28	14.7	6:06	8:51
29	14.6	6:09	8:47
30	14.5	6:12	8:44
31	14.4	6:15	8:40

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 3.38 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.05 kWh/m² to a high of 5.05 kWh/m² in June across the year — August's 3.38 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)	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.6
Level	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	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.0	Bright
2	4.0	Moderate
3	3.9	Moderate
4	3.9	Moderate
5	3.9	Moderate
6	3.8	Moderate
7	3.8	Moderate
8	3.7	Moderate
9	3.7	Moderate
10	3.7	Moderate
11	3.6	Moderate
12	3.6	Moderate
13	3.6	Moderate
14	3.5	Moderate
15	3.5	Moderate
16	3.5	Moderate
17	3.4	Moderate
18	3.4	Moderate
19	3.3	Moderate
20	3.3	Moderate
21	3.2	Moderate
22	3.2	Moderate
23	3.1	Moderate
24	3.0	Moderate
25	3.0	Moderate
26	2.9	Moderate
27	2.9	Moderate
28	2.8	Moderate
29	2.7	Moderate
30	2.7	Moderate
31	2.6	Moderate

Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit Reykjavik?

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

3.2

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Reykjavik.

What to pack for Reykjavik in August

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

In August, Reykjavik sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 9°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 15 days see rain.

rain geara warm layer

Sea temperature near Reykjavik in August

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 11°C and coldest in March near 5°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)	5	5	5	6	7	10	11	11	10	8	7	6
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	5	Bracing
Feb	5	Bracing
Mar	5	Bracing
Apr	6	Bracing
May	7	Bracing
Jun	10	Bracing
Jul	11	Bracing
Aug	11	Bracing
Sep	10	Bracing
Oct	8	Bracing
Nov	7	Bracing
Dec	6	Bracing

UV index in Reykjavik in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Reykjavik peaks around June 21 at about 4 (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 3 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	0	0	1	2	4	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	2	Moderate
May	4	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 Reykjavik?

Reykjavik sits at 64.1°N, 21.9°W, 37 m above sea level, in Iceland. The nearest listed city is Kópavogur, 3.0 km away.

Topography around Reykjavik

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Reykjavik has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 77 m around an average of 17 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 867 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,335 m.

The land around Reykjavik is covered by artificial surfaces (37%) and water (25%) within 3 km, water (45%) and grassland (43%) within 16 km, and water (48%) and grassland (37%) within 80 km.

3 km

77 m

artificial surfaces 37%

16 km

867 m

water 45%

80 km

1,335 m

water 48%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen

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

August weather nearby: Kópavogur 3.0 km · Hafnarfjörður 8.0 km · Keflavik 36 km · Reykjanesbær 36 km · Vik 163 km · Akureyri 249 km · Tórshavn 795 km · Isle of Lewis 1,055 km

Iceland travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 118% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $98,323; 2025
Happiness: 7.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.3; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
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 Reykjavik (64.1355°, -21.8954°, elevation 37 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	14	10
2	14	10
3	14	10
4	14	10
5	14	9
6	14	9
7	14	9
8	14	9
9	14	9
10	14	9
11	14	9
12	14	9
13	14	9
14	14	9
15	14	9
16	13	9
17	13	9
18	13	9
19	13	9
20	13	9
21	13	9
22	13	9
23	13	8
24	13	8
25	13	8
26	13	8
27	13	8
28	13	8
29	12	8
30	12	8
31	12	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	19	81
2	19	81
3	19	81
4	19	81
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	21	79
8	21	79
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	23	77
12	23	77
13	24	76
14	24	76
15	24	76
16	24	76
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	23	77
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	21	79
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	16	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	46
10	46
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	49
21	49
22	50
23	50
24	51
25	52
26	52
27	53
28	53
29	53
30	54
31	54

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	19	81
2	19	81
3	19	81
4	19	81
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	21	79
8	21	79
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	23	77
12	23	77
13	24	76
14	24	76
15	24	76
16	24	76
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	23	77
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	21	79
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	16	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	46
10	46
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	49
21	49
22	50
23	50
24	51
25	52
26	52
27	53
28	53
29	53
30	54
31	54

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	19	81
2	19	81
3	19	81
4	19	81
5	21	79
6	21	79
7	21	79
8	21	79
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	23	77
12	23	77
13	24	76
14	24	76
15	24	76
16	24	76
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	23	77
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	21	79
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	16	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	46
2	46
3	46
4	46
5	46
6	46
7	46
8	46
9	46
10	46
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	47
17	47
18	48
19	48
20	49
21	49
22	50
23	50
24	51
25	52
26	52
27	53
28	53
29	53
30	54
31	54

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0