Reykjavik in Summer
In summer (June, July and August), Reykjavik sees average daytime highs around 13°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 238 mm of rain over about 41 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 13°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels dry.
Summer is Reykjavik's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Reykjavik's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 13°C
- warmest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 9°C
- Rainfall
- 238 mm
- 41 wet days
- Avg wind
- 12 km/h
- Travel score
- 3.2
- best season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Reykjavik in Summer
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 13°C.
A typical summer day in Reykjavik reaches about 13°C and drops to 9°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is July, the coolest June.
How summer really feels in Reykjavik
Once humidity and wind are folded in, summer brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
summer 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 the three summer months (June, July and August) 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 | 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 Summer
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time across summer.
Chance of precipitation in Summer
Reykjavik gets around 238 mm of rain over 41 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Summer
Most of summer feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Summer
Winds average 12 km/h across summer.
Sunrise & sunset in Summer
Daylight runs from about 19 h 24 min in early June to 14 h 24 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Summer
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 4.3 kWh/m².
Is summer a good time to visit Reykjavik?
Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
summer is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Reykjavik.
What to pack for Reykjavik in Summer
From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In summer, Reykjavik sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 9°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer and sun protection. About 41 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Reykjavik in Summer
The nearest coast averages about 11°C across summer — 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 Summer
Clear-sky midday UV across summer 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 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 |
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.
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.