Sintra in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Sintra sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 230 mm of rain over about 29 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 14°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Sintra's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Sintra has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Sintra's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 14°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 12°C
- Rainfall
- 230 mm
- 29 wet days
- Avg wind
- 24 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Sintra in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 14°C.
A typical winter day in Sintra reaches about 14°C and drops to 12°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
Sintra 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 | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14° / 12° | 81 | 10.2 | 9.6 | 4.3 |
| Feb | 14° / 12° | 60 | 8.2 | 10.5 | 4.3 |
| Mar | 15° / 13° | 56 | 8.1 | 11.7 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 15° / 14° | 50 | 7.8 | 13 | 5.1 |
| May | 17° / 15° | 40 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 18° / 17° | 8 | 1.8 | 14.7 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 19° / 18° | 2 | 0.6 | 14.4 | 8.2 |
| Aug | 19° / 18° | 4 | 0.8 | 13.5 | 8.2 |
| Sep | 19° / 18° | 27 | 3.8 | 12.3 | 7.5 |
| Oct | 19° / 17° | 80 | 9 | 11 | 6.3 |
| Nov | 17° / 15° | 95 | 10.6 | 9.9 | 5.3 |
| Dec | 15° / 13° | 89 | 10.6 | 9.3 | 4.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Sintra gets around 230 mm of rain over 29 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 24 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 30 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 2.5 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Sintra
In winter, Sintra overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Sintra's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Sintra?
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 Sintra for sightseeing.
What to pack for Sintra in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Sintra sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and a windbreaker. About 29 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Sintra in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 15°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 20 km away) is warmest in September at about 19°C and coldest in February near 15°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) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| Comfort | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | Cool |
| Feb | 15 | Bracing |
| Mar | 15 | Bracing |
| Apr | 15 | Cool |
| May | 16 | Cool |
| Jun | 18 | Cool |
| Jul | 18 | Cool |
| Aug | 19 | Cool |
| Sep | 19 | Cool |
| Oct | 18 | Cool |
| Nov | 17 | Cool |
| Dec | 16 | Cool |
UV index in Sintra 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 Sintra peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | High | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 8 | Very high |
| May | 7 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 5 | High |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Where is Sintra?
Sintra sits at 38.8°N, 9.4°W, 197 m above sea level, in Portugal. The nearest listed city is Algueirão, 3.0 km away.
Topography around Sintra
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Sintra.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Sintra has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 460 m around an average of 198 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 513 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 651 m.
The land around Sintra is covered by trees (49%), grassland (27%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, water (28%), grassland (27%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and water (47%) and grassland (24%) within 80 km.
Portugal travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / E / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 60% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $32,082
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 95%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.7
- per 100k, 2022
- Road deaths
- 8.2
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Very high
- EF EPI 612
- 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 Sintra (38.801°, -9.3783°, elevation 197 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.