Climate and average weather in Norilsk
In Norilsk, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Norilsk typically varies from -30°C to 17°C, and is rarely below -42°C or above 25°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Norilsk for warm-weather activities is from late June to early August.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 17°
- Coldest
- Jan
- -30°
- Wettest
- Aug
- 85 mm
- Driest
- Feb
- 30 mm
- Rain / yr
- 654 mm
- 129 wet days
- Daylight
- 0.0–24.0 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 76 m
- 69.4°N
- Clearest
- Jul
- 69% cloud
Norilsk is city in Russia.
- Density
- 6,079/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1935
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Norilsk weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late June to early August.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Norilsk, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from June 7 to September 13, with daily high temperatures above 7°C. The hottest month of the year in Norilsk is July, with an average high of 17°C and low of 10°C.
The cool season lasts 4.1 months, from November 11 to March 15, with daily high temperatures below -17°C. The coldest month of the year in Norilsk is January, with an average low of -30°C and high of -24°C.
Days typically run about 6°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | -24 | -23 | -16 | -9 | -1 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 6 | -6 | -18 | -22 |
| Avg low (°C) | -30 | -28 | -23 | -16 | -7 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 1 | -11 | -23 | -28 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | -24 | -30 |
| Feb | -23 | -28 |
| Mar | -16 | -23 |
| Apr | -9 | -16 |
| May | -1 | -7 |
| Jun | 11 | 4 |
| Jul | 17 | 10 |
| Aug | 14 | 8 |
| Sep | 6 | 1 |
| Oct | -6 | -11 |
| Nov | -18 | -23 |
| Dec | -22 | -28 |
How hot and cold Norilsk really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -42°C (around January 5), with roughly 281 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) — 231 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | -24 | -23 | -16 | -9 | -1 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 6 | -6 | -18 | -22 |
| Air high (°C) | -24 | -23 | -16 | -9 | -1 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 6 | -6 | -18 | -22 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -41 | -39 | -33 | -24 | -13 | 1 | 7 | 5 | -3 | -18 | -33 | -39 |
| Air low (°C) | -30 | -28 | -23 | -16 | -7 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 1 | -11 | -23 | -28 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -24 | -24 | -41 | -30 |
| Feb | -23 | -23 | -39 | -28 |
| Mar | -16 | -16 | -33 | -23 |
| Apr | -9 | -9 | -24 | -16 |
| May | -1 | -1 | -13 | -7 |
| Jun | 10 | 11 | 1 | 4 |
| Jul | 17 | 17 | 7 | 10 |
| Aug | 14 | 14 | 5 | 8 |
| Sep | 6 | 6 | -3 | 1 |
| Oct | -6 | -6 | -18 | -11 |
| Nov | -18 | -18 | -33 | -23 |
| Dec | -22 | -22 | -39 | -28 |
Average hourly temperature in Norilsk
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 17°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -30°C.
Norilsk weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -24° / -30° | 32 | 8.8 | 12 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Feb | -23° / -29° | 30 | 7.8 | 10.8 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| Mar | -16° / -23° | 38 | 9.7 | 12.1 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Apr | -9° / -16° | 45 | 9.5 | 10.9 | 15.4 | 0.0 |
| May | -1° / -7° | 50 | 10.3 | 9.6 | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 11° / 4° | 64 | 11.7 | 2.5 | 24 | 2.3 |
| Jul | 17° / 10° | 75 | 11.2 | 0 | 23.2 | 5.1 |
| Aug | 14° / 8° | 85 | 13.5 | 0.2 | 17.5 | 3.6 |
| Sep | 6° / 1° | 70 | 12.4 | 4.5 | 12.9 | 0.7 |
| Oct | -6° / -11° | 74 | 14.1 | 14.8 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | -18° / -23° | 47 | 9.6 | 12.3 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| Dec | -23° / -28° | 42 | 10 | 13.5 | 0 | 0.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Norilsk gets about 654 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from around May 23 to Nov 6, peaking in October at about 48% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 8.
August is the wettest month by volume, with 85 mm over about 14 wet days; February is the driest, with 30 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 28 | 28 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 39 | 37 | 43 | 41 | 45 | 33 | 33 |
| Rain days | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 9 |
| Feb | 28 | 8 |
| Mar | 31 | 10 |
| Apr | 32 | 10 |
| May | 33 | 10 |
| Jun | 39 | 12 |
| Jul | 37 | 11 |
| Aug | 43 | 14 |
| Sep | 41 | 12 |
| Oct | 45 | 14 |
| Nov | 33 | 10 |
| Dec | 33 | 10 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Norilsk collects about 654 mm of rain across 129 wet days — roughly 54 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 85 mm, while February is the driest at just 30 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 36% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 32 | 30 | 38 | 45 | 50 | 64 | 75 | 85 | 70 | 74 | 47 | 42 |
| Rain days | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
| Snow days | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 12 | 14 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 9 | 12 |
| Feb | 30 | 8 | 11 |
| Mar | 38 | 10 | 12 |
| Apr | 45 | 10 | 11 |
| May | 50 | 10 | 10 |
| Jun | 64 | 12 | 3 |
| Jul | 75 | 11 | 0 |
| Aug | 85 | 14 | 0 |
| Sep | 70 | 12 | 5 |
| Oct | 74 | 14 | 15 |
| Nov | 47 | 10 | 12 |
| Dec | 42 | 10 | 14 |
Snow in Norilsk
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Norilsk averages about 103 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Aug 28 to Jun 29 — about 10.1 months.
October is snowiest, with roughly 14 days of snow and an estimated 78 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 435 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 12 | 14 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 40 | 39 | 45 | 50 | 41 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 78 | 57 | 60 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 40 |
| Feb | 11 | 39 |
| Mar | 12 | 45 |
| Apr | 11 | 50 |
| May | 10 | 41 |
| Jun | 3 | 9 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 5 | 16 |
| Oct | 15 | 78 |
| Nov | 12 | 57 |
| Dec | 14 | 60 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Norilsk, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around February 19 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around August 17. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 30% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around August 18 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around February 18. The cloudiest month is October, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 87% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 18 | 21 | 23 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 16 | 18 |
| Cloudier (%) | 82 | 79 | 77 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 77 | 82 | 87 | 84 | 82 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | 82 |
| Feb | 21 | 79 |
| Mar | 23 | 77 |
| Apr | 28 | 72 |
| May | 28 | 72 |
| Jun | 28 | 72 |
| Jul | 30 | 70 |
| Aug | 23 | 77 |
| Sep | 18 | 82 |
| Oct | 13 | 87 |
| Nov | 16 | 84 |
| Dec | 18 | 82 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around May 25, brings about 24 hours of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 0 hours — a swing of roughly 24 hours.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 1.0 | 6.5 | 11.0 | 15.4 | 20.9 | 24.0 | 23.2 | 17.5 | 12.9 | 8.5 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| Sunrise (AM) | — | 10:03 | 7:48 | 5:24 | 2:47 | — | — | 4:28 | 6:37 | 8:38 | 11:19 | — |
| Sunset (PM) | — | 4:41 | 6:46 | 8:51 | 11:20 | — | — | 9:55 | 7:26 | 5:07 | 2:26 | — |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.0 | — | — |
| Feb | 6.5 | 10:03 | 4:41 |
| Mar | 11.0 | 7:48 | 6:46 |
| Apr | 15.4 | 5:24 | 8:51 |
| May | 20.9 | 2:47 | 11:20 |
| Jun | 24.0 | — | — |
| Jul | 23.2 | — | — |
| Aug | 17.5 | 4:28 | 9:55 |
| Sep | 12.9 | 6:37 | 7:26 |
| Oct | 8.5 | 8:38 | 5:07 |
| Nov | 2.9 | 11:19 | 2:26 |
| Dec | 0.0 | — | — |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Norilsk averages about 5 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 7 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.1 months, from around Apr 4 to Aug 5. The sunniest month is April, with roughly 6 sunny days (gloomy).
The greyest month is October, down near 3 sunny days — about 57% fewer than the April peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 4 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 5 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 6 | Gloomy |
| May | 6 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 5 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 6 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 4 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 3 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 3 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 3 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 4 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Norilsk, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 2% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 96 | 86 | 92 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 96 | 4 | 0 |
| Jul | 86 | 12 | 2 |
| Aug | 92 | 7 | 1 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Norilsk is typically light breeze, near 14 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 2.4 months, from around Dec 2 to Feb 12. The windiest month is December, averaging about 16 km/h (light breeze).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 11 to Sep 26, with August the calmest month at about 13 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 |
| Feels | 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | light breeze |
| Feb | 14 | light breeze |
| Mar | 14 | light breeze |
| Apr | 14 | light breeze |
| May | 14 | light breeze |
| Jun | 13 | light breeze |
| Jul | 14 | light breeze |
| Aug | 13 | light breeze |
| Sep | 14 | light breeze |
| Oct | 15 | light breeze |
| Nov | 14 | light breeze |
| Dec | 16 | light breeze |
Best time to visit Norilsk
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Norilsk throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late July, Norilsk is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Norilsk for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to early August, with a peak score in the third week of July.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | fair | poor | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | poor |
| Feb | 0.0 | poor |
| Mar | 0.0 | poor |
| Apr | 0.0 | poor |
| May | 0.0 | poor |
| Jun | 2.4 | poor |
| Jul | 5.1 | fair |
| Aug | 3.6 | fair |
| Sep | 0.8 | poor |
| Oct | 0.0 | poor |
| Nov | 0.0 | poor |
| Dec | 0.0 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Norilsk rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Norilsk, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 17°C), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -24°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.
In July, Norilsk sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 10°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Norilsk by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Norilsk peaks around July 15 at about 4 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 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 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 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 | 3 | Moderate |
| Jul | 4 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 1 | Low |
| Oct | 1 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Average hourly UV index in Norilsk
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 3.5 | 0 |
| Jun | 3.5 | 0 |
| Jul | 5 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Growing season
The growing season in Norilsk typically lasts about 108 days, from around June 4 to September 19 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from June 24 to August 30.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 76 | 99 | 97 | 58 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 31 |
| Feb | 0 | 28 |
| Mar | 1 | 31 |
| Apr | 2 | 30 |
| May | 13 | 31 |
| Jun | 76 | 21 |
| Jul | 99 | 0 |
| Aug | 97 | 0 |
| Sep | 58 | 29 |
| Oct | 8 | 31 |
| Nov | 0 | 30 |
| Dec | 0 | 31 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Norilsk banks about 141 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 100 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 8 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 33 |
| Sep | 0 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Norilsk receives about 2.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.0 and 5.7 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.3 months, from around Mar 24 to Aug 30. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.5 kWh/m² (bright).
The dimmest month is January, down near 0.0 kWh/m² — roughly 99% less than the May peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Level | Dim | Dim | Dim | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Dim | Dim | Dim | Dim |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | Dim |
| Feb | 0.4 | Dim |
| Mar | 1.8 | Dim |
| Apr | 4.0 | Moderate |
| May | 5.5 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.5 | Bright |
| Jul | 4.8 | Bright |
| Aug | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Sep | 1.6 | Dim |
| Oct | 0.6 | Dim |
| Nov | 0.1 | Dim |
| Dec | 0.0 | Dim |
Where is Norilsk?
Norilsk sits at 69.4°N, 88.2°E, 76 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Talnakh, 17 km away.
What Norilsk looks like
Topography around Norilsk
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Norilsk.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Norilsk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 86 m around an average of 64 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 657 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,136 m.
The land around Norilsk is covered by water (35%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 3 km, moss and lichen (30%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%) and moss and lichen (24%) within 80 km.
Russia travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 4
- Do Not Travel
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 32% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $17,547
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.8 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 76%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 6.8
- per 100k, 2021
- Road deaths
- 12
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Moderate
- EF EPI 521
- 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 Norilsk (69.3535°, 88.2027°, elevation 76 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. 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).