Iceland Temperature by Month (2026 Data)

Iceland's name promises ice, yet its coldest month averages 31 °F¹ (−0.6 °C), barely below freezing. Measured across the whole country, January is milder here than in Norway, Sweden or Finland.² The catch comes in summer: July, the warmest month, averages only 51 °F¹ (10.5 °C), and no country in Europe has a cooler one. That mix of gentle winters and cool summers decides what you pack, how you drive and what "summer" means on a trip here.

The numbers hold a few surprises. 2025 was the warmest year ever measured in Iceland, straight after 2024, the coldest since 1998.³ The capital runs about 2 °F¹ warmer than the country as a whole, and the northeast interior is colder still. This report uses three decades of Icelandic Met Office measurements to show how warm Iceland is in every month, in Reykjavík and around the country, and where the long-term trend points.

Iceland climate by month

Averaged across 30 Met Office weather stations for 1991–2020, the year follows a simple curve. December to March sit close to freezing, between 31 °F¹ (−0.6 °C) and 32 °F¹ (0.0 °C). Spring then warms quickly: April averages 36 °F¹ (2.3 °C) and May 42 °F¹ (5.5 °C). The short summer peaks in July at 51 °F¹ (10.5 °C), and by October the monthly mean is back down to 39 °F¹ (3.7 °C).

The whole range, from the coldest to the warmest month, is only about 20 °F¹ (11 °C). Continental cities at the same latitude see far wider swings, because the sea around Iceland stores summer heat and releases it in winter.

A monthly mean hides the difference between day and night. On an average July day the temperature climbs to 57 °F¹ (14.1 °C) and drops to 46 °F¹ (7.7 °C) at night. In February the daily high reaches only 36 °F¹ (2.4 °C), and the average night falls to 26 °F¹ (−3.3 °C). From November to April the average night is below freezing, so frost and icy mornings are normal for half the year.

Average temperature in Iceland

Over the whole year, the weather stations average 39 °F¹ (4.1 °C). The Met Office does not publish a national table by month, so this report calculates it from the Met Office's own station records: every station with at least 20 complete years between 1991 and 2020, averaged month by month. The yearly result matches the Met Office's published national figure: its summary for 2025 reports 41 °F³ (5.2 °C), 2.0 °F³ (1.1 °C) above the 1991–2020 average, which puts that average at 4.1 °C.

Weather stations stand where people live, mostly along the coast and in lowland valleys. Measured across the entire island, including the highlands and glaciers where almost nobody lives, the yearly average drops to 35 °F² (1.8 °C). Both numbers are right; they describe different places. For a trip that stays on the Ring Road, the station figure is the useful one.

A yearly average smooths over a lot. For planning, the month you travel matters far more than the number for the year.

Month by month

Average temperature in Iceland in January

January averages 32 °F¹ (−0.2 °C), with an average daily high of 37 °F¹ (2.5 °C) and an average low of 27 °F¹ (−3.0 °C). Days are short, and the average night is well below freezing.

Average temperature in Iceland in February

February averages 31 °F¹ (−0.6 °C), with an average daily high of 36 °F¹ (2.4 °C) and an average low of 26 °F¹ (−3.3 °C). The coldest month on average, though rarely far below freezing near the coast.

Average temperature in Iceland in March

March averages 32 °F¹ (0.0 °C), with an average daily high of 37 °F¹ (3.0 °C) and an average low of 27 °F¹ (−2.7 °C). Still wintry: the average high is barely above the January figure.

Average temperature in Iceland in April

April averages 36 °F¹ (2.3 °C), with an average daily high of 42 °F¹ (5.5 °C) and an average low of 31 °F¹ (−0.5 °C). Spring arrives by day, but the average night is still around freezing.

Average temperature in Iceland in May

May averages 42 °F¹ (5.5 °C), with an average daily high of 48 °F¹ (8.9 °C) and an average low of 37 °F¹ (2.5 °C). The first month with nights clearly above freezing on average.

Average temperature in Iceland in June

June averages 48 °F¹ (8.7 °C), with an average daily high of 54 °F¹ (12.3 °C) and an average low of 42 °F¹ (5.7 °C). Long light and mild afternoons; evenings stay cool.

Average temperature in Iceland in July

July averages 51 °F¹ (10.5 °C), with an average daily high of 57 °F¹ (14.1 °C) and an average low of 46 °F¹ (7.7 °C). The warmest month, with the highest average daytime temperature of the year.

Average temperature in Iceland in August

August averages 50 °F¹ (10.2 °C), with an average daily high of 57 °F¹ (13.6 °C) and an average low of 45 °F¹ (7.5 °C). Almost as warm as July, and the nights are just as mild.

Average temperature in Iceland in September

September averages 46 °F¹ (7.7 °C), with an average daily high of 51 °F¹ (10.8 °C) and an average low of 41 °F¹ (5.2 °C). Autumn begins, but September is only about 2 °F cooler than June.

Average temperature in Iceland in October

October averages 39 °F¹ (3.7 °C), with an average daily high of 44 °F¹ (6.5 °C) and an average low of 35 °F¹ (1.4 °C). The mean falls fast; the average night is only just above freezing.

Average temperature in Iceland in November

November averages 34 °F¹ (1.2 °C), with an average daily high of 39 °F¹ (3.8 °C) and an average low of 29 °F¹ (−1.4 °C). Nights drop below freezing on average again.

Average temperature in Iceland in December

December averages 32 °F¹ (−0.1 °C), with an average daily high of 37 °F¹ (2.7 °C) and an average low of 27 °F¹ (−2.9 °C). About as cold as January, with the shortest days of the year.

Summer vs winter

Average summer temperature in Iceland

From June to August the stations average 50 °F¹ (9.8 °C). That is cool by European standards: a summer afternoon is more like a spring day further south, and a sweater is still useful in the evening.

Average winter temperature in Iceland

From December to February the average is 32 °F¹ (−0.3 °C), just below freezing. The difference between summer and winter is only about 18 °F¹ (10 °C).

• Winter (Dec–Feb): around freezing, nights below it
• Spring (Mar–May): from winter-like March to a mild May
• Summer (Jun–Aug): cool and steady, highs in the 50s °F
• Autumn (Sep–Nov): a fast slide from September warmth back to freezing nights

Reykjavik temperature by month

The capital is milder than the country as a whole, especially in winter. January and February in Reykjavík average 33 °F¹ (0.7 °C) and 33 °F¹ (0.6 °C), above freezing. July averages 53 °F¹ (11.6 °C), with an average daily high of 59 °F¹ (14.9 °C).

Reykjavik average temperature

Over the year, Reykjavík averages 41 °F¹ (5.1 °C), about 2 °F¹ warmer than the national station average. Recent years have swung on both sides of that figure: 2024 averaged 40 °F⁴ (4.3 °C) and 2025 43 °F³ (6.1 °C).

Warmest and coldest places in Iceland

The warmest weather stations line the south coast, where the sea is mildest. Vík í Mýrdal averages 43 °F¹ (5.9 °C), the highest of the 30 stations. The coldest sit inland in the northeast, far from the sea and higher up: Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum averages only 35 °F¹ (1.4 °C), and in February its average night falls to 18 °F¹ (−7.7 °C).

By region

Grouped into Iceland's eight regions, the south and the capital area are warmest, both around 41 °F¹ (5.1 °C). The Northeast, with its high inland plateau, is the coldest region at 38 °F¹ (3.1 °C).

Akureyri and the north

Akureyri, the largest town in the north, averages 40 °F¹ (4.2 °C) over the year. Its winters are colder than Reykjavík's, with January and February at 31 °F¹ (−0.8 °C), but its summer afternoons are just as warm: the average July high is 59 °F¹ (15.1 °C), slightly above the capital's. A colder winter and an equally warm summer afternoon: the north has the bigger seasonal swing.

So how hot, and how cold, can it actually get?

Temperature records in Iceland

The highest temperature ever measured in Iceland is 87 °F⁵ (30.5 °C), at Teigarhorn on the east coast on 22 June 1939. The lowest is -36 °F⁵ (−38.0 °C), recorded at Grímsstaðir and Möðrudalur in the northeast interior on 21 January 1918.

Reykjavík's own records are far less extreme: 78 °F⁵ (25.7 °C) on 30 July 2008 and -12 °F⁵ (−24.5 °C) on 21 January 1918, the same day as the national low.

Iceland vs Europe

To compare countries fairly, the World Bank's climate portal averages temperature over each country's entire land area. On that measure, Iceland is the coldest country in Europe at 35 °F² (1.8 °C), just below Norway at 36 °F² (2.2 °C) and Finland at 36 °F² (2.4 °C).

The detail is more interesting than the ranking. Iceland has the coolest July in Europe, 48 °F² (8.9 °C), cooler even than the Faroe Islands. Yet its land-wide January, 27 °F² (−2.9 °C), is far milder than Sweden's 19 °F² (−7.2 °C) or Finland's 15 °F² (−9.5 °C). Iceland's climate is shaped by the ocean, not by the Arctic: cool all year, but rarely bitterly cold.

Is Iceland getting warmer?

Single years swing widely. 2024 averaged 38 °F⁴ (3.4 °C), 1.4 °F⁴ (0.8 °C) below the 1991–2020 average and the coldest year since 1998. A year later, 2025 averaged 41 °F³ (5.2 °C), the warmest year since measurements began. The three years before were close to average: slightly above in 2021,⁶ equal to it in 2022⁷ and just below in 2023.⁸

Iceland warming rate compared to global average

Over the long run the direction is clear. Since continuous measurements began in the mid-19th century, Iceland has warmed by about 1.4 °F⁹ (0.8 °C) per century, a rate the Met Office's climate report calls comparable to global warming over the same period. The pace has not been even: from 1980 to 2015 Iceland warmed by 0.85 °F⁹ (0.47 °C) per decade, most of all in the west and northwest.

Where the trend points

A straight line fitted to Iceland's yearly average since 1949 rises by about 0.25 °F¹ (0.14 °C) per decade. Extended forward, it reaches roughly 40 °F¹ (4.6 °C) by 2050, with a wide range because single years vary so much. Fitted to 1991–2025 only, the line climbs faster, about 0.4 °F¹ (0.24 °C) per decade. That faster rate is close to the Met Office's own climate models, which project 3.6–5.4 °F⁹ (2–3 °C) of warming by the end of the century in a moderate emissions scenario and 5.4–9 °F⁹ (3–5 °C) in a high one, with more warming in the north than the south.

What the temperature means for a trip

The averages in this report are mild enough to sound easy, but the details decide how a day feels. Even in July the average night falls to 46 °F¹ (7.7 °C), so warm layers belong in a summer bag as much as a winter one.

From November to April the average night is below freezing across the station network, which means frost on car windows and icy stretches of road in the morning, even when the afternoon is above freezing. The shoulder months are the least predictable: May averages 42 °F¹ (5.5 °C), but its nights are only just above freezing.

Where you go matters as much as when. The south coast is the mildest part of the country, while the northeast interior is on average about 4 °F¹ (2 °C) colder, and a clear winter night there can fall far below the national average.

Conclusions

1. Iceland has an ocean climate, not an Arctic one. Its coldest month averages 31 °F¹ (−0.6 °C) and its warmest only 51 °F¹ (10.5 °C): winters are milder than on the Nordic mainland, and summers are the coolest in Europe.
2. The number depends on where it is measured. Weather stations, which stand where people live, average 39 °F¹ (4.1 °C); the whole island, highlands and glaciers included, averages 35 °F² (1.8 °C).
3. Reykjavík is not the whole country. The capital runs about 2 °F¹ warmer than the station average, while inland stations in the northeast are the coldest in Iceland.
4. Single years swing more than the trend. 2024 was the coldest year since 1998 and 2025 the warmest on record, while the long-term line rises by a fraction of a degree per decade. Over decades, the direction is warmer, and faster in recent years than over the whole record.