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Iqaluit, Nunavut climate

ET Tundra

Iqaluit has a strongly seasonal subarctic climate (Tundra, Köppen ET). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 12°C, while the coldest is February averaging around −31°C at night. Around 370 mm of precipitation falls each year, peaking in August (58 mm) and easing off in February (16 mm). Snowfall is heavy (193 cm of snow per year on average). At latitude 64°N, day length swings from 3.8 hours in midwinter to 20.1 hours at midsummer.

☀️ Summers

Cool

Highs near 12°C in July.

❄️ Winters

Bitterly cold

Lows near −31°C in February.

About 248 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain & snow

Fairly dry

About 370 mm of rain a year, plus 193 cm of snow.

Snow falls through the winter months

⛅ Sky & trend

Often cloudy

Cloudy skies much of the year.

+1.0 °C vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Hours of sunshine per day

Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)

Iqaluit climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	−23	−23	−18	−9	0	7	12	11	5	0	−7	−15
Avg temp (°C)	−27	−27	−23	−13	−3	4	8	7	3	−3	−11	−19
Avg low (°C)	−31	−31	−27	−18	−6	1	4	4	0	−6	−15	−23
Precipitation (mm)	19	16	17	26	23	50	39	58	48	33	22	20
Snowfall (cm)	21	16	19	27	22	6	0	0	19	18	25	20

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°C)	−23	−23	−18	−9	0	7
Avg temp (°C)	−27	−27	−23	−13	−3	4
Avg low (°C)	−31	−31	−27	−18	−6	1
Precipitation (mm)	19	16	17	26	23	50
Snowfall (cm)	21	16	19	27	22	6

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	12	11	5	0	−7	−15
Avg temp (°C)	8	7	3	−3	−11	−19
Avg low (°C)	4	4	0	−6	−15	−23
Precipitation (mm)	39	58	48	33	22	20
Snowfall (cm)	0	0	19	18	25	20

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	9	8	9	10	9	10	10	12	13	10	9	10
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	29	26	30	29	28	11	0.3	0.8	12	27	27	27
Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days)	1	0.5	1	1	1	0.1	—	—	0.6	1	2	1

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	9	8	9	10	9	10
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	29	26	30	29	28	11
Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days)	1	0.5	1	1	1	0.1

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	10	12	13	10	9	10
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	0.3	0.8	12	27	27	27
Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days)	—	—	0.6	1	2	1

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	58	53	51	55	72	76	73	73	76	72	70	63
Relative humidity (%)	98	98	96	93	92	89	86	88	92	97	98	98
Wind speed (km/h)	11.2	11.2	13.0	14.0	14.1	12.9	11.3	11.3	12.3	13.0	12.3	12.0

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	58	53	51	55	72	76
Relative humidity (%)	98	98	96	93	92	89
Wind speed (km/h)	11.2	11.2	13.0	14.0	14.1	12.9

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	73	73	76	72	70	63
Relative humidity (%)	86	88	92	97	98	98
Wind speed (km/h)	11.3	11.3	12.3	13.0	12.3	12.0

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 17 years of daily observations at Iqaluit A, a weather station, about 2 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →