Norilsk, Russia climate

Dfc Subarctic

Norilsk has a strongly seasonal subarctic climate (Subarctic, Köppen Dfc). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 16°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −31°C at night. Around 802 mm of precipitation falls each year, peaking in August (95 mm) and easing off in February (43 mm). Snowfall is heavy (362 cm of snow per year on average). At latitude 69°N, day length swings from 0.0 hours in midwinter to 24.0 hours at midsummer.

☀️ Summers

Cool

Highs near 16°C in July.

❄️ Winters

Bitterly cold

Lows near −31°C in January.

About 263 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain & snow

Moderate rainfall

About 802 mm of rain a year, plus 362 cm of snow.

Snow falls through the winter months

⛅ Sky & trend

Often cloudy

Cloudy skies much of the year.

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)

Norilsk climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	−25	−23	−15	−7	−1	10	16	13	5	−8	−20	−24
Avg temp (°C)	−28	−27	−19	−11	−4	7	12	10	2	−11	−23	−27
Avg low (°C)	−31	−30	−23	−16	−7	4	9	6	0	−14	−26	−30
Precipitation (mm)	48	43	53	55	61	70	82	95	84	92	62	58
Snowfall (cm)	36	31	36	44	40	9	—	1	18	58	47	42

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°C)	−25	−23	−15	−7	−1	10
Avg temp (°C)	−28	−27	−19	−11	−4	7
Avg low (°C)	−31	−30	−23	−16	−7	4
Precipitation (mm)	48	43	53	55	61	70
Snowfall (cm)	36	31	36	44	40	9

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	16	13	5	−8	−20	−24
Avg temp (°C)	12	10	2	−11	−23	−27
Avg low (°C)	9	6	0	−14	−26	−30
Precipitation (mm)	82	95	84	92	62	58
Snowfall (cm)	—	1	18	58	47	42

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	31	28	31	30	29	6	—	1	16	30	30	31

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	31	28	31	30	29	6

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	—	1	16	30	30	31

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	55	57	57	58	58	68	67	74	76	71	58	58
Relative humidity (%)	94	95	95	93	91	86	84	88	92	96	95	94
Wind speed (m/s)	4.5	4.0	4.2	4.2	3.9	3.6	3.3	3.0	3.2	3.5	3.9	4.8

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	55	57	57	58	58	68
Relative humidity (%)	94	95	95	93	91	86
Wind speed (m/s)	4.5	4.0	4.2	4.2	3.9	3.6

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	67	74	76	71	58	58
Relative humidity (%)	84	88	92	96	95	94
Wind speed (m/s)	3.3	3.0	3.2	3.5	3.9	4.8

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — modelled for this location from ERA5-Land reanalysis, a ~9 km global grid, because no long-record weather station is close enough to use.

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 →