Istanbul climate
Istanbul (Turkey) has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa). The average temperature over the year is 15 °C60 °F, and about 624 mm25 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Istanbul climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 847 | 438 | 643 | 793.1 | 4 |
| Feb | 949 | 439 | 744 | 682.7 | 3 |
| Mar | 1253 | 642 | 948 | 532.1 | 1 |
| Apr | 1660 | 948 | 1254 | 421.6 | 0 |
| May | 2170 | 1457 | 1864 | 351.4 | 0 |
| Jun | 2679 | 1966 | 2272 | 361.4 | 0 |
| Jul | 2984 | 2271 | 2577 | 200.8 | 0 |
| Aug | 2984 | 2272 | 2678 | 220.9 | 0 |
| Sep | 2577 | 1966 | 2272 | 542.1 | 0 |
| Oct | 2068 | 1458 | 1763 | 702.7 | 0 |
| Nov | 1559 | 1050 | 1254 | 632.5 | 0 |
| Dec | 1050 | 642 | 846 | 823.2 | 1 |
| Year | 2984 | 438 | 1560 | 62425 | 9 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 83% | 76% | 1.5 | 9:32 |
| Feb | 82% | 75% | 2.1 | 10:34 |
| Mar | 79% | 67% | 3.4 | 11:49 |
| Apr | 76% | 61% | 4.8 | 13:15 |
| May | 74% | 55% | 6.1 | 14:27 |
| Jun | 69% | 42% | 6.8 | 15:06 |
| Jul | 66% | 28% | 7.0 | 14:50 |
| Aug | 66% | 30% | 6.1 | 13:48 |
| Sep | 68% | 46% | 4.4 | 12:24 |
| Oct | 76% | 59% | 2.8 | 11:01 |
| Nov | 80% | 68% | 1.8 | 9:49 |
| Dec | 82% | 74% | 1.3 | 9:14 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Istanbul is like
The warmest month is August, with an average high of 29 °C84 °F and a low of 22 °C72 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 8 °C47 °F and lows 4 °C38 °F. Seasons are strongly marked: the warmest month is on average 19.7 °C35.4 °F warmer than the coldest.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 624 mm25 in. The wettest three-month stretch is December–February, which brings 37% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: July. The wettest month is December (82 mm3.2 in), the driest is July (20 mm0.8 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 66% in July to 83% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 28%) are typical of July. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 12 km/h (7 mph) in May to 17 km/h (10 mph) in August. Daylight lasts from about 9.2 hours in December to 15.1 hours in June.
Best time to visit Istanbul
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are May–October: average highs of 20 °C68 °F to 29 °C84 °F with 20 mm0.8 in to 70 mm2.7 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of 8 °C47 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
Istanbul weather by month
- January8 °C47 °F / 4 °C38 °F
- February9 °C49 °F / 4 °C39 °F
- March12 °C53 °F / 6 °C42 °F
- April16 °C60 °F / 9 °C48 °F
- May21 °C70 °F / 14 °C57 °F
- June26 °C79 °F / 19 °C66 °F
- July29 °C84 °F / 22 °C71 °F
- August29 °C84 °F / 22 °C72 °F
- September25 °C77 °F / 19 °C66 °F
- October20 °C68 °F / 14 °C58 °F
- November15 °C59 °F / 10 °C50 °F
- December10 °C50 °F / 6 °C42 °F
What to pack for Istanbul
- Winter (December–February) — highs 847 to 10 °C50 °F, lows 438 to 6 °C42 °F, about 76 mm3.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 1253 to 21 °C70 °F, lows 642 to 14 °C57 °F, about 43 mm1.7 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2679 to 29 °C84 °F, lows 1966 to 22 °C72 °F, about 26 mm1.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 1559 to 25 °C77 °F, lows 1050 to 19 °C66 °F, about 62 mm2.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
How Istanbul compares
Of the 87 places in Turkey covered by World Climates, Istanbul is the 42nd warmest by annual mean temperature and the 30th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Turkey climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Tébessa (Algeria, Csa), Novorossiysk (Russia, Cfa) and Terni (Italy, Csa).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Esenyurt (pop. 983,571), Bağcılar (pop. 740,069), Bahçelievler (pop. 576,799), Esenler (pop. 520,235), Sultangazi (pop. 436,935), Fatih (pop. 356,025), Şişli (pop. 314,684), Arnavutköy (pop. 198,165), Başakşehir (pop. 193,750) and Büyükçekmece (pop. 163,140). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Istanbul, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Üsküdar 5 km · 15 °C60 °F · 624 mm25 in
- Ümraniye 15 km · 15 °C58 °F · 673 mm26 in
- Küçükçekmece 15 km · 15 °C59 °F · 624 mm25 in
- Maltepe 19 km · 14 °C58 °F · 673 mm26 in
- İzmit 87 km · 15 °C58 °F · 734 mm29 in
- Nilüfer 89 km · 16 °C61 °F · 642 mm25 in
- Bursa 91 km · 16 °C60 °F · 642 mm25 in
- Çorlu 98 km · 14 °C58 °F · 600 mm24 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Istanbul?
August is the warmest month in Istanbul, with an average high of 29 °C (84 °F) and an average low of 22 °C (72 °F).
What is the coldest month in Istanbul?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 8 °C (47 °F) and an average low of 4 °C (38 °F).
When does it rain the most in Istanbul?
December is the wettest month with about 82 mm (3.2 in) of precipitation; July is the driest with about 20 mm (0.8 in).
What is the best time to visit Istanbul?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are May–October.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.