Moscow climate
Moscow (Moscow, Russia) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). The average temperature over the year is 4 °C40 °F, and about 765 mm30 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Moscow climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −719 | −147 | −1013 | 481.9 | 31 |
| Feb | −622 | −138 | −915 | 421.7 | 28 |
| Mar | 032 | −818 | −425 | 421.7 | 29 |
| Apr | 948 | 032 | 440 | 491.9 | 18 |
| May | 1864 | 846 | 1355 | 863.4 | 2 |
| Jun | 2170 | 1153 | 1661 | 863.4 | 0 |
| Jul | 2475 | 1558 | 1967 | 933.7 | 0 |
| Aug | 2272 | 1355 | 1763 | 753.0 | 0 |
| Sep | 1661 | 745 | 1253 | 642.5 | 1 |
| Oct | 846 | 134 | 440 | 692.7 | 13 |
| Nov | 033 | −424 | −228 | 582.3 | 25 |
| Dec | −523 | −1013 | −818 | 522.1 | 30 |
| Year | 2475 | −147 | 440 | 76530 | 176 |
“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 | 96% | 81% | 0.6 | 7:36 |
| Feb | 96% | 77% | 1.4 | 9:31 |
| Mar | 93% | 71% | 2.9 | 11:39 |
| Apr | 84% | 66% | 4.0 | 14:05 |
| May | 79% | 60% | 5.2 | 16:14 |
| Jun | 79% | 64% | 5.5 | 17:31 |
| Jul | 80% | 61% | 5.3 | 16:59 |
| Aug | 79% | 58% | 4.4 | 15:02 |
| Sep | 83% | 67% | 2.8 | 12:38 |
| Oct | 89% | 81% | 1.3 | 10:17 |
| Nov | 94% | 85% | 0.5 | 8:09 |
| Dec | 96% | 86% | 0.4 | 7:02 |
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 Moscow is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 24 °C75 °F and a low of 15 °C58 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average −7 °C19 °F and lows −14 °C7 °F. Seasons are strongly marked: the warmest month is on average 29.6 °C53.3 °F warmer than the coldest.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 765 mm30 in. The wettest three-month stretch is May–July, which brings 35% of the annual total. The wettest month is July (93 mm3.7 in), the driest is February (42 mm1.7 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 79% in May to 96% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 58%) are typical of August. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 8 km/h (5 mph) in July to 13 km/h (8 mph) in January. Daylight lasts from about 7.0 hours in December to 17.5 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in November–April, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in February, about 53 cm).
Best time to visit Moscow
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are June–August: average highs of 21 °C70 °F to 24 °C75 °F with 75 mm3.0 in to 93 mm3.7 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of −7 °C19 °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.
Moscow weather by month
- January−7 °C19 °F / −14 °C7 °F
- February−6 °C22 °F / −13 °C8 °F
- March0 °C32 °F / −8 °C18 °F
- April9 °C48 °F / 0 °C32 °F
- May18 °C64 °F / 8 °C46 °F
- June21 °C70 °F / 11 °C53 °F
- July24 °C75 °F / 15 °C58 °F
- August22 °C72 °F / 13 °C55 °F
- September16 °C61 °F / 7 °C45 °F
- October8 °C46 °F / 1 °C34 °F
- November0 °C33 °F / −4 °C24 °F
- December−5 °C23 °F / −10 °C13 °F
What to pack for Moscow
- Winter (December–February) — highs −719 to −5 °C23 °F, lows −147 to −10 °C13 °F, about 48 mm1.9 in of precipitation a month. Pack heavy insulated clothing, thermal base layers, a warm hat, mittens and insulated boots.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 032 to 18 °C64 °F, lows −818 to 8 °C46 °F, about 59 mm2.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2170 to 24 °C75 °F, lows 1153 to 15 °C58 °F, about 85 mm3.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 033 to 16 °C61 °F, lows −424 to 7 °C45 °F, about 64 mm2.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes.
How Moscow compares
Of the 169 places in Russia covered by World Climates, Moscow is the 71st warmest by annual mean temperature and the 36th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Russia climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Orsha (Belarus, Dfb), Jyväskylä (Finland, Dfb) and Mahilyow (Belarus, Dfb).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Khimki (pop. 239,967) and Mytishchi (pop. 160,542). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Moscow, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Lyubertsy 19 km · 5 °C40 °F · 706 mm28 in
- Balashikha 21 km · 4 °C40 °F · 741 mm29 in
- Zheleznodorozhnyy 25 km · 5 °C40 °F · 706 mm28 in
- Podolsk 37 km · 5 °C40 °F · 733 mm29 in
- Zelenograd 37 km · 4 °C39 °F · 774 mm30 in
- Elektrostal 53 km · 4 °C40 °F · 710 mm28 in
- Sergiyev Posad 70 km · 4 °C39 °F · 759 mm30 in
- Serpukhov 93 km · 5 °C41 °F · 699 mm28 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Moscow?
July is the warmest month in Moscow, with an average high of 24 °C (75 °F) and an average low of 15 °C (58 °F).
What is the coldest month in Moscow?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of -7 °C (19 °F) and an average low of -14 °C (7 °F).
When does it rain the most in Moscow?
July is the wettest month with about 93 mm (3.7 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 42 mm (1.7 in).
What is the best time to visit Moscow?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are June–August.
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.