Greenland
Weather locations in Greenland
Choose a location in Greenland to view its available forecast products.
Greenland illustrated weather map
4 mapped locations
Only locations with a verified coordinate are marked. The complete location list is below.
Map Disclaimer: Maps and geographic illustrations on this website are simplified, stylized representations for weather visualization only. They are not drawn to scale and should not be interpreted as authoritative representations of national boundaries, territorial status, or geographic relationships.
Climate of Greenland
Country climate guideGreenland is the world's largest island and the only country in the Arctic that is largely covered by ice, an ice sheet holding about four fifths of the land area. Its climate is defined less by latitude than by that sheet: coastal stations sit in tundra and polar desert conditions, while the interior of the sheet is one of the coldest places on earth. The rate at which the ice sheet is losing mass as the climate warms is one of the most closely watched signals anywhere.
Main climate types
Three broad zones cover the country. The south and west coasts, where almost every settlement lies, are polar oceanic and classed as tundra, with cold summers and moderate winters. The interior of the sheet, especially in the north-central part, is an ice-sheet climate where winter means sit around -30 °C or colder and midsummer stays near or below freezing. The far north around Qaanaaq is high Arctic desert.
Temperatures
At Nuuk, on the south-west coast, January means are around -6 °C and July about 7 °C, with occasional January cold spells in the -20s. On the interior plateau, temperatures average around -20 °C or colder in winter, and the coldest recorded minima of the Arctic are found here rather than at the poles. Along the northern coast, July means stay near 5 °C, and nights do not get properly dark on the northern seaboard in midsummer.
Rainfall
Precipitation is low by tropical standards, and most of it falls as snow. Nuuk records roughly 500 to 700 mm a year, though most of that as snow, and the southern coast receives considerably more than the north. In the interior, almost all accumulation falls as snow and is lost to sublimation and melt in the brief summer; rain-on-snow events in the south-west are becoming more frequent.
When to go
Greenland is a year-round destination, but a trip changes completely with the season. June and July offer the best chance of mild weather, midnight sun in the north and open water for boat trips to the ice fjords. August and September bring clear skies, autumn colours and lower temperatures, but also a high risk of storms. Winter means dark days, northern lights and access mainly by helicopter or snowmobile.