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Kyoto weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Japan's ancient imperial capital lives by its seasons: Kyoto's temples and gardens stage the year's turning, from spring cherry blossom to the hush of occasional winter snow, all cradled in a mountain-ringed basin. Kyoto weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

+4.1°Chigh well above average

27° / 13°Today
23° / 15°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+3.1°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–4917frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 68 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 68 in the 1940s74days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 34 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 34 in the 1940s+3.1°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 63 mmhigh 8°low 1°February, rain 76 mmhigh 9°low 1°March, rain 115 mmhigh 13°low 4°April, rain 141 mmhigh 19°low 9°May, rain 159 mmhigh 23°low 14°June, rain 239 mmhigh 27°low 19°July, rain 259 mmhigh 30°low 23°August, rain 165 mmhigh 32°low 24°September, rain 202 mmhigh 28°low 20°October, rain 140 mmhigh 22°low 14°November, rain 82 mmhigh 16°low 8°December, rain 60 mmhigh 11°low 3°wettest month July, 259 mm · 1,701 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Fog

Right now

14.0°

15°feels like
100%humidity
14°dew point
5 km/hfrom NW
UV index0.0
sunrise06:01sunset17:25day length11h 25m
TueClear27°13°
WedMostly clear23°16°
ThuMostly clear23°13°
FriOvercast24°11°
SatClear27°13°
SunPartly cloudy24°17°
MonOvercast27°21°

On this date: October 12

Today (forecast)
27° / 13°
Average for October 12
23° / 15°

High well above average · +4.1°C

  • Record high: 29.1° · 1994
  • Record low: 6.8° · 1969
  • One year ago: 26° / 23°

Every October 12 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 12 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Kyoto is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 35.02°N, 135.75°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
35.02°N, 135.75°E
Time zone
Asia/Tokyo
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

23 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +1.2°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Kyoto fills the Yamashiro Basin on the eastern side of the Tamba highlands; the Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama mountains close it in on three sides, and the Kamo, Katsura and Uji rivers thread through it. The climate is humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa), but the interior basin setting sharpens both ends of the year: sticky midsummer heat, and winters cold enough for the occasional snow. The rainy season sets in around mid-June and breaks in late July, after which late summer turns hot and sunny; typhoons frequently add rain from summer into autumn.

The July 2018 heat wave that gripped Northeast Asia hit Kyoto hard, holding the city in extreme heat for a week on end; researchers read that summer's swing from flood to heat as a monsoon cycle turning more extreme as the climate warms. The warming shows up in gentler ways too: in 2021, Kyoto's cherry trees reached full bloom earlier than at any point in a record reaching back some twelve centuries, as average spring temperatures have climbed.

August brings the year's peak warmth, with afternoons typically reaching 31.9°C and nights around 24.0°C. Roughly 75 days a year now top 30°C. At the other extreme, January brings afternoon highs of about 8.2°C and typical overnight lows of 0.7°C.

In total, Kyoto averages about 1,701 mm of precipitation a year; July is usually the wettest month (259 mm) and December the driest (60 mm).

Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Kyoto has risen by 3.1°C between its first decade and its last. Where the first decade averaged 70 frost days a year, the recent one saw about 15.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.orgjma.go.jp

Climate graph (climograph)

August is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 23°C. Wettest month: July (~259 mm). Whole year averages ~1,701 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 119 rainy days a year: most in July (~16), fewest in December (~6).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 2 mm per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Kyoto month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightRecord highRecord low
January8.2°0.7°63 mm69.9 h17.0° (1997)−9.2° (2023)
February8.9°1.1°76 mm710.7 h21.8° (1954)−10.3° (1947)
March12.8°4.0°115 mm1011.7 h24.7° (2025)−5.7° (1956)
April18.8°9.4°141 mm1012.9 h29.1° (2005)−2.0° (1963)
May23.3°14.2°159 mm1013.8 h32.8° (1958)2.9° (1940)
June26.6°19.0°239 mm1314.3 h35.7° (1987)8.7° (1969)
July30.5°23.3°259 mm1614.1 h38.0° (2025)12.1° (1966)
August31.9°24.0°165 mm1213.3 h39.5° (1994)14.7° (1956)
September27.8°20.2°202 mm1212.2 h36.3° (2010)9.9° (1972)
October22.0°13.7°140 mm911.1 h33.1° (2019)3.0° (1983)
November16.4°7.9°82 mm610.1 h26.8° (2023)−2.2° (1981)
December10.9°2.8°60 mm69.7 h22.8° (2018)−7.2° (2021)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +3.1°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.34°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Sep–Nov is warming fastest: +0.36°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 34.1 early in the record → 74.3 recently. Frost days: 68 → 17.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 1994, all-time low in 1947: 39.5°C / −10.3°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~1,701 mm/year on average. Last decade: +3% vs that average. Long-term trend: +21 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Kyoto

Which is the warmest month in Kyoto?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Kyoto is August (mean daily temperature of about 27.5°C) and the coolest is January (about 4.1°C).
How does today's temperature in Kyoto compare to the historical average?
On October 12, 2026, Kyoto is forecast to reach a high of 27.0°C and a low of 13.1°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 22.9°C and a low of 14.6°C, so today's high is 4.1°C warmer than that average.
How much has Kyoto warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Kyoto is about 3.1°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Kyoto?
Kyoto receives about 1,701 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with July typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Kyoto?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Kyoto is about 15.5°C. The warmest month is August and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Kyoto by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Kyoto (°C, full record since 1940): January 8°/1°, February 9°/1°, March 13°/4°, April 19°/9°, May 23°/14°, June 27°/19°, July 30°/23°, August 32°/24°, September 28°/20°, October 22°/14°, November 16°/8°, December 11°/3°.
What is the weather like in Kyoto in summer?
Summer in Kyoto (June to August) is wet and warm. June starts at 27°C by day and 19°C at night; by August it is 32°C and 24°C. Rain falls on about 14 days a month, adding up to around 221 mm. No season is wetter.
What is the weather like in Kyoto in winter?
In winter, December through February, Kyoto is on the cool side. Daytime highs sit at 8–11°C and nights at 1–3°C; January is the coldest month. Rain is steady at around 66 mm a month, spread over roughly 6 days. No season is drier.
What is the weather like in Kyoto in spring?
March to May is spring in Kyoto, and it is wet and mild. March starts at 13°C by day and 4°C at night; by May it is 23°C and 14°C. Rain falls on about 10 days a month, adding up to around 138 mm.
What is the weather like in Kyoto in autumn?
September to November is autumn in Kyoto, and it is wet and pleasantly warm. September is still 28°C by day and 20°C at night; by November it is down to 16°C and 8°C. Rain eases through the season: 12 rainy days and 202 mm in September, 6 days and 82 mm in November.
How many days a year does it rain in Kyoto?
On long-term average, Kyoto has about 119 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 1,701 mm.

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