Coldest Cities in Europe

The top ten list of coldest major cities in Europe is a mix of places in Northern and Eastern Europe. The lowest daily maximums belong to Reykjavík, Iceland, which averages just 7 degrees Celsius (44.6 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout a year. Lying not far from the Arctic Circle, Reykjavík is also the northernmost city in these rankings.

Here you'll find lists of major European cities with the coldest climates, along with the chilliest five cities by region: Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe. The ratings are based on the annual average of daily maximum temperatures.

Cities in western Russia, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg dominate the rest of the coldest ten. In fact Ufa, located near the Ural Mountains, has average lows that are nearly four degrees Celsius (7 °F) lower than Reykjavík's.

These weather rankings are for 68 major European cities which include national capitals plus cities with a metropolitan population of over one million people. You can also see the full list of European cities and their temperatures that these ratings are based on.

Average daily temperatures for the ten coldest major European cities.
High °F High °C City Low °F Low °C
44.6 7.0 Reykjavík, Iceland 35.4 1.9
46.2 7.9 Kazan, Russia 31.8 -0.1
46.5 8.1 Nizhny & Novgorod, Russia 33.2 0.6
47.0 8.3 Ufa, Russia 28.3 -2.0
47.0 8.3 Saint Petersburg, Russia 35.3 1.8
48.1 8.9 Moscow, Russia 34.2 1.2
48.4 9.1 Helsinki, Finland 34.5 1.4
48.4 9.1 Tallinn, Estonia 35.8 2.1
48.5 9.2 Samara, Russia 33.7 1.0
49.3 9.6 Oslo, Norway 36.3 2.4

Coldest Cities in European Regions

Even the coldest cities in Southern and Western Europe don't get nearly as frigid as those to the north and east.

Southern Europe's coldest major city is Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed closely by Ljubljana, Slovenia. Both places average highs of 15 °C (59 °F) and lows below 5 °C (41 °F).

In Western Europe, two UK cities top the list of those with coldest climates: Leeds and Glasgow. Leeds, which backs onto foothills of the chilly Pennines mountain range, has cooler days and nights than it's more northerly neighbour.

Snow-covered Reykjavík, Iceland with mountain backdrop

Reykjavík, Iceland: Europe's city with the lowest daytime temperatures.

Western Europe

Average daily temperatures for Western Europe's five coldest major cities
High °F High °C City Low °F Low °C
53.2 11.8 Leeds, United Kingdom 41.2 5.1
54.0 12.2 Glasgow, United Kingdom 41.9 5.5
54.1 12.3 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 40.5 4.7
54.9 12.7 Hamburg, Germany 41.4 5.2
55.4 13.0 Munich, Germany 39.5 4.2

Northern Europe

Average daily temperatures for Northern Europe's five coldest major cities
High °F High °C City Low °F Low °C
44.6 7.0 Reykjavík, Iceland 35.4 1.9
48.4 9.1 Helsinki, Finland 34.5 1.4
48.4 9.1 Tallinn, Estonia 35.8 2.1
49.3 9.6 Oslo, Norway 36.3 2.4
49.8 9.9 Riga, Latvia 36.7 2.6

Eastern Europe

Average daily temperatures for Eastern Europe's five coldest major cities
High °F High °C City Low °F Low °C
46.2 7.9 Kazan, Russia 31.8 -0.1
46.5 8.1 Nizhny & Novgorod, Russia 33.2 0.6
47.0 8.3 Ufa, Russia 28.3 -2.0
47.0 8.3 Saint Petersburg, Russia 35.3 1.8
48.1 8.9 Moscow, Russia 34.2 1.2

Southern Europe

Average daily temperatures for Southern Europe's five coldest major cities
High °F High °C City Low °F Low °C
59.0 15.0 Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina 40.6 4.8
59.2 15.1 Ljubljana, Slovenia 42.6 5.9
59.9 15.5 Pristina, Kosovo 39.9 4.4
60.4 15.8 Zagreb, Croatia 42.6 5.9
62.8 17.1 Turin, Italy 44.5 7.0
Reference

The data are provided by national meteorological agencies.

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