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Lille, the largest city of northern France, sits on the Flanders plain close to the Belgian border, on low-lying ground not far from the North Sea at approximately 50.63°N, 3.06°E. Its northerly, near-coastal position gives it a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — mild, cloudy, breezy and changeable — with cool summers, mild winters and rain spread through every month of the year.
Summer, from June to August, is mild rather than hot, with July the warmest month — average highs around 23–24°C and cool nights. Genuinely hot days are uncommon, though heatwaves can occasionally push temperatures past 35°C. Atlantic depressions keep the season changeable, with showers possible at any time, but it is the sunniest, most agreeable stretch, with long northern daylight.
Winter, from December to February, is cold and damp rather than severe, kept mild for the latitude by the sea, with January the coolest month — average highs around 6°C and lows near 1–2°C. Frost is common on clear nights, but lasting snow is infrequent; the season is more often grey, wet, drizzly and windy than icy, with short daylight and persistent overcast.
Lille receives around 700–750 mm of precipitation a year, falling on many days and spread through every month with a slight autumn and winter maximum; rain is usually light drizzle or brief showers rather than heavy downpours. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Lille has the coolest, greyest, dampest weather of any major French city, belonging climatically to the Low Countries rather than to sunny southern France — a place of frequent drizzle, low cloud and Atlantic wind. Its low-lying position on the Flanders plain and the frequency of Atlantic depressions mean settled, sunny spells are the exception rather than the rule.
To follow any single measurement in Lille more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.