Paris sits in the broad Paris Basin of north-central France, on the River Seine at around 35 metres elevation and approximately 48.86°N, 2.35°E. It has a temperate climate poised between oceanic and continental — mild and changeable, shaped by Atlantic weather systems — with cool, damp winters, warm summers, and rain spread fairly evenly through the year. Its average annual temperature is around 11–12°C.

Summer, from June to August, is warm and pleasant, with July and August the warmest months — average highs around 25–26°C and comfortable nights. Atlantic fronts can still bring cooler, showery spells, but settled high pressure brings fine, sunny weather, and increasingly frequent heatwaves have pushed temperatures past 40°C, as in the record-breaking summers of 2019 and 2022. Summer is also prone to afternoon thunderstorms.

Winter, from December to February, is cold and often grey and damp rather than severe, with January the coldest month — average highs around 7°C and lows near 2–3°C. Hard frosts occur but bitter cold is uncommon, and snow falls only occasionally and rarely settles for long. Overcast skies are the defining feature; Paris is not a sunny city in winter, receiving under 1,700 hours of sunshine a year overall.

Paris is only moderately rainy, receiving around 640 mm of precipitation a year — less than the Atlantic coast — but it is well distributed across all seasons, with a slight late-spring and summer maximum from thunderstorms rather than a distinct wet or dry season. Rain more often comes as light drizzle or brief showers than heavy downpours. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Paris's weather is defined by its changeability and its cloud: sitting where mild, moist Atlantic air meets drier continental air, it can shift from sun to shower within a day, and grey overcast spells are common outside high summer. Spring and autumn are attractive but unsettled transitional seasons, and the Seine has historically been prone to major winter and spring floods, most famously the great flood of 1910.

To follow any single measurement in Paris 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.