Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, sits on the east coast on the Firth of Forth, the estuary that opens onto the North Sea, at approximately 55.95°N, 3.19°W. It has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — cool, cloudy, breezy and changeable — but its position on the drier eastern side of Scotland, sheltered from the wettest Atlantic weather, makes it markedly less rainy than Glasgow and the west. The Gulf Stream keeps it far milder than its northerly latitude would suggest.

Summer, from June to August, is cool and cloudy rather than warm, with July the warmest month — average highs around 19°C and cool nights near 11–12°C. Genuinely hot days are rare on this breezy coast, though the far-northern latitude brings very long summer days, with light lingering late into the evening around midsummer. It is one of the sunnier and drier stretches of the year, but Atlantic and North Sea air keep it unsettled.

Winter, from December to February, is cold, wet and windy but rarely severe, with December and January the coldest — average highs around 7°C and lows just above freezing. The maritime setting keeps hard frosts and lying snow relatively infrequent in the city itself, though cold northerly outbreaks can bring snow showers, and Atlantic storms can bring damaging gales, especially in autumn and winter. Days are strikingly short at midwinter.

Edinburgh is one of the drier cities in the UK, receiving only around 700–750 mm of rain a year thanks to its eastern, rain-shadowed position — far less than Glasgow across the country — with rainfall spread through the year and a relatively drier spell from February to June. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Wind is a defining feature: Scotland is the windiest country in Europe, and Atlantic depressions sweep through Edinburgh frequently, occasionally at storm force — gusts of over 160 kph struck the city during Cyclone Friedhelm in 2011. The Scots have a word, 'dreich', for the grey, damp, gloomy weather that settles in for long stretches, and the North Sea keeps the coast cooler and cloudier than inland areas.

To follow any single measurement in Edinburgh 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.