Milan sits in the middle of the Po Valley in northern Italy, a broad, flat, low-lying plain ringed at a distance by the Alps and the Apennines, at approximately 45.46°N, 9.19°E. Far from the sea and enclosed by mountains, it has a humid subtropical climate with a continental character (Köppen Cfa) — hot, humid summers and cold, foggy winters — with rain spread through the year and none of the dry Mediterranean summer of the south.

Summer, from June to August, is hot and notably humid, with July the warmest month — average highs around 29–30°C. The still, enclosed air of the Po Valley makes the humidity feel oppressive, and the sticky heat lingers into the night, worsened by the city's urban heat island. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are common and can be intense, breaking the mugginess with sudden heavy downpours.

Winter, from December to February, is cold, damp and grey, with January the coldest month — average highs around 7–8°C and lows near or below freezing. The defining feature is fog, which blankets the Po Valley during calm, high-pressure spells, and dull, sunless days are common. Snow falls once or twice most winters, and hard frosts are frequent, giving Milan genuinely colder winters than Mediterranean Italy to the south.

Milan is quite rainy, receiving around 1,000–1,450 mm a year, well distributed through the year with no dry season and clear peaks in spring and autumn — April, May and the autumn months are typically the wettest. Summer adds thunderstorm rain, while winter is comparatively drier but foggy. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Milan's weather is dominated by the geography of the Po Valley: hemmed in by the Alps and Apennines, the stagnant air traps humidity and heat in summer and thick fog and pollution in winter. Occasionally a warm, dry Föhn wind descends from the Alps, abruptly clearing the murk, warming the air and revealing the mountains in startling clarity on the northern horizon.

To follow any single measurement in Milan 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.