Venice sits on a cluster of islands in a shallow lagoon on the northern Adriatic coast, at the eastern edge of the Po Valley in northeastern Italy, at approximately 45.44°N, 12.34°E. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with a continental influence — hot, muggy summers and cool, damp winters — with rain spread through the year and a distinctive maritime-lagoon character all its own.

Summer, from June to August, is hot and humid, with July and August the warmest months — average highs around 27–28°C — made to feel muggier by the moisture rising off the surrounding lagoon. The still, humid air can be sultry, and afternoon thunderstorms are common, sometimes intense. Sea breezes off the Adriatic offer some relief, and the warm, bright weather makes it the busiest tourist season.

Winter, from December to February, is cold, damp and often foggy, with January the coldest month — average highs around 6–7°C and lows near or just above freezing. Fog rolling in off the lagoon is a defining feature, lending the city an atmospheric hush, and frost is common on clear nights. Snow falls occasionally, and in the very coldest winters parts of the lagoon have historically frozen. The cold northeasterly Bora wind can bring raw, blustery spells.

Venice receives around 750–840 mm of rain a year, well distributed with peaks in spring and autumn and no true dry season. More significant than the rain totals is the acqua alta — the seasonal high water, most frequent from October to December, when high tides, low pressure and southerly winds combine to flood low-lying areas like St Mark's Square. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Venice's signature weather phenomenon is the acqua alta, the exceptional high tides that periodically inundate the historic centre, driven by the Scirocco wind pushing Adriatic water into the lagoon and made worse by the city's gradual subsidence and rising sea levels. Fog and the cold Bora wind off the northeast are the other hallmarks of a climate shaped, above all, by the surrounding water.

To follow any single measurement in Venice 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.