Kyoto sits inland in a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides in the Kansai region of western Honshu, at approximately 35.01°N, 135.77°E. Its enclosed inland setting gives it a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with a more pronounced continental edge than the coastal cities — hotter, more stifling summers and colder winters — as the surrounding hills trap heat and humidity in summer and cold, still air in winter.

Summer, from June to September, is hot and famously humid, with August the hottest month — average highs around 33–34°C — and the mountain-ringed basin trapping the heat so that afternoons can feel stifling, with little breeze and sultry, sleepless nights. It begins with the tsuyu plum-rain season of June and July. The enclosing mountains give some shelter from typhoons, though late-summer storms can still bring heavy rain.

Winter, from December to February, is cold for lowland Japan, with January the coldest month — average highs around 9°C and lows near 1°C, colder than the coastal cities thanks to the inland basin. Frost is common, and snow falls more readily than in Osaka or Tokyo, occasionally dusting the temples and gardens in a celebrated, picturesque snowfall, though it rarely lies deep or long.

Kyoto receives around 1,500 mm of rain a year, concentrated in the June–July plum rains and the autumn typhoon and rain-front season, with a drier winter. The basin's enclosed setting gives it a wide temperature range across the seasons and between day and night. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Kyoto's mountain-ringed basin is the key to its climate, giving it the most extreme seasonal contrasts of Japan's major lowland cities — more stifling summer heat and colder, frostier winters than the sea-tempered coast. That same setting produces the humid, breezeless summer nights and the occasional magical winter snowfall over the historic temples, while the cherry blossom of early April and the autumn foliage of November are world-renowned.

To follow any single measurement in Kyoto 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.