Climate
The climate of Vilnius is humid continental or hemiboreal (Köppen climate classification Dfb). Temperature records have been kept since 1777. The average annual temperature is 6.1 °C (43 °F); in January the average temperature is−4.9 °C (23 °F), in July it is 17.0 °C (63 °F). The average precipitation is about 661 millimetres (26.02 in) per year.
Summers can be hot, with temperatures above thirty degrees Celsius throughout the day. Night-life in Vilnius is in full swing at this time of year, and outdoor bars, restaurants and cafés become very popular during the daytime.
Winters can be very cold, with temperatures rarely reaching above freezing – temperatures below negative 25 degrees Celsius (−13 °F) are not unheard-of in January and February. Vilnius's rivers freeze over in particularly cold winters, and the lakes surrounding the city are almost always permanently frozen during this time of year. A popular pastime is ice-fishing, whereby fishermen drill holes in the ice and fish with baited hooks.
| Climate data for Vilnius, Lithuania | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
3.3 (37.9) |
10.7 (51.3) |
18.2 (64.8) |
21.1 (70) |
22.1 (71.8) |
21.6 (70.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
10.2 (50.4) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
10.1 (50.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8.7 (16.3) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
1.6 (34.9) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.8 (51.4) |
12.3 (54.1) |
11.5 (52.7) |
7.7 (45.9) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
3.4 (36.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 41 (1.61) |
38 (1.49) |
39 (1.53) |
46 (1.81) |
62 (2.44) |
77 (3.03) |
78 (3.07) |
72 (2.83) |
65 (2.56) |
53 (2.09) |
57 (2.24) |
55 (2.17) |
683 (26.9) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 36 | 71 | 117 | 164 | 241 | 231 | 219 | 217 | 140 | 94 | 33 | 25 | 1,588 |
| Source: The World Meteorological Organization | |||||||||||||
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Famous quotes containing the word climate:
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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“When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)