Cardiff Sunshine Hours by Month

To truly understand a climate, we must look at its sunshine. This page shows the total number of hours of direct sunlight per month and the average hours per day in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Long-term data from 1990 to 2020 was used to calculate these averages.

Monthly hours of sunshine

Sunshine in Cardiff varies greatly throughout the year. The sunniest month, July, reaches an impressive 202 hours, while December, the darkest month, offers only 49 hours. The total annual amount of sun is 1573 hours.

Daily hours of sunshine

Seasonal changes in sunshine hours are quite obvious in Cardiff. While July receives considerable daily sunshine with up to 6.7 hours, December marks the darkest time of the year, where sunshine is scarce with only 1.6 hours of sunlight per day.

Average percent of sunshine

On average the sun shines 42% of the time during the day in August, the highest percentage of any month. December has the lowest percentage at 19%.

Cardiff enjoys an average of 1573 hours of sunshine annually. Let’s compare this with some popular tourist destinations:

The city of Rome, Italy, experiences 2470 hours of sunshine annually, adding to its charm as a year-round tourist destination.

In contrast, Tromsø , Norway, receives only about 1270 hours of sunshine per year, known for the polar night with no sunlight for weeks during winter.

Beijing, China, has 2505 hours of sunshine annually, with clear, sunny days in winter.

Melbourne, Australia, has 2380 hours of sunshine annually, with its famous “four seasons in a day” weather pattern.

December, Cardiff’s wettest month, receives 98 mm (3.9 in) of rainfall and has a maximum daytime temperature of 10°C (50°F). During the driest month March you can expect a temperature of 11°C (52°F).

For more detailed insights into the city’s temperatures, check out our Temperature page. To explore more about precipitation patterns, visit our Cardiff Precipitation page.