London 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 London, Greater London, United Kingdom. The numbers reflect climate data gathered over a 30-year period, from 1990 to 2020.

Monthly hours of sunshine

Seasonal sunshine in London varies. It peaks at 219 hours in July and drops to 54 hours in December. The total annual amount of sun is 1675 hours.

Daily hours of sunshine

Seasonal changes in sunshine hours are quite obvious in London. While July receives considerable daily sunshine with up to 7.3 hours, December marks the darkest time of the year, where sunshine is scarce with only 1.8 hours of sunlight per day.

Average percent of sunshine

On average the sun shines 45% of the time during the day in August, the highest percentage of any month. December has the lowest percentage at 21%.

London enjoys an average of 1675 hours of sunshine annually. Let’s compare this with some popular tourist destinations:

Athens, Greece, enjoys 2769 hours of sunshine each year, making it one of the sunniest destinations in the Mediterranean region.

Manchester, UK, experiences just around 1420 hours of sunshine annually.

The climate in San Francisco, USA, includes 3072 hours of sunshine annually, thanks to its mild coastal weather.

Adelaide, Australia, enjoys 2770 hours of sunshine annually, with long, sunny summers.

November, London’s wettest month, receives 60 mm (2.4 in) of rainfall and has a maximum daytime temperature of 12°C (54°F). During the driest month March you can expect a temperature of 12°C (54°F).

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