Tip:
Pack a rain jacket and rain pants, and it would be a good thing if your shoes or hiking boots were waterproof, too. A lightweight wool sweater in the pack might also be a welcome sight.
Weather in Greenland varies between regions and changes dramatically over the seasons.
While Greenland may look all white on a map due to the Greenland Ice Sheet, it may come as a surprise that the land’s weather and climate depends heavily on whether you live north or south of the country, or in the end of one valley or the next. One thing you should know wherever you are: Greenland’s weather is unpredictable and can shift with no notice.
Having prepared you for change, there are still some things which are general across Greenland. The country has an Arctic tundra climate with average temperatures that do not exceed a mean of 5.6°C (42 °F) in the warmest summer months but can plunge down to a mean of -18°C (-4° F) in the north during winter. In the southern part of the country and the innermost parts of the long fjords, the temperature can, however, rise to more than 20° C (68° F) in June, July and August. While these temperatures may sound low, you should be aware that the weather feels warmer than the number suggests. If it is 15°C in Greenland with still wind, that could very well be classified as t-shirt weather due to the low humidity. Do always dress in layers!
Greenland’s climate on land is very much affected by the sea and the sun. The coastal stretches near the open sea are cooler and more humid due to the cold water or drifting ice, and the more inland you go towards the ice sheet, the warmer and dryer it gets. During summer, there is no more than 2°C (35.65°F) difference from the northernmost to southernmost part of Greenland. In the winter, there is a much bigger difference of up to 30°C (86°F). There can be up to 5° C (41°F) difference in temperature due to the location. Interestingly, proximity to the Greenland Ice Sheet does not necessarily mean lower temperatures, a key factor being warmer Foehn, a type of katabatic wind (DMI, 2022).
Due to its large and inhospitable land mass, its elevation and reflectivity (albedo), the Greenland Ice Sheet is key to climate change. Its central position in the country means that it dramatically impacts the climate and weather in Greenland (Dzik and Dzik, 2017). It also affects the world. In August 2021, history was made when rain fell on the high central region of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Much coverage was given to this event, although it was later identified that it wasn’t the rain that was the most important factor, but the heat leading up to the event and the darkening of meltwater, reported Professor Jason Box in Geophysical Research Letters.
On this page we will first describe the specific climates within each of Greenland’s regions and how you, as a tourist, can best prepare for them. You can then read about different types of climate and weather you can experience in Greenland.
What’s the difference between weather & climate?
GREENLAND’S CLIMATE TYPES
Since 81% of Greenland is covered by a continental ice sheet at high latitudes, almost all of the island is classified as polar. However, there are a few small areas where dry and continental climates exist.
In Anthony Dzik’s publication Greenland in Climographs, there are only four specific climates in Greenland (using the Köppen classification system, which we won’t delve into here):
- Cold desert climate – This climate type is applied locally to some areas in central and southern Greenland near the Inland Ice front.
- Boreal forest climate – A subarctic climate with long cold winters and cool summers. Worldwide, this climate is found 50° – 70°N latitude.
- Polar tundra climate – This is the typical climate in Greenland’s coastal settlements. The winter is below freezing and summer cool and ephemeral between 0°C and 10°C. The amount of precipitation spikes during the summer months.
- Polar ice sheet climate – The mean monthly temperature is below 0°C all year round. This is the perpetual Frost climate of the Inland Ice. The extremely low temperatures means that no vegetation can survive.
Package Tours
Arctic Villages in East Greenland
Musk Ox Kingdom
The Great Greenland Voyage
