Climatology
This page presents Sweden's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Sweden’s proximity to the North Atlantic and prevailing south-westerly to westerly winds result in a climate that is mild in the winter months, but the northernmost part of the country has a sub-Arctic climate with long, cold and snowy winters. In the period 1961-90 the mean temperature in January was 0°C in southernmost Sweden, while the coldest northern valleys had 17°C. The maximum daily mean July temperature was approximately +17°C in south-eastern Sweden and just over 10°C in the north. Passing low-pressure systems bring precipitation that is fairly copious all year round, but heaviest in the summer and autumn. Annual precipitation is some 1,000 mm. Since most low-pressure systems move in across the country from the west or south-west, the western parts of Sweden receive the most precipitation.