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Climate · London

London in May

Mild and damp, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

May in London is mild: highs near 65°F, lows near 46°F. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 1 hour 21 minutes from the first week to the last.May in London is mild: highs near 18°C, lows near 8°C. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 1 hour 21 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
65°F18°Caverage
Low
46°F8°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 37% of days
Daylight
15h 36mon average

Is May a good time to visit London?

May sits outside London's best months, which run from June to September. Expect mild days and rain on about three days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How May sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 65°F in May, against 48°F to 74°F through the year.Highs near 18°C in May, against 9°C to 23°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

37% of days in May, against 30% to 40% through the year.

Cloud cover

57% cover in May, against 48% to 72% through the year.

Daylight

15h 36m in May, against 7h 54m to 16h 33m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with May shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. April59°15°low 41°low 5°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. May65°18°low 46°low 8°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. June71°22°low 52°low 11°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.

Where London sits, in May

Europe/London
this place
typical high in May 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-May
5:10 AMsets 8:43 PM
Above the sea
10 mlow-lying
Latitude
51.5°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Leatherhead27 km south-west

The land around London, shaded by its typical high in May, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in United Kingdom in May

high · low · wet days
See May on the planning mapThe whole year in London

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest London. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.