Sapporo climate — normals and trends
Sapporo (Japan) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 6.5 °C and it receives 1,170 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is August (20.5 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-7.3 °C). Rainfall peaks in August.
Sapporo averages 152 frost days, 1 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 165 rainy days per year.
Sapporo has warmed by +2.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.28 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 165 to 139 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 32.5 °C (on 7 August 1994) and the coldest -22.9 °C (on 17 January 1940).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
SapporoHokkaido
- coords
- 43.07°, 141.35°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
6.5°C
Average daily high
10.1°C
Average daily low
2.8°C
Annual rainfall
1,170mm
Sunshine / day
8.7h
Mean relative humidity
80%
Average peak wind
14.2km/h
Seasonal range
27.8°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
152 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
1 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
165 d/yr
Annual snowfall
200.4 cm
Average feels-like high
8.3 °C
Average feels-like low
0.3 °C
Average peak gust
37.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
9 d/yr
Solar radiation
13.6 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.4 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.62 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
32.5 °C
7 August 1994
Coldest day
-22.9 °C
17 January 1940
Wettest day
163 mm
17 August 2016
Windiest day
48.1 km/h
26 September 1954
Strongest gust
137.5 km/h
5 September 2018
Hottest feels-like
39.5 °C
25 July 2025
Coldest feels-like
-27.3 °C
17 January 1940
Snowiest day
33.7 cm
21 March 1975
Sunniest day
15.0 h
10 June 1941
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -1.4 °C | +2.6 °C | 51 mm | -4 mm |
| Feb | -0.5 °C | +2.6 °C | 58 mm | +7 mm |
| Mar | 2.3 °C | +1.0 °C | 87 mm | +19 mm |
| Apr | 9.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 107 mm | +27 mm |
| May | 17.8 °C | +2.8 °C | 67 mm | -24 mm |
| Jun | 23.3 °C | +4.6 °C | 106 mm | +13 mm |
| Jul | 27.8 °C | +5.3 °C | 133 mm | +8 mm |
| Aug | 26.5 °C | +2.7 °C | 177 mm | -0 mm |
| Sep | 23.0 °C | +3.1 °C | 237 mm | +79 mm |
| Oct | 13.4 °C | -0.2 °C | 88 mm | -22 mm |
| Nov | 6.5 °C | +0.8 °C | 137 mm | +45 mm |
| Dec | -0.1 °C | +1.0 °C | 113 mm | +41 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Sapporo?
Sapporo has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 6.5 °C and it receives 1,170 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Sapporo?
The hottest day measured in Sapporo between 1940 and 2025 was 7 August 1994, reaching 32.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Sapporo?
The coldest day measured in Sapporo between 1940 and 2025 was 17 January 1940, at -22.9 °C.
Does it snow in Sapporo?
Yes. Sapporo gets on average 200.4 cm of snow per year and has around 152 frost days.
Has the climate of Sapporo warmed?
Yes: Sapporo warmed by +2.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Sapporo?
The wettest day measured in Sapporo between 1940 and 2025 was 17 August 2016, with 163 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Sapporo?
The windiest day measured in Sapporo between 1940 and 2025 was 26 September 1954, with winds reaching 48.1 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Sapporo?
The warmest month in Sapporo is August (20.5 °C on average); the coldest is January (-7.3 °C).
How much does it rain in Sapporo?
Sapporo receives on average 1,170 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 165 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Sapporo?
Sapporo gets on average 8.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,175 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Sapporo?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Sapporo between 1940 and 2025 was 21 March 1975, with 33.7 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Sapporo?
Yes: Sapporo has on average 9 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Sapporo?
In Sapporo, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 39.5 °C on 25 July 2025, and the lowest was -27.3 °C on 17 January 1940.
Compare Sapporo with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Sapporo