Sunshine hours in Belfast: 1,372 hours a year, month by month

Belfast gets 1,372 hours of sunshine a year on average (3.8 a day). Sunniest month: May with 198 hours. Every month, measured 1991–2020.

• Belfast gets 1,372 hours of sunshine a year on average, 3.8 a day – 31% of the astronomically possible. The sunniest month is May with 198 hours (6.4 a day), the dullest December with 47 (1.5 a day).
• Number 102 of 103 large cities in United Kingdom.
• Nearest weather station: Belfast/Aldergrove Airp., 21 km away – 1991–2020 average, Deutscher Wetterdienst.

Sunshine hours month by month

• January: 49 h · 1.6 h a day · 20 %
• February: 72 h · 2.6 h a day · 26 %
• March: 108 h · 3.5 h a day · 29 %
• April: 158 h · 5.3 h a day · 37 %
• May: 198 h · 6.4 h a day · 40 %
• June: 168 h · 5.6 h a day · 33 %
• July: 152 h · 4.9 h a day · 29 %
• August: 146 h · 4.7 h a day · 32 %
• September: 122 h · 4.1 h a day · 32 %
• October: 91 h · 2.9 h a day · 28 %
• November: 61 h · 2.0 h a day · 24 %
• December: 47 h · 1.5 h a day · 21 %

Questions about sunshine hours

• How many hours of sunshine does Belfast get a year? On average over 1991–2020 the sun shines in Belfast for 1,372 hours a year – 3.8 hours a day and 31% of the time the sun is above the horizon.
• What is the sunniest month in Belfast? May, with 198 hours of sunshine, 6.4 a day on average. The least sun comes in December: 47 hours, 1.5 a day.
• Is Belfast a sunny city? Among the 103 large cities in United Kingdom with measurements, Belfast ranks number 102.
• Where do the figures come from? From the 1991–2020 climate normals of Deutscher Wetterdienst: Germany from its own station network, the rest of the world from the CLIMAT reports of the national weather services. Belfast uses the station Belfast/Aldergrove Airp..
• What counts as an hour of sunshine? By the World Meteorological Organization's definition the sun is shining once its direct radiation exceeds 120 watts per square metre. Just after sunrise and before sunset it is often too weak – which is why even deserts never reach 100%.

The sunniest large cities: United Kingdom

• 1. Southend-on-Sea: 1,846 h a year
• 2. Southampton: 1,780 h a year
• 3. Norwich: 1,719 h a year
• 4. London: 1,675 h a year
• 5. Plymouth: 1,673 h a year
• 6. Bristol: 1,654 h a year
• 7. Swansea: 1,644 h a year
• 8. Sheffield: 1,631 h a year
• 9. Edinburgh: 1,575 h a year
• 10. Birmingham: 1,490 h a year

The cloudiest large cities: United Kingdom

• 1. Glasgow: 1,153 h a year
• 2. Belfast: 1,372 h a year
• 3. Aberdeen: 1,448 h a year
• 4. Leeds: 1,488 h a year

The sunniest large cities in the world

• 1. Dubai: 3,610 h a year
• 2. Victoria de Durango: 3,573 h a year
• 3. Abu Dhabi: 3,522 h a year
• 4. Hermosillo: 3,479 h a year
• 5. Kassala: 3,451 h a year
• 6. Iranshahr: 3,410 h a year
• 7. Dammam: 3,391 h a year
• 8. Gaborone: 3,388 h a year
• 9. Zahedan: 3,386 h a year
• 10. Yazd: 3,381 h a year

The cloudiest large cities in the world

• 1. Chengdu: 962 h a year
• 2. Chongqing: 985 h a year
• 3. Sukabumi: 1,082 h a year
• 4. Glasgow: 1,153 h a year
• 5. Tanjung Pinang: 1,172 h a year
• 6. Medan: 1,201 h a year
• 7. Samarinda: 1,275 h a year
• 8. Sungai Penuh: 1,311 h a year
• 9. Limerick: 1,339 h a year
• 10. Huaihua: 1,352 h a year

• Data: Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), sunshine duration climate normals 1991–2020, CC BY 4.0. Possible hours: time between sunrise and sunset.