Weather in London in August

Prime time. August is about as good as London gets. Highs average 22.6 °C, lows 12.8 °C, and rain falls on 12 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

August ranks 4 of 12 in London: past the worst of the year but short of September, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 12 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

The averages here are honest — no hidden extremes worth planning around. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest August day reached 33.1 °C and the coldest night fell to 5.8 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 36 mm — roughly 55% of the month's rain in one day.

August is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest August on record still delivered 138 mm against 20 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 66 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 11 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 78%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How August sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 22.8 °C in July, 22.6 here, 20 in September. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in August

14.7 hours of daylight, losing 1.8 hours across the month. That is between London's extremes of 16.6 and 7.9 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 21.1 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

August in London versus nearby

If London is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Birmingham is close enough to be a coin toss — 2.3 °C cooler, 2 days more rain. Le Havre is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, the same number of rain days.

So: August is effectively as good as it gets here — 6 points behind September, which is inside the margin where the weather stops being the deciding factor and price starts being it.

Every month in London

See all twelve months in London, or where else to go in August.