Sunshine in Germany: the number of sunny days, hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by year, season, month, and also by federated state

§ Hours of sunshine annual quantity in Germany

According to the German Meteorological Service, aka the German Weather Service (DWD), in 2023 the annual quantity of hours of sunshine in Germany totalled 1'753 hours, which means that the national average for the year was hours of sunshine a day or 146 full sunny days.

To calculate the number of full sunny days per year, we divide the quantity of sunshine hours by 12, and to get the sunshine hours average quantity per day, we divide it by 365.

The sunshine duration in Germany in 2023: 1'753 hours.

§ How to estimate, appreciate the meaning of the indicator value as to the hours of sunshine quantity per year?

At present, in Germany, the time when the sun is shining is recorded in minutes of the beam solar radiation (clear sky, allowing sunlight in the place of measurements) over a certain period of time in a certain place. The solar radiation duration is affected by the climatic zone, cloudiness, smog availability, terrain, season, and other factors. On average, from 1,300 to 1,900 hours of sunshine are registered in the country per year, with the average figure thus being equal to 1,600 hours per year.

To calculate the number of full sunny days per year, we divide the quantity of sunshine hours by 12, and to get the average quantity of sunshine hours per day, we divide it by 365. Of course, the figures obtained are averaged and do not provide accurate data regarding the actual number of sunny days per year.

For reference, Table 1 below features the data on the sunshine hours average quantity in different cities around the world. The data were taken from the WeatherOnline Ltd. Weather Service tables for the period from 2000 to 2018, yearly average.

Table 1. Hours of sunshine average quantity in different cities around the world, yearly average.

§ The hours of sunshine quantity and number of sunny days in Germany by month of the year

Table 2 offered below shows the hours of sunshine quantity, as well as number of sunny days in Germany, in the space of a month, by month as of 2023.

Table 2. Hours of sunshine quantity and number of sunny days in Germany, in the space of a month, by month as of 2023.

Table key:

• Sunshine hours quantity per month - by the German Weather Service (DWD).
• Sunshine hours quantity per day = the quantity of hours per month divided by 30 days.
• Number of sunny days per month = the quantity of hours per month divided by 12.

As can be seen from Table 2, the sunniest month in Germany was june, this month the sun shone 304 hours. The darkest month was december, with just 29 hours of sunshine.

Chart 1. Hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by month

§ Change in the hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by year and season

Table 3 offered below shows the hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by year over the past 10 years.

Table 3. Hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by year.

As can be seen from Table 3, over the past 10 years, the sunniest year in Germany was 2022, with the hours of sunshine quantity totalling 2'024. The darkest year was 2017, with the hours of sunshine quantity totalling just 1'596.

Chart 2. Change in the hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by year

§ The number of sunny days and hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by federated state

In 2023 Bavaria was the sunniest federated state in the country, where the hours of sunshine quantity made 1'852. The darkest federated state happened to be North Rhine-Westphalia, with the hours of sunshine quantity being just 1'653.

Table 4. Hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by federated state as of 2023.

Table key:

• Sunshine hours quantity per year - by the German Weather Service (DWD).
• Number of sunny days per year = the quantity of hours per year divided by 12.
• Sunshine hours quantity per day = the quantity of hours per month divided by 365 days.

Hours of sunshine quantity in Germany by federated state as of 2023.

The number of sunny days in Germany by federated state, by year and month