How Cold and Icy Is It in Iceland?

Reykjavik, the largest city in Iceland, is almost on the Arctic Circle, as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska. So you would probably expect to find cold weather there.

But Reykjavik is on the edge of a warm ocean current that washes the southern and western coasts of Iceland. The average temperature in the city is 39 degrees, but it rarely gets very cold there.

In Iceland’s coldest month, January, the average temperature in Reykjavik is 29 degrees, warmer than the average January temperature of Chicago, Boston, or Salt Lake City!