Weather & Climate in Romania

Weather and Climate in Romania

The climate is strongly influenced by the geographical position. Generally speaking the territory of Romania enjoys temperate-continental climate, with the influence from the Atlantic, Mediterranean from the south west and excessive elements from the east and north east. The multiyear average temperature is latitudinally differentiated, it is 8°C in north and 11°C in South and altitudinally with temperatures of 2,6°C in the mountains and 11,7°C in the fields. During summer, Romanian's territory is an connecting bridge between hot, dry subtropical climate, characteristic to the Ponto-Caspian steppe. The Scandinavian anticyclonic area is frequent in winter and consequently the country is presenting similar characteristics to the Scandinavian climate of subpolar rather frosty nuance. Differences between summer and winter temperature are remarkable. The shift however, occurs gradually by the insertion of the two seasons, namely spring and autumn.


The Carpathian arc brings along substantial influences by ranging the climate in vertical tiers, characterized by sever winters (January average temperature is -4°C down to -15°C) cool summers (July average varies between 5°C and 6°C) and abundant precipitation (800mm-1200mm). In some mountains districts the snow layer lasts from October sometimes even earlier, until the end of May or June. At the altitude of 1,500m the snow layer lasts more then 200 days per year.
The mountains in the western part of the country, standing in the way of the wet air masses, have a longer interval of snow layer, even at location lower than 1500m such as Semenic, Muntele Mic, Baisoara, Muntele Mare and Stana de Vale. In the hilly districts, the climate is characterized by intermediate values relative to the plain and mountains value (respectively 8-9° C annual average temperature and 600-800m annual average precipitation).

The Romanian Plain, the south of Moldova and the Dobrogea, record a marked continental climate, characterized by relatively chilly winters (mean January temperatures vary between -3° and -4°C ) , torrid summers (mean July temperatures vary from 22° to 23° C ) and few precipitations (500mm and even 400 mm annually ).
The narrow seashore, lying under the direct influence of the Black Sea and the Danube waterside, more sheltered, are an exception to the marked continental characteristics of the plain climate. Winters are milder in this climate district (January mean temperature varies from 0°C to -1°C). On the seashore, summers are refreshed by the sea breeze, whereas on the Danube waterside they are just as hot as in the Romanian Plain and the total sun radiation records the greatest values, of 127-128kcal/sq cm/year.

Temperature by: Fahrenheit

BUCHAREST 44 50 N, 26 13 E, 298 feet (91 meters) above sea level


CRAIOVA 44 23 N, 23 86 E, 639 feet (195 meters) above sea level.


CONSTANTA 44 21 N, 28 63 E, 45 feet (14 meters) above sea level.


BRASOV 45 63 N, 25 58 E, 1765 feet (538 meters) above sea level.