Zurich vs Basel: which is sunnier?
🇨🇭 Switzerland vs 🇫🇷 France · 79 km apart · long-term climate normals (NASA POWER, 2001–2020)
Zurich and Basel are virtually tied for annual sunshine — about 1,912 vs 1,931 hours a year. Basel has the higher Sunshine Score in 9 of 12 months; the other 3 are within 2 points.
Scores are the 0–100 Sunshine Score — sunshine, daytime warmth and dryness in one number, per month.
At a glance
| Zurich | Basel | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunshine hours / year | 1,912 | 1,931 |
| Sunniest month | September (65/100) | September (75/100) |
| Nov–Feb average score | 2/100 | 3/100 |
| Jun–Aug average score | 63/100 | 70/100 |
| Rain / year | 1,311 mm | 1,060 mm |
| Peak midday UV | 6 (high) | 6 (high) |
Zurich vs Basel month by month
| Month | Sunshine Score | Day high °C | Rain mm | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | Basel | Zurich | Basel | Zurich | Basel | |
| January | 0 | 0 | 3° | 5° | 94 | 75 |
| February | 0 | 0 | 5° | 6° | 73 | 60 |
| March | 12 | 19 | 10° | 11° | 91 | 74 |
| April | 43 | 51 | 15° | 16° | 91 | 75 |
| May | 59 | 68 | 19° | 20° | 141 | 118 |
| June | 64 | 71 | 23° | 24° | 139 | 105 |
| July | 63 | 70 | 24° | 25° | 144 | 107 |
| August | 63 | 70 | 24° | 25° | 146 | 110 |
| September | 65 | 75 | 19° | 21° | 103 | 79 |
| October | 42 | 48 | 15° | 16° | 100 | 94 |
| November | 6 | 13 | 9° | 10° | 87 | 77 |
| December | 0 | 0 | 4° | 5° | 102 | 86 |
The sunnier month by month: Jan even · Feb even · Mar Basel · Apr Basel · May Basel · Jun Basel · Jul Basel · Aug Basel · Sep Basel · Oct Basel · Nov Basel · Dec even.
When to pick which
- November–February: too close to call — Zurich averages 2/100, Basel 3/100. Basel is the warmer, around 7°C daytime highs vs 5°C. See the winter sun ranking.
- March–May: Basel (average score 46/100 vs 38). Daytime highs are similar (15°C vs 16°C).
- June–August: Basel (average score 70/100 vs 63). Daytime highs are similar (24°C vs 25°C).
- September–October: Basel (average score 62/100 vs 54). Basel is the warmer, around 19°C daytime highs vs 17°C.
Full month-by-month guides: Zurich weather by month · Basel weather by month · Best time to visit Switzerland · Best time to visit France.
More comparisons: Zurich vs Bern · Zurich vs Friedrichshafen · Basel vs Strasbourg · Basel vs Bern · all head-to-heads