Record 19.8 °C on Christmas Eve caps Iceland’s third warmest December on record

Iceland recorded its highest December temperature ever on Christmas Eve, according to public broadcaster RÚV, when the thermometer reached 19.8 °C in Seyðisfjörður on the country’s east coast, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The record-setting day capped what became the third warmest December since measurements began.

The previous December temperature record, 19.7 °C, was set on 2 December 2019 in Öræfi in the country’s south east.

Data compiled by the Meteorological Office show that December 2025 was exceptionally warm across the country, with temperatures well above average in all regions.

The nationwide average temperature for the month was 3.0 °C, around three degrees above the 1991–2020 average. Only December 1933 and December 2002 were warmer.

In Reykjavík, the average temperature in December was 4.0 °C, which is 3.3 °C above the long-term average and 3.7 °C above the average of the past ten years. In Akureyri, in Iceland’s north, the average temperature was 2.4 °C, around 3.1 °C above the long-term average and 3.9 °C above the ten-year average.

Most weather stations around the country reported similarly elevated temperatures throughout the month.

Temperatures were above average on nearly every day in December, with only a few days registering slightly below normal. Precipitation was generally below average nationwide, and the month was characterised by limited snowfall.