Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Lowest temperature is just after sunrise

09:00
6 January 2023

Coldest time of the day
Lowest temperature is just after sunrise

setting-sun

Did you know that the coldest time of the day is normally about half an hour after sunrise?

That surprises a lot of people because it seems logical that the coldest time should be in the middle of the night. However, all through the night the ground is losing heat and the air is steadily getting colder.

Then the sun pops over the horizon, but its first rays are very weak. When the sun initially rises, there is still more heat being lost then is being received.

After about half an hour or so, the sun is strong enough to add a little warmth and the temperatures can start to rise.

Of course there are plenty of things which can cause the temperature to change during the day. Warm air can drift in from another area or rain can drag the temperature down.

However, if nothing else is affecting the weather, the coldest time of the day will be just after dawn.

Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Fourth heatwave of the year. Peaking Wednesday. . . Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Temperature map of England and Wales on Wednesday 29.07 showing widespread hot conditions, with temperatures reaching 33°C near Cambridge, 32°C around London, Norwich, and Southend-on-Sea, and a large heat warning symbol highlighting elevated heat risk.
Tuesday, 28 July 2026

Peaking Wednesday

Fourth heatwave of the year
Catastrophic forest fires in Europe. Thousands evacuated. . . Monday, 27 July 2026
A composite image showing a temperature map of south-western Europe and a drone shot of a forest fire near Cap Ferret. A warning symbol featuring a flame indicates the increased risk of forest fires.
Monday, 27 July 2026

Thousands evacuated

Catastrophic forest fires in Europe
Floods and landslides in parts of Asia. An unusual monsoon. . . Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Split image: On the left, flooded villages and fields can be seen in a vast landscape. On the right, a weather map of India shows heavy rainfall, along with a warning sign featuring a car in floodwater.
Wednesday, 29 July 2026

An unusual monsoon

Floods and landslides in parts of Asia
All weather news
This might also interest you
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday, 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday, 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
A frozen start to the weekend. Icy conditions. . . Friday, 13 February 2026
UK temperature map dated 14.02 showing widespread subzero values in blue shading, with readings such as −4 in Glasgow, −3 in Dublin, and −2 in London, alongside a blue thermometer icon.
Friday, 13 February 2026

Icy conditions

A frozen start to the weekend
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList