Weather and climate guides

Plain explanations of the climate, seasons, symbols and air quality in North Macedonia.

Climate by city

The best time for Ohrid is late spring and early autumn: pleasant, dry and less crowded. Here is what the climate is like through the year.

Bitola has four distinct seasons: warm summers and cold winters below Mount Pelister. May, June and September are the best months to visit.

Skopje has hot summers and cold, often foggy winters. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant times to visit. Here is the climate month by month.

Mavrovo is one of the snowiest places in North Macedonia. Winter brings deep snow and cold, while summer is cool and pleasant for the mountains.

The first snow in North Macedonia usually falls in the mountains in late autumn, and in the lowlands towards late November and December.

Most rain in North Macedonia falls in late autumn and in spring. Summer is mostly dry, with occasional afternoon thunderstorms.

January and February are the coldest months in North Macedonia. The mountains and high valleys are coldest, with frost, fog and snow.

July and August are the hottest months in North Macedonia. The south, especially Gevgelija and Demir Kapija, is among the hottest in the country.

AQI is an air quality index that turns pollution into one simple number and colour, from green (good) to red and darker (hazardous).

Skopje's winter pollution comes mainly from the valley terrain and temperature inversions that trap smog from heating and traffic near the ground.

A forecast starts with millions of measurements fed into computer models of the atmosphere. Here is how it works and why it sometimes misses.

A guide to the weather symbols: what Clear, Partly cloudy, Cloudy, Fog, Light rain, Rain, Snow and Thunderstorms mean in the forecast.