Photo: Lindsay Nicole Terry · CC BY 2.0

Climate in Pangnirtung · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Pangnirtung sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for July heat

January nights here settle around −27.7°C. Frosty nights outnumber those of almost every Canadian town. The wettest month is August; the driest is February. Frost comes on about 255 days a year, so leave time to clear the car.

July afternoons: cooler than almost every Canadian town

January nights: colder than almost every Canadian town

Rain and snow a year: drier than 97% of Canadian towns

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, measured at Pangnirtung, 1.5 km south-west.

July high

11.9°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−27.7°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

361 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Frost days

255

a year at 0°C or below

A year in Pangnirtung at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−21°C−28°C

Feb−22°C−28°CColdest nights

Mar−17°C−24°C

Apr−9°C−17°C

May0°C−6°C

Jun7°C1°C

Jul12°C5°CWarmest

Aug11°C5°CWettest

Sep6°C1°C

Oct−1°C−5°C

Nov now−7°C−12°C

Dec−14°C−20°C

What stands out about Pangnirtung’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut beside it.

Cooler than almost every Canadian townJuly afternoons average 11.9°C, the warmest of the year. 4th warmest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.Colder than almost every Canadian townJanuary nights average −27.7°C; February is colder still. The mildest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.Drier than 97% of Canadian townsAbout 361 mm of rain and melted snow a year; August is the wettest month and February the driest. The wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut.

A normal year

What a year in Pangnirtung feels like

Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.

Winter

−19°C / −25°C

47 mm of rain and snow

Spring

−9°C / −15°C

65 mm of rain and snow

Summer

10°C / 4°C

150 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

−1°C / −6°C

100 mm of rain and snow

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

−21°C−28°C

−22°C−28°C

−17°C−24°C

−9°C−17°C

0°C−6°C

7°C1°C

12°C5°C

11°C5°C

6°C1°C

−1°C−5°C

−7°C−12°C

−14°C−20°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideNo month has highs of 17°C or more with nights of 8°C or more: summers here are cool.

Frost & warm days

255 frost days and 1 days above 20°C a year

The frost season runs September to June, and January freezes nearly every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 99 nights a year.

255

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than almost every Canadian town

207

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

Days a year above 20°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

About 361 mm of rain and snow a year

The wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut. Some 81 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.

361 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 97% of Canadian towns

217 mm

Of it as rain alone (60%)

62 mm

August, the wettest month

14 mm

February, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

62 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

66 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

ECCC’s Pangnirtung normals leave precipitation out; the figures here come from Iqaluit, 299 km away.

Living here

Living with Pangnirtung’s climate

The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.

Get outside

No month here brings highs of 17–27°C together with nights of 8°C or more.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

The wind chill passes −20 on about 141 days in a normal year.

Storms and extremes

Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Pangnirtung’s hazards page.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Pangnirtung

Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Pangnirtung are 3 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.

Distance from the town	1.5 km south-west
Station altitude	23 m
Completeness	at least 20 years
WMO standard normals	No
Precipitation from	Iqaluit, 299 km
Snowfall from	No location within 100 km
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−41.6°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	24.2°C
Average wind	10.3 km/h on average, most often from the west
Next-nearest location	Qikiqtarjuaq, 172 km

Compared with other towns

How Pangnirtung compares

Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in Nunavut.

July afternoons11.9°C

PangnirtungMedian Canadian town

10°C14°C18°C22°C26°C

Cooler than almost every Canadian town4th warmest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut

January nights−27.7°C

PangnirtungMedian Canadian town

−35°C−30°C−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C

Colder than almost every Canadian townThe mildest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut

Rain and snow a year361 mm

PangnirtungMedian Canadian town

05001,0001,500

Drier than 97% of Canadian townsThe wettest of 4 towns of 2,500+ in Nunavut

Month by month

Pangnirtung weather by month

Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.

Month	High	Low	Mean	Rain & snow
January	−21.1°C	−27.7°C	−24.5°C	16 mm
February	−21.8°C	−28.3°C	−25.1°C	14 mm
March	−17.2°C	−24.3°C	−21.0°C	21 mm
April	−8.6°C	−16.6°C	−12.6°C	23 mm
May	0.3°C	−5.5°C	−2.5°C	21 mm
June	7.1°C	1.1°C	4.1°C	49 mm
July	11.9°C	5.2°C	8.6°C	40 mm
August	11.1°C	5.1°C	8.2°C	62 mm
September	5.6°C	0.9°C	3.3°C	51 mm
October	−0.9°C	−5.4°C	−3.2°C	30 mm
November	−6.9°C	−12.1°C	−9.6°C	19 mm
December	−13.6°C	−19.5°C	−16.6°C	16 mm
Year	−4.5°C	−10.6°C	−7.6°C	361 mm

Year to year

In March, anything from −40.0°C to 7.1°C

Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; February is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±4.5°C around −25.1°C), August the one that wanders least (±0.8°C).

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Pangnirtung’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Pangnirtung (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
Other locations: where a location publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, the nearest one that does supplies it, named beside those figures.
Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
Not on this page: snowfall (no location within 100 km publishes a full year of it), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and an altitude correction.

Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Questions about Pangnirtung’s climate

How warm does Pangnirtung get in summer?

The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 11.9°C.

How cold does Pangnirtung get in winter?

In February, the coldest month, the typical low is −28.3°C.

How much rain and snow does Pangnirtung get?

Count on roughly 361 mm a year, heaviest in August (62 mm) and lightest in February (14 mm).

Are these figures for Pangnirtung itself?

Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Pangnirtung itself.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Pangnirtung →

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).