Bessans sits near the bottom of mainland French towns for winter warmth
July afternoons average 21.4°C. From frosty January to warm July, readings climb 32°C. By warm days alone, it ranks cooler than 97% of mainland French towns. The heating season runs September to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Figures from Météo-France’s Bessans-Clim station, 0.6 km east.
A year in Bessans at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low in °C, at the Bessans-Clim station.
What a year in Bessans feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Bessans-Clim.
About 847 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and February the driest. About 25 days a year bring 10 mm or more. 37th wettest of 37 towns of 2,500+ in Savoie.
Rain by month
Millimeters
Sunshine by month
Hours of sunshine at Bourg-Saint-Maurice
A frosty town: 193 frosts and 15 days of 25°C a year
On about 193 nights a year the air drops to 0°C or below, and on about 66 days it stays below freezing all day. About 15 days a year reach 25°C, and under 1 reach 30°C.
Day counts are Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Bessans-Clim: a frost is a night of 0°C or below, a summer day (jour d’été) 25°C or more, a hot day (forte chaleur) 30°C or more.
The Météo-France station at Bessans-Clim
Bessans-Clim is 0.6 km east of Bessans. Every figure on this page is the station’s, not a measurement in Bessans itself.
| Station (Météo-France number) | Bessans-Clim (73040005) |
| Distance from the town | 0.6 km east |
| Station altitude | 1,731 m |
| Town altitude (its center) | 1,707 m |
| Period | 1991–2020 |
| Sunshine measured at | Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 37 km away |
TownRatings matches each commune to one station with at least 24 years of temperature and rain records: the nearest, counting every 100 m of height difference as 10 km, never across the sea.
How Bessans compares
Against the 4,385 towns of 2,500 or more in mainland France, each read from its own matched station. The dots are the other towns of 2,500+ in Savoie.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest towns of 2,500+ within 29 km, each with its own matched station.
| Town | Station | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessans | Bessans-Clim | 21.4°C | −10.7°C | 847 mm |
| Modane 29 km | Avrieux | 24.5°C 3.1°C warmer | −4.7°C 6°C milder | 600 mm |
Bessans weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, at the Bessans-Clim station; sunshine at Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2.2°C | −10.7°C | −6.4°C | 63 mm | 110 |
| February | 0.7°C | −10.6°C | −5.0°C | 53 mm | 122 |
| March | 5.3°C | −6.4°C | −0.6°C | 55 mm | 170 |
| April | 8.8°C | −2.0°C | 3.4°C | 69 mm | 176 |
| May | 14.0°C | 2.4°C | 8.2°C | 90 mm | 200 |
| June | 18.8°C | 5.6°C | 12.2°C | 76 mm | 226 |
| July | 21.4°C | 7.3°C | 14.3°C | 55 mm | 249 |
| August | 20.9°C | 7.3°C | 14.1°C | 69 mm | 232 |
| September | 16.0°C | 3.8°C | 9.9°C | 67 mm | 189 |
| October | 11.0°C | 0.0°C | 5.5°C | 78 mm | 143 |
| November | 3.2°C | −5.0°C | −0.9°C | 95 mm | 99 |
| December | −1.7°C | −9.2°C | −5.5°C | 76 mm | 94 |
| Year | 9.7°C | −1.5°C | 4.1°C | 847 mm | 2,009 |
Where Bessans’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Temperature, rain and day counts: Météo-France’s fiche climatologique for Bessans-Clim, 0.6 km away: statistics for 1991–2020.
- Which station: among stations with at least 24 of the 30 years of temperature and rain, the nearest to the commune’s population-weighted center, counting each 100 m of height difference as 10 km; mainland towns use mainland stations and each overseas département its own.
- Altitudes: the town’s from IGN’s RGE ALTI® at its population-weighted center; the station’s from Météo-France.
- Sunshine: the nearest station with at least 10 years of sunshine records, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, 37 km away.
- Comparisons: every town of 2,500 or more in mainland France, read the same way; the dots are the towns of 2,500+ in Savoie.
Météo-France fiches climatologiques · IGN RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0.
Questions about Bessans’s climate
How warm does Bessans get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 21.4°C. About 15 days a year reach 25°C, fewer than 97% of mainland French towns, and about under 1 reach 30°C.
How cold does Bessans get in winter?
January nights average −10.7°C. The air drops to 0°C or below on about 193 nights a year, and about 66 days a year stay below freezing all day.
How much rain does Bessans get?
About 847 mm a year, more than 70% of mainland French towns. November is the wettest month (95 mm) and February the driest (53 mm).
How sunny is it?
The nearest Météo-France station that records sunshine, Bourg-Saint-Maurice (37 km away), averages 2,009 hours of sunshine a year.
Are these figures for Bessans itself?
No: they are the normals of the Météo-France station matched to Bessans, Bessans-Clim, 0.6 km away. France publishes its climate normals by station, not by commune; a valley, a hill or the sea can make a difference over a few kilometers.
Where do these figures come from?
Météo-France’s fiches climatologiques: 30-year averages (1991–2020) for each of its long-running stations, published as open data since 2024. They are normals, not a forecast.
Source: Météo-France, fiches climatologiques, 1991–2020 statistics (station BESSANS-CLIM, edited 15/10/2026); altitude: IGN, RGE ALTI®. Licence Ouverte 2.0. Today’s forecast for Bessans →
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.