The area of Sarajevo is under influence of mid European continental climate from the North, and the Mediterranean from the South. Assortment of these elements, as well as relief diversity, gives the area distinctions of mild continental climate.
The average year-round temperature has quite balanced increase from January to July and it has its distinct drop towards December. The coldest month of the year is January when the average temperature is -1.3 °C and it is the only month with its negative monthly value. The coldest January was in 1905 with its average value of -7.8 °C, and the warmest one was in 1936 of its 5.9 °C.
The warmest month of the year is July, when the average temperature is 19.1 °C, although August’s average temperature is 18.8 °C and could often be warmer. The average year-round temperature in Sarajevo is 9.5°C. Year-round amplitude is 20.4 °C, and it represents temperature interval that includes values of average air temperatures throughout the year. Rather high varies of temperature show that Sarajevo has characteristics of continental climate. It has hot summers and cold winters. However, autumn is often warmer than summer for the reason of thermal influence from the Adriatic Sea.
Referring to cloudiness, that is in reverse relation to the temperature of air and the time of sunshine periods, Sarajevo belongs to partly cloudy places with its average year-round value of 59%. December is the cloudiest 75%, and August is the clearest month of the year. On the contrary, August is the sunniest month of 270 sunny hours, while December has the average of 41 sunny hours. According to year-round average, of its 1830 hours, Sarajevo is classified to medium sunny cities.
Airstreams in Sarajevo are conditioned by complex relief that causes its huge modifications to direction and speed. Dominant wind stream comes from southeast and western quadrant.
Satisfactory climatic conditions, and closeness of attractive surroundings of Sarajevo suitable for winter sports, led Bosnia and Herzegovina to candidate for the organizer of the XIV Winter Olympic Games in 1984. As the most suitable period for the Olympics, our service determined the period from 8th 20th February 1984. Exceptional organization and favorable climatic conditions during the competition classified the XIV Winter Olympic Games as the most successful Olympics ever. Our country has been rewarded and praised by the International Olympic Committee and all participants of the Games.