The term the coldest may imply the average temperature throughout the year or the lowest temperature in a particular winter month. In any case, the answer is below.
Regarding the average yearly temperature, the coldest capitals in Europe are as follows:
- Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.
- Moscow, the capital of Russia.
- Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
This list is obtained by collecting data from Wikipedia, and the ranking is based on the daily mean temperature per year. The term ‘daily mean’ here implies the average day-night temperature measured throughout a year.
The location of these cities is presented in the interactive map below, so you can zoom in to see more details. As you see, there are significant differences regarding the latitudes.
Reykjavik
The daily mean temperature per year in this city is 5.1 °C (41.2 °F).
Note that the highest daily mean temperature is in July, 11.6 °C (52.9 °F), and the lowest daily mean temperature is in February 0.6 °C (33.1 °F).
This city has in average 62 days with snow. The record low temperature in this city is −24.5 °C (−12.1 °F). More details is available on Wikipedia.
This city is also the northernmost capital in the world and in Europe, and it is presented in my another text, so follow the link to see more.
If you have not been there, please have a look:
Moscow
The daily mean temperature in Moscow per year is 6.3 °C (43.3 °F).
Here too, the highest daily mean temperature is in July and it is 24.7 °C (76.5 °F). So in summer, this city is considerably warmer than Reykjavik.
The lowest average daily mean temperature is in February and it is −8.8 °C (16.2 °F). So this city is with far more extreme temperatures as compared with the capital of Iceland where the temperature is obviously more stable because of the ocean.
The record low temperature in this city is −42.1 °C (−43.8 °F). Here you have in average 116 snowy days per year.
This is an impressive city with more than 12 million people, please see more in this video:
Helsinki
The daily mean temperature in Helsinki per year is 6.5 °C (43.7 °F).
The warmest month is July and the average daily mean temperature is 21.9 °C (71.4 °F).
February is the coldest month in Helsinki as well, so the average daily mean temperature is −6.3 °C (20.7 °F). As you see, here too you have more extreme temperatures than in Reykjavik. The record low temperature here is −34.3 °C (−29.7 °F).
Helsinki is also in my list of capitals farthest from equator, in fact it is the second farthest. Please see more about the city in this video:
Summary
So you have seen it, the mean daily temperature differences between these three cities are only 1.4 degrees Celsius. However, yearly variations in Reykjavik are far smaller, it is always cold but the temperature does not go to extremes.
In the case of Moscow you can have the lowest temperature. In other words, one could consider Moscow as the true coldest capital city in Europe.
I have checked also for Oslo and Stockholm, and they are slightly warmer than the cities presented here in the text.
Do you know what the warmest capital in Europe is? If not, just follow the link.
Thank you for reading. Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below. Have a nice day.