Canberra weather in January

In January, Canberra sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 14°C, with 49 mm of rain across 6.6 wet days and about 14.1 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 18 min at the start of January to 13 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Canberra's 1st-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Canberra's year-round climate.

Daytime high
27°
1st warmest
Overnight low
14°
12th coldest
Rainfall
49 mm
6.6 wet days
Daylight
14 h 06 min
6:09 AM – 8:17 PM
Cloud cover
48%
1st clearest
Wind
11 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
7.23 kWh/m²
Travel score
7.2
out of 10

Canberra is capital city of Australia.

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 13.9 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
779/km²
people per km²
Founded
1913

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month.

A typical January day in Canberra reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 14°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 21°C and 33°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C warmer than December and about 1°C warmer than February.

10°20°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12613
22613
32613
42613
52713
62713
72714
82714
92714
102714
112714
122714
132714
142714
152714
162714
172714
182714
192714
202714
212714
222714
232714
242714
252714
262714
272714
282714
292714
302714
312714

How January really feels in Canberra

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

January sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Canberra weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 1st-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 14°496.614.17.2
Feb26° / 14°51613.37.4
Mar23° / 11°385.312.37.8
Apr19° / 27411.17.1
May15° / 284.310.25.3
Jun12° / 516.89.73.3
Jul11° / 386.79.92.9
Aug12° / 497.510.73.6
Sep16° / 517.411.85.2
Oct19° / 567.312.96.6
Nov22° / 588.413.97.0
Dec25° / 12°566.914.37.5

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time in January, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 39%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16238
26238
36238
46238
56139
66139
76139
86139
96139
106139
116139
126139
136139
146139
156238
166139
176139
186139
196040
206040
216040
226040
236040
246040
256040
266040
276040
285941
295941
305941
315941

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Canberra gets around 49 mm of rain over 6.6 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 21% and peaks near 23% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
119
219
319
419
519
619
720
820
920
1020
1120
1220
1321
1421
1521
1622
1722
1822
1923
2023
2123
2223
2323
2423
2523
2623
2723
2823
2923
3022
3122

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of January feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 55% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
1692560
2682660
3672670
4662770
5652780
6632890
7622990
86129100
96030100
105930110
115930110
125830120
135631130
145631130
155431141
165431141
175331151
185232151
195232151
205033161
215033161
224934161
234834161
244735162
254735162
264635162
274635162
284635162
294635162
304635162
314635172

Wind in January

Winds average 11 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 18 min at the start of January to 13 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:56 AM to 6:23 AM, and sunset from 8:17 PM to 8:10 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.35:568:17
214.35:578:17
314.35:588:17
414.35:598:17
514.35:598:18
614.36:008:18
714.36:018:18
814.36:028:18
914.36:038:18
1014.26:038:18
1114.26:048:18
1214.26:058:17
1314.26:068:17
1414.26:078:17
1514.26:088:17
1614.16:098:17
1714.16:108:17
1814.16:118:16
1914.16:128:16
2014.16:128:16
2114.06:138:15
2214.06:148:15
2314.06:158:15
2414.06:168:14
2513.96:178:14
2613.96:188:13
2713.96:198:13
2813.96:208:12
2913.86:218:12
3013.86:228:11
3113.86:238:10

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 7.23 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.17 kWh/m² to a high of 7.23 kWh/m² in January across the year — January's 7.23 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

02468151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
17.6Intense
27.6Intense
37.6Intense
47.6Intense
57.5Intense
67.5Intense
77.5Intense
87.4Intense
97.4Intense
107.3Intense
117.3Intense
127.2Intense
137.2Intense
147.2Intense
157.1Intense
167.1Intense
177.0Intense
187.0Intense
197.0Intense
206.9Intense
216.9Intense
226.9Intense
236.8Intense
246.8Intense
256.8Intense
266.7Intense
276.7Intense
286.7Intense
296.6Intense
306.6Intense
316.6Intense
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Canberra

In seasonPeak

In January, Canberra sits inside its cyclone season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Canberra sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

Cyclone
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Canberra?

Our two travel scores rate January for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

7.2
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
7.3
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

January is one of the better times to visit Canberra for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Canberra in January

From January's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In January, Canberra sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 14°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 7 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Canberra in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Canberra peaks around December 23 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateVery highExtremeDec 23UV 13Jun 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar9Very high
Apr6High
May3Moderate
Jun2Moderate
Jul3Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct9Very high
Nov10Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Air quality in Canberra in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where January falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Canberra is worst in December — around 36 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 7.2× the cleanest month (July, 5 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Canberra's WHO annual average of 13.9 µg/m³.

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateDec 2235 µg/m³Jul 135 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan33Moderate
Feb16Moderate
Mar10Good
Apr12Good
May9Good
Jun6Good
Jul5Good
Aug7Good
Sep8Good
Oct9Good
Nov17Moderate
Dec36Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Canberra?

Canberra sits at 35.3°S, 149.1°E, 571 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Tuggeranong, 16 km away.

Topography around Canberra

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Canberra.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Canberra has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 282 m around an average of 589 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 489 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,796 m.

The land around Canberra is covered by trees (48%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 3 km, grassland (45%) and trees (36%) within 16 km, and trees (51%) and grassland (47%) within 80 km.

3 km
282 m
16 km
489 m
80 km
1,796 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Tuggeranong 16 km · Goulburn 80 km · Batemans Bay 106 km · Wollongong city centre 187 km · Wollongong 187 km · Katoomba 205 km · Blue Mountains 206 km · Bathurst 212 km

Australia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type I
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 90% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$65,130
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
none 38%Roman Catholic 20%Protestant 18%other Christian 4%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Canberra (-35.2835°, 149.1281°, elevation 571 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).