Minsk weather in January

In January, Minsk sees average daytime highs of -3°C and overnight lows near -7°C, with 39 mm of precipitation across 9.9 wet days and about 7.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -3°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 12 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Minsk's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Minsk's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-3°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-7°
1st coldest
Precipitation
39 mm
9.9 wet days
Daylight
7 h 42 min
9:28 AM – 5:10 PM
Cloud cover
87%
11th clearest
Wind
19 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.67 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Minsk is capital and largest city of Belarus.

Density
4,254/km²
people per km²
Founded
1067

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 -3°C through the month.

A typical January day in Minsk reaches about -3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -7°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -10°C and 3°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-2-6
2-2-6
3-2-6
4-2-6
5-2-6
6-2-6
7-2-6
8-2-6
9-2-6
10-2-6
11-2-6
12-2-6
13-2-7
14-2-7
15-2-7
16-3-7
17-3-7
18-3-7
19-3-7
20-3-7
21-3-7
22-3-7
23-3-8
24-3-8
25-3-8
26-3-8
27-3-8
28-3-8
29-3-8
30-3-8
31-3-8

How January really feels in Minsk

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Minsk weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-3° / -7°399.99.17.70.0
Feb-2° / -7°349.28.59.40.0
Mar / -3°399.55.711.50.1
Apr11° / 479.81.613.72.9
May18° / 7012.70.115.75.2
Jun21° / 11°8012.5016.85.9
Jul23° / 13°9113.2016.36.3
Aug22° / 12°7110.7014.66.5
Sep17° / 5510.1012.55.0
Oct10° / 5310.4110.22.0
Nov / -1°439.54.78.30.0
Dec-1° / -5°40108.37.20.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 5% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 90%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11189
21189
31090
41090
51090
61090
71090
81090
91090
101090
111090
121090
13991
14991
15991
16991
17991
18991
19991
201090
211090
221090
231189
241189
251189
261189
271189
281288
291387
301486
311486

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Minsk gets around 39 mm of rain and snow over 9.9 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 32% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13528
23528
33428
43528
53528
63428
73428
83428
93327
103327
113227
123126
133026
143026
152927
162927
172927
182928
192928
202929
212929
222930
233030
243031
253131
263132
273232
283233
293333
303333
313333

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 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 19 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 18 km/h on the calmest days to 19 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
118light breeze
218light breeze
318light breeze
418light breeze
518light breeze
618light breeze
718light breeze
818light breeze
918light breeze
1018light breeze
1118light breeze
1218light breeze
1318light breeze
1418light breeze
1518light breeze
1618light breeze
1718light breeze
1818light breeze
1918light breeze
2018light breeze
2118light breeze
2218light breeze
2318light breeze
2418light breeze
2519light breeze
2619light breeze
2719light breeze
2819light breeze
2919light breeze
3019light breeze
3119light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 12 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:36 AM to 9:10 AM, and sunset from 4:50 PM to 5:37 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.29:364:50
27.29:364:51
37.39:364:52
47.39:354:53
57.39:354:54
67.39:354:55
77.49:344:57
87.49:344:58
97.49:334:59
107.59:335:01
117.59:325:02
127.59:325:04
137.69:315:05
147.69:305:07
157.69:295:08
167.79:285:10
177.79:275:11
187.89:265:13
197.89:255:15
207.99:245:16
217.99:235:18
228.09:225:20
238.09:215:22
248.19:205:23
258.19:185:25
268.29:175:27
278.29:165:29
288.39:145:31
298.39:135:33
308.49:115:35
318.49:105:37

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.67 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.44 kWh/m² to a high of 5.5 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.67 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.5Dim
20.5Dim
30.5Dim
40.5Dim
50.5Dim
60.5Dim
70.5Dim
80.5Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
120.6Dim
130.6Dim
140.6Dim
150.6Dim
160.7Dim
170.7Dim
180.7Dim
190.7Dim
200.7Dim
210.7Dim
220.8Dim
230.8Dim
240.8Dim
250.8Dim
260.9Dim
270.9Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
300.9Dim
311.0Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Minsk?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
9th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Minsk.

What to pack for Minsk in January

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

In January, Minsk sees daytime highs around -3°C and nights near -7°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Minsk in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Minsk peaks around July 15 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 15UV 6Dec 18UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Minsk?

Minsk sits at 53.9°N, 27.6°E, 222 m above sea level, in Belarus. The nearest listed city is Kalodzishchy, 15 km away.

SmaliavičyDzyarzhynskLogoyskHorad ZhodzinaMar’ina Gorka

Topography around Minsk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Minsk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 61 m around an average of 211 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 114 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 218 m.

The land around Minsk is covered by artificial surfaces (71%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, trees (37%), artificial surfaces (25%) and cropland (24%) within 16 km, and trees (50%) and cropland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
61 m
16 km
114 m
80 km
218 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Kalodzishchy 15 km · Fanipol 23 km · Zaslawye 23 km · Smaliavičy 37 km · Dzyarzhynsk 37 km · Logoysk 39 km · Horad Zhodzina 55 km · Mar’ina Gorka 58 km

Belarus travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 30% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$10,279
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2021
Safe drinking water
93%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2.4
per 100k, 2019
Road deaths
7.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 533
Religion
Orthodox 48%non-believers 41%Catholic 7%other 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 Minsk (53.9002°, 27.5665°, elevation 222 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).