Polotsk weather in January

In January, Polotsk sees average daytime highs of -2°C and overnight lows near -7°C, with 43 mm of precipitation across 10.8 wet days and about 7.5 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -2°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 6 h 54 min at the start of January to 8 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Polotsk's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Polotsk's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-2°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-7°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
43 mm
10.8 wet days
Daylight
7 h 24 min
9:32 AM – 4:56 PM
Cloud cover
88%
11th clearest
Wind
14 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.49 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Polotsk is city in Belarus.

Density
2,166/km²
people per km²
Founded
~780 CE

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 -2°C through the month.

A typical January day in Polotsk reaches about -2°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 1°C cooler than December and on par with 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
13-2-6
14-2-6
15-2-6
16-2-6
17-2-6
18-2-7
19-2-7
20-2-7
21-3-7
22-3-7
23-3-7
24-3-7
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 Polotsk

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.

Polotsk weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-2° / -7°4310.89.87.50.0
Feb-2° / -7°399.68.69.20.0
Mar / -3°399.45.711.40.1
Apr11° / 469.71.913.82.8
May18° / 6411.50.215.95.5
Jun21° / 12°7512.4017.16.0
Jul23° / 14°8713016.66.4
Aug22° / 12°7411.3014.86.3
Sep16° / 6110012.54.9
Oct / 6111.71.210.11.8
Nov / -1°4910.44.580.0
Dec-1° / -5°4310.68.96.90.0

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 (%)
11090
21090
31090
4991
5991
6991
7991
81090
91090
101090
111189
121189
131189
141189
151189
161189
171189
181189
191189
201189
211090
221090
231090
241189
251189
261189
271189
281189
291288
301288
311288

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Polotsk gets around 43 mm of rain and snow over 10.8 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 35% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 10 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13732
23732
33731
43731
53731
63731
73731
83731
93631
103631
113531
123531
133431
143331
153331
163331
173231
183231
193231
203231
213231
223232
233232
243332
253332
263433
273433
283533
293533
303533
313633

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 14 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
714light breeze
814light breeze
914light breeze
1014light breeze
1114light breeze
1214light breeze
1314light breeze
1414light breeze
1514light breeze
1614light breeze
1714light breeze
1814light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 54 min at the start of January to 8 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 78 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:41 AM to 9:12 AM, and sunset from 4:35 PM to 5:25 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.99:414:35
26.99:414:36
36.99:414:37
47.09:414:38
57.09:404:39
67.09:404:41
77.09:394:42
87.19:394:43
97.19:384:45
107.19:374:46
117.29:374:48
127.29:364:49
137.39:354:51
147.39:344:53
157.39:334:54
167.49:324:56
177.49:314:58
187.59:304:59
197.59:295:01
207.69:285:03
217.69:275:05
227.79:255:07
237.79:245:09
247.89:235:11
257.99:215:13
267.99:205:15
278.09:185:17
288.09:175:19
298.19:155:21
308.29:135:23
318.29:125:25

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.33 kWh/m² to a high of 5.44 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.49 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.3Dim
20.3Dim
30.4Dim
40.4Dim
50.4Dim
60.4Dim
70.4Dim
80.4Dim
90.4Dim
100.4Dim
110.4Dim
120.4Dim
130.4Dim
140.5Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.5Dim
180.5Dim
190.5Dim
200.5Dim
210.6Dim
220.6Dim
230.6Dim
240.6Dim
250.6Dim
260.7Dim
270.7Dim
280.7Dim
290.7Dim
300.7Dim
310.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Polotsk?

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 Polotsk.

What to pack for Polotsk in January

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

In January, Polotsk sees daytime highs around -2°C and nights near -7°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Polotsk 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 Polotsk peaks around July 13 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 13UV 6Dec 18UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug5High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Polotsk?

Polotsk sits at 55.5°N, 28.8°E, 126 m above sea level, in Belarus. The nearest listed city is Novopolotsk, 13 km away.

Lyepyel’HlybokayeNevel’VitebskPastavyBarysawVelikiye Luki

Topography around Polotsk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Polotsk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 49 m around an average of 130 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 68 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 191 m.

The land around Polotsk is covered by trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 3 km, trees (70%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) within 80 km.

3 km
49 m
16 km
68 m
80 km
191 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
January weather nearby: Novopolotsk 13 km · Lyepyel’ 68 km · Hlybokaye 79 km · Nevel’ 93 km · Vitebsk 96 km · Pastavy 130 km · Barysaw 141 km · Velikiye Luki 145 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 Polotsk (55.4879°, 28.7856°, elevation 126 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).