Zemst weather in January

In January, Zemst sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 61 mm of precipitation across 11.6 wet days and about 8.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 6°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 48 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Zemst's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Zemst's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
61 mm
11.6 wet days
Daylight
8 h 12 min
8:47 AM – 4:56 PM
Cloud cover
74%
9th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.81 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.5
out of 10

Zemst is town in Zemst municipality, Belgium.

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 6°C through the month.

A typical January day in Zemst reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
162
262
362
462
562
662
762
862
962
1062
1162
1262
1362
1462
1562
1662
1762
1862
1962
2062
2162
2262
2362
2461
2561
2661
2761
2861
2961
3061
3161

How January really feels in Zemst

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Zemst weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6111.60.98.20.5
Feb / 5510.91.49.70.8
Mar11° / 5311.40.711.52.4
Apr15° / 4510.9013.54.1
May18° / 5911.7015.35.5
Jun21° / 12°6511.4016.26.0
Jul23° / 14°7112.3015.86.4
Aug23° / 14°7212014.36.4
Sep19° / 11°5210.2012.46.0
Oct15° / 5711010.44.2
Nov10° / 6011.70.38.72.0
Dec / 7012.91.27.80.7

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12476
22575
32575
42476
52674
62674
72773
82773
92872
102872
112872
122872
132971
142971
152971
162971
172872
182872
192872
202773
212674
222575
232575
242476
252476
262377
272377
282278
292278
302278
312278

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Zemst gets around 61 mm of rain and snow over 11.6 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 38% and peaks near 41% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1413
2413
3413
4413
5413
6413
7403
8403
9403
10403
11393
12393
13393
14383
15383
16383
17373
18373
19373
20363
21363
22363
23363
24363
25363
26364
27364
28364
29364
30364
31364

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 15 km/h on the calmest days to 17 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
116light breeze
217light breeze
317light breeze
417light breeze
517light breeze
617light breeze
717light breeze
817light breeze
917light breeze
1017light breeze
1117light breeze
1217light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2516light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 48 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:52 AM to 8:31 AM, and sunset from 4:38 PM to 5:20 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.88:524:38
27.88:524:39
37.88:524:40
47.88:524:41
57.88:524:42
67.98:524:43
77.98:514:45
87.98:514:46
97.98:514:47
108.08:504:48
118.08:504:50
128.08:494:51
138.18:494:52
148.18:484:54
158.18:474:55
168.28:474:56
178.28:464:58
188.28:454:59
198.38:445:01
208.38:435:02
218.48:425:04
228.48:415:05
238.48:405:07
248.58:395:09
258.58:385:10
268.68:375:12
278.68:365:14
288.78:355:15
298.78:335:17
308.88:325:19
318.88:315:20

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.81 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.63 kWh/m² to a high of 5.29 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.81 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.7Dim
80.7Dim
90.7Dim
100.7Dim
110.7Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.8Dim
190.8Dim
200.9Dim
210.9Dim
220.9Dim
230.9Dim
240.9Dim
250.9Dim
261.0Dim
271.0Dim
281.0Dim
291.0Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Zemst?

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

0.5
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Zemst.

What to pack for Zemst in January

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

In January, Zemst sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Zemst 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 Zemst 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 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Zemst 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 Zemst is worst in April — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodApr 1317 µg/m³Dec 1511 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb13Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr18Moderate
May16Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct13Moderate
Nov12Moderate
Dec11Good
Location & terrain

Where is Zemst?

Zemst sits at 51.0°N, 4.5°E, 11 m above sea level, in Belgium. The nearest listed city is Mechelen, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Zemst

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zemst has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 32 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 134 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 421 m.

The land around Zemst is covered by trees (31%), grassland (27%) and cropland (21%) within 3 km, trees (30%), grassland (27%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 16 km, and cropland (35%), trees (27%) and grassland (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
32 m
16 km
134 m
80 km
421 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Mechelen 5.0 km · Vilvoorde 7.0 km · Grimbergen 8.0 km · Meise 11 km · Sint-Katelijne-Waver 11 km · Zaventem 11 km · Willebroek 11 km · Kortenberg 12 km

Belgium travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 81% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,750
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
5.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 608
Religion
Roman Catholic 57%nonbeliever/agnostic 20%atheist 9%Muslim 7%

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 Zemst (50.9832°, 4.4608°, elevation 11 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. 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).