Banja Luka in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Banja Luka sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 222 mm of precipitation over about 32 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Banja Luka's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Banja Luka's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
6°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-2°C
Precipitation
222 mm
32 wet days
Avg wind
7 km/h
Travel score
0.3
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Banja Luka in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.

A typical winter day in Banja Luka reaches about 6°C and drops to -2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

-10°10°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Banja Luka

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
wind chill below the day's low

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

Banja Luka weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -3°7010.4790.0
Feb / -2°7010.36.510.10.8
Mar12° / 7911.54.311.63.1
Apr17° / 9212.71.413.24.9
May21° / 10°11213.5014.66.0
Jun25° / 14°9711.9015.36.6
Jul27° / 15°8710.50156.7
Aug27° / 15°728.8013.97.0
Sep22° / 11°9511012.36.6
Oct17° / 729.20.610.75.6
Nov11° / 8510.239.42.7
Dec / -1°8211.56.18.70.2

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Banja Luka gets around 222 mm of rain and snow over 32 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 7 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 54 min in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.7 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Banja Luka?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.3
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Banja Luka.

What to pack for Banja Luka in Winter

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

In winter, Banja Luka sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 32 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Banja Luka in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Banja Luka peaks around July 11 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 11UV 8Dec 20UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Banja Luka in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Banja Luka is worst in April — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (December, 9 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1415 µg/m³Dec 149 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb11Good
Mar14Moderate
Apr15Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul12Good
Aug13Moderate
Sep10Good
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Banja Luka?

Banja Luka sits at 44.8°N, 17.2°E, 151 m above sea level, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The nearest listed city is Prijedor, 45 km away.

PrijedorJajceTeslicDobojTravnikPožegaSlavonski BrodBugojno

Topography around Banja Luka

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Banja Luka has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 286 m around an average of 181 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 831 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,855 m.

The land around Banja Luka is covered by artificial surfaces (46%) and trees (33%) within 3 km, trees (65%) and grassland (26%) within 16 km, and trees (72%) within 80 km.

3 km
286 m
16 km
831 m
80 km
1,855 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Prijedor 45 km · Jajce 49 km · Teslic 55 km · Doboj 70 km · Travnik 71 km · Požega 73 km · Slavonski Brod 77 km · Bugojno 83 km

Bosnia and Herzegovina travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 40% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$10,382
2025
Happiness
6.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
86%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
13.5
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 591
Religion
Muslim 51%Orthodox 31%Roman Catholic 15%other 1%

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 Banja Luka (44.7788°, 17.2063°, elevation 151 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.