Beijing weather in January

In January, Beijing sees average daytime highs of 2°C and overnight lows near -8°C, with 3 mm of precipitation across 0.8 wet days and about 9.5 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-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 70% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Beijing's 2nd-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Beijing's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-8°
1st coldest
Precipitation
3 mm
0.8 wet days
Daylight
9 h 30 min
7:40 AM – 5:08 PM
Cloud cover
27%
2nd clearest
Wind
7 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
2.69 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Beijing is capital city of China.

Air quality
Very high
PM2.5 50.6 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
1,155/km²
people per km²
Founded
1403

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 Beijing reaches about 2°C in the afternoon and slips back to -8°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -3°C and 6°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 4°C cooler than February.

-15°-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12-7
22-7
32-8
42-8
52-8
62-8
72-8
82-8
92-8
102-8
112-8
122-8
132-8
142-8
152-8
162-8
172-8
182-8
192-8
202-8
212-8
222-8
232-8
242-8
253-8
263-8
273-8
283-7
293-7
303-7
313-7

How January really feels in Beijing

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.

Beijing weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -8°30.80.99.50.0
Feb / -5°51.31.110.40.8
Mar13° / 92.30.611.74.7
Apr22° / 193.90.1137.8
May29° / 15°355014.26.4
Jun32° / 20°747.8014.84.0
Jul32° / 23°16012.8014.53.5
Aug31° / 22°11910.5013.64.4
Sep27° / 16°577.1012.36.9
Oct20° / 334.3010.97.4
Nov10° / -1°142.10.99.83.1
Dec / -6°311.19.20.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 21%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
18020
28020
38020
48020
57921
67921
77921
87921
97822
107822
117822
127822
137921
147921
157921
167921
177822
187921
197921
207921
217921
227921
238020
248020
258020
268020
278020
288020
298020
308020
318020

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Beijing gets around 3 mm of rain and snow over 0.8 wet days in January, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 3% and peaks near 4% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
133
233
334
444
544
644
744
844
934
1034
1134
1233
1333
1433
1523
1623
1723
1823
1922
2022
2122
2222
2322
2422
2522
2622
2722
2822
2922
3022
3123

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 7 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 8 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
228calm
238calm
248calm
258calm
268calm
278calm
288calm
298calm
308calm
318calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 42 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:41 AM to 7:31 AM, and sunset from 4:54 PM to 5:24 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.27:414:54
29.27:414:55
39.27:414:56
49.27:414:56
59.37:424:57
69.37:424:58
79.37:424:59
89.37:415:00
99.37:415:01
109.37:415:02
119.47:415:03
129.47:415:04
139.47:415:05
149.47:405:06
159.47:405:07
169.57:405:08
179.57:395:09
189.57:395:10
199.57:395:11
209.67:385:12
219.67:385:13
229.67:375:14
239.67:375:15
249.77:365:16
259.77:355:17
269.77:355:19
279.87:345:20
289.87:335:21
299.87:335:22
309.97:325:23
319.97:315:24

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.69 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.26 kWh/m² to a high of 6.12 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 2.69 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.4Moderate
22.4Moderate
32.4Moderate
42.4Moderate
52.4Moderate
62.5Moderate
72.5Moderate
82.5Moderate
92.5Moderate
102.5Moderate
112.5Moderate
122.6Moderate
132.6Moderate
142.6Moderate
152.6Moderate
162.7Moderate
172.7Moderate
182.7Moderate
192.8Moderate
202.8Moderate
212.8Moderate
222.9Moderate
232.9Moderate
242.9Moderate
253.0Moderate
263.0Moderate
273.0Moderate
283.0Moderate
293.1Moderate
303.1Moderate
313.1Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Beijing

In seasonPeak

None of Beijing's seasonal hazards are active in January. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Beijing's rainy season runs June–August, when most of the year's rain falls.

Beijing sees seasonal dust haze (April–June), heaviest in May.

Rainy season
Dust
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Beijing?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Beijing.

What to pack for Beijing in January

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

In January, Beijing sees daytime highs around 2°C and nights near -8°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Beijing in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Beijing peaks around June 11 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 21 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 highHighModerateLowJun 11UV 7Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul6High
Aug5High
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Beijing 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 Beijing is worst in January — around 69 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.0× the cleanest month (June, 34 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Beijing's WHO annual average of 50.6 µg/m³.

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyJan 1168 µg/m³Jun 1734 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan69Unhealthy
Feb63Unhealthy
Mar57Unhealthy
Apr41Poor
May35Poor
Jun34Moderate
Jul35Moderate
Aug37Poor
Sep46Poor
Oct57Unhealthy
Nov67Unhealthy
Dec67Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Beijing?

Beijing sits at 39.9°N, 116.4°E, 49 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Tianjin, 108 km away.

JinanDalianQingdaoZhengzhouSongyang

Topography around Beijing

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Beijing has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 51 m around an average of 48 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 107 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,093 m.

The land around Beijing is covered by artificial surfaces (82%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (70%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and cropland (35%), trees (34%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
51 m
16 km
107 m
80 km
2,093 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Tianjin 108 km · Chengde 176 km · Datong 265 km · Jinan 364 km · Dalian 461 km · Qingdao 552 km · Zhengzhou 622 km · Songyang 675 km

China travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / I
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 47% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$13,862
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
0.5
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
17.4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 464
Religion
unaffiliated 52%folk religion 22%Buddhist 18%Christian 5%

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 Beijing (39.9075°, 116.3972°, elevation 49 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).