Hangzhou weather in January

In January, Hangzhou sees average daytime highs of 9°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 80 mm of precipitation across 10.4 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 9°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 06 min at the start of January to 10 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Hangzhou's 4th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Hangzhou's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
80 mm
10.4 wet days
Daylight
10 h 12 min
7:01 AM – 5:16 PM
Cloud cover
61%
4th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
2.49 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.7
out of 10

Hangzhou is capital of Zhejiang Province, China.

Air quality
High
PM2.5 29.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
548/km²
people per km²

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 9°C through the month.

A typical January day in Hangzhou reaches about 9°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 4°C and 14°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1103
2103
3103
493
593
692
792
892
992
1092
1192
1292
1392
1482
1582
1682
1782
1882
1982
2082
2182
2282
2382
2482
2582
2692
2792
2892
2992
3092
3192

How January really feels in Hangzhou

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 26 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
26
wind chill below the day's low

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

Hangzhou weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 8010.41.610.31.7
Feb11° / 739.9110.92.7
Mar16° / 11913.50.211.84.4
Apr22° / 13°13112.1012.76.0
May27° / 18°15712.2013.56.1
Jun29° / 22°30316.2013.94.5
Jul34° / 26°17312.9013.82.8
Aug33° / 26°14114.8013.13.0
Sep29° / 22°9810.1012.25.6
Oct24° / 16°596.3011.37.4
Nov18° / 10°658.5010.55.9
Dec12° / 597.50.410.13.2

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15248
25149
35050
45050
54951
64852
74654
84555
94357
104258
114159
124258
134159
144159
154060
164060
174060
184060
194060
204060
214159
224258
234258
244258
254258
264258
274357
284357
294357
304456
314555

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Hangzhou gets around 80 mm of rain and snow over 10.4 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 33% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1273
2283
3293
4303
5313
6323
7333
8343
9353
10353
11363
12364
13374
14374
15374
16365
17365
18366
19356
20356
21347
22347
23337
24337
25327
26327
27317
28316
29306
30306
31306

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 (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
31000
41000
51000
61000
71000
81000
9991
10991
11991
12991
13991
14991
15991
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
221000
231000
241000
251000
261000
271000
281000
291000
301000
311000

Wind in January

Winds average 9 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
38calm
48calm
58calm
68calm
78calm
88calm
98calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min at the start of January to 10 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 24 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:00 AM to 6:57 AM, and sunset from 5:05 PM to 5:29 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.17:005:05
210.17:005:05
310.17:015:06
410.17:015:07
510.17:015:08
610.17:015:08
710.17:015:09
810.17:015:10
910.17:015:10
1010.27:025:11
1110.27:025:12
1210.27:025:13
1310.27:025:14
1410.27:015:14
1510.27:015:15
1610.27:015:16
1710.37:015:17
1810.37:015:18
1910.37:015:18
2010.37:015:19
2110.37:005:20
2210.37:005:21
2310.47:005:22
2410.47:005:23
2510.46:595:24
2610.46:595:24
2710.46:585:25
2810.56:585:26
2910.56:585:27
3010.56:575:28
3110.56:575:29

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.46 kWh/m² to a high of 5.27 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 2.49 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.5Moderate
22.5Moderate
32.5Moderate
42.5Moderate
52.5Moderate
62.4Moderate
72.4Moderate
82.4Moderate
92.4Moderate
102.4Moderate
112.4Moderate
122.4Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.4Moderate
162.4Moderate
172.4Moderate
182.5Moderate
192.5Moderate
202.5Moderate
212.5Moderate
222.5Moderate
232.6Moderate
242.6Moderate
252.6Moderate
262.7Moderate
272.7Moderate
282.7Moderate
292.8Moderate
302.8Moderate
312.8Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Hangzhou

In seasonPeak

In January, Hangzhou sits inside its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Hangzhou sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

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

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

Is January a good time to visit Hangzhou?

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

1.7
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Hangzhou.

What to pack for Hangzhou in January

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

In January, Hangzhou sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Hangzhou in January

The nearest coast averages about 8°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 45 km away) is warmest in August at about 29°C and coldest in February near 7°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 22 to Oct 29 — about 5.3 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb7Bracing
Mar10Bracing
Apr14Bracing
May19Cool
Jun24Refreshing
Jul27Warm
Aug29Tropical
Sep26Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov17Cool
Dec12Bracing

UV index in Hangzhou in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Hangzhou peaks around July 20 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateJul 20UV 10Jan 10UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5High
Mar6High
Apr7Very high
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Hangzhou 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 Hangzhou is worst in December — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.2× the cleanest month (August, 18 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Hangzhou's WHO annual average of 29.5 µg/m³.

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorDec 2339 µg/m³Aug 1118 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan39Poor
Feb37Poor
Mar36Poor
Apr32Moderate
May27Moderate
Jun24Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep23Moderate
Oct27Moderate
Nov33Moderate
Dec39Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Hangzhou?

Hangzhou sits at 30.3°N, 120.2°E, 12 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Pingyao, 22 km away.

Fuzhou

Topography around Hangzhou

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Hangzhou has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 28 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 415 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,634 m.

The land around Hangzhou is covered by artificial surfaces (77%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (48%) and trees (26%) within 16 km, and trees (51%) and cropland (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
28 m
16 km
415 m
80 km
1,634 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Pingyao 22 km · Suzhou 120 km · Ningbo 141 km · Wuxi 142 km · Shanghai 161 km · Tunxi 189 km · Nanjing 237 km · Fuzhou 478 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 Hangzhou (30.2936°, 120.1614°, elevation 12 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).