Harbin weather in January

In January, Harbin sees average daytime highs of -13°C and overnight lows near -23°C, with 4 mm of precipitation across 1.3 wet days and about 8.9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -13°C in the first days to -11°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 30 min at the start of January to 9 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Harbin's 3rd-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Harbin's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-13°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-23°
1st coldest
Precipitation
4 mm
1.3 wet days
Daylight
8 h 54 min
7:17 AM – 4:08 PM
Cloud cover
47%
3rd clearest
Wind
12 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
2.09 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Harbin is capital of Heilongjiang province, China.

Air quality
Very high
PM2.5 43.2 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
99/km²
people per km²
Founded
1898

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -13°C in the first days to -11°C by the end.

A typical January day in Harbin reaches about -13°C in the afternoon and slips back to -23°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -19°C and -6°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 6°C cooler than February.

-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-13-22
2-13-23
3-13-23
4-13-23
5-13-23
6-13-23
7-13-23
8-13-23
9-13-23
10-13-23
11-13-23
12-13-24
13-13-24
14-13-24
15-13-24
16-13-24
17-13-24
18-13-24
19-13-23
20-13-23
21-12-23
22-12-23
23-12-23
24-12-23
25-12-23
26-12-23
27-11-23
28-11-22
29-11-22
30-11-22
31-11-22

How January really feels in Harbin

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.

Harbin 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-13° / -23°41.31.68.90.0
Feb-7° / -18°61.7210.10.0
Mar / -8°153.62.711.60.3
Apr13° / 305.60.613.34.0
May21° / 659.30.114.76.5
Jun26° / 16°9912.2015.46.2
Jul28° / 19°15514.9015.15.7
Aug26° / 17°13813.5013.96.1
Sep21° / 10°678.5012.36.8
Oct12° / 386.50.710.73.7
Nov-0° / -10°183.62.89.30.0
Dec-10° / -20°92.42.98.50.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 39%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16139
26238
36337
46337
56337
66436
76436
86436
96436
106436
116436
126337
136337
146238
156139
166139
176040
185941
195842
205842
215743
225743
235743
245743
255842
265842
275941
285941
296040
306040
316040

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Harbin gets around 4 mm of rain and snow over 1.3 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 4% and peaks near 6% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
167
267
366
456
556
656
755
845
945
1045
1145
1245
1346
1445
1545
1645
1745
1835
1935
2035
2135
2245
2345
2445
2545
2645
2745
2845
2945
3045
3145

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 12 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712light breeze
2812light breeze
2912light breeze
3012light breeze
3112light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 30 min at the start of January to 9 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:20 AM to 7:05 AM, and sunset from 3:53 PM to 4:28 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.57:203:53
28.67:203:54
38.67:203:54
48.67:203:55
58.67:203:56
68.67:203:57
78.67:203:58
88.77:203:59
98.77:204:00
108.77:194:01
118.77:194:02
128.77:194:04
138.87:184:05
148.87:184:06
158.87:184:07
168.97:174:08
178.97:174:10
188.97:164:11
198.97:154:12
209.07:154:13
219.07:144:15
229.07:134:16
239.17:134:17
249.17:124:19
259.27:114:20
269.27:104:21
279.27:094:23
289.37:084:24
299.37:074:25
309.37:064:27
319.47:054:28

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.09 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.7 kWh/m² to a high of 5.91 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.09 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.8Dim
21.8Dim
31.8Dim
41.8Dim
51.9Dim
61.9Dim
71.9Dim
81.9Dim
91.9Dim
101.9Dim
112.0Dim
122.0Dim
132.0Moderate
142.0Moderate
152.1Moderate
162.1Moderate
172.1Moderate
182.1Moderate
192.2Moderate
202.2Moderate
212.2Moderate
222.3Moderate
232.3Moderate
242.3Moderate
252.4Moderate
262.4Moderate
272.4Moderate
282.5Moderate
292.5Moderate
302.5Moderate
312.6Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Harbin

In seasonPeak

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

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

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

Is January a good time to visit Harbin?

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 Harbin.

What to pack for Harbin in January

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

In January, Harbin sees daytime highs around -13°C and nights near -23°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Harbin 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 Harbin peaks around August 16 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighHighModerateLowAug 16UV 7Dec 19UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Harbin 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 Harbin is worst in January — around 62 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.1× the cleanest month (August, 29 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Harbin's WHO annual average of 43.2 µg/m³.

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorJan 2062 µg/m³Aug 1730 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan62Unhealthy
Feb58Unhealthy
Mar58Unhealthy
Apr45Poor
May33Moderate
Jun33Moderate
Jul33Moderate
Aug29Moderate
Sep32Moderate
Oct37Poor
Nov46Poor
Dec51Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Harbin?

Harbin sits at 45.8°N, 126.7°E, 140 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Hainan, 167 km away.

Namyang-nodongjaguNamyangOnsŏngMusan-ŭpChunggangHoeryŏngSamjiyŏn-ŭp

Topography around Harbin

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Harbin has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 45 m around an average of 139 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 95 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 727 m.

The land around Harbin is covered by artificial surfaces (91%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (44%) and cropland (24%) within 16 km, and cropland (76%) within 80 km.

3 km
45 m
16 km
95 m
80 km
727 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
January weather nearby: Hainan 167 km · Namyang-nodongjagu 402 km · Namyang 402 km · Onsŏng 409 km · Musan-ŭp 442 km · Chunggang 442 km · Hoeryŏng 443 km · Samjiyŏn-ŭp 459 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 Harbin (45.75°, 126.65°, elevation 140 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).