Lhasa weather in January

In January, Lhasa sees average daytime highs of -2°C and overnight lows near -17°C, with 10 mm of precipitation across 4 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-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 56% 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 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Lhasa's 3rd-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lhasa's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-2°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-17°
1st coldest
Precipitation
10 mm
4 wet days
Daylight
10 h 18 min
8:56 AM – 7:14 PM
Cloud cover
37%
3rd clearest
Wind
5 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
4.69 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Lhasa is prefecture-level city and capital of Tibet.

Air quality
Elevated
PM2.5 16.8 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
4/km²
people per km²
Founded
~633 CE

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 Lhasa reaches about -2°C in the afternoon and slips back to -17°C overnight — a 15°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -8°C and 5°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 3°C cooler than February.

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

How January really feels in Lhasa

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.

Lhasa weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-2° / -17°1044.910.30.0
Feb / -13°113.84.410.90.0
Mar / -9°247.77.511.80.1
Apr / -5°4713.29.312.71.5
May13° / 7217.56.313.53.1
Jun17° / 11220113.94.1
Jul17° / 16824.5013.73.5
Aug16° / 16724.30.113.13.3
Sep14° / 12622.11.112.23.0
Oct / -4°6115.87.211.31.8
Nov / -13°195.55.310.50.0
Dec-0° / -16°103.13.610.10.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 56% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 21% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 23%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
18020
27921
37822
47822
57822
67723
77723
87723
97723
107624
117723
127723
137723
147723
157723
167723
177822
187723
197723
207723
217723
227723
237624
247624
257624
267525
277525
287426
297426
307426
317327

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Lhasa gets around 10 mm of rain and snow over 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 13% and peaks near 13% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11214
21214
31214
41214
51215
61315
71315
81315
91316
101316
111316
121316
131316
141316
151316
161316
171316
181316
191316
201316
211316
221316
231316
241216
251216
261216
271216
281216
291216
301216
311216

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 5 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min at the start of January to 10 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:55 AM to 8:52 AM, and sunset from 7:03 PM to 7:26 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.18:557:03
210.18:557:03
310.18:557:04
410.18:567:05
510.28:567:05
610.28:567:06
710.28:567:07
810.28:567:07
910.28:567:08
1010.28:567:09
1110.28:567:10
1210.28:567:10
1310.28:567:11
1410.38:567:12
1510.38:567:13
1610.38:567:14
1710.38:567:14
1810.38:567:15
1910.38:567:16
2010.48:567:17
2110.48:557:18
2210.48:557:19
2310.48:557:19
2410.48:557:20
2510.48:547:21
2610.58:547:22
2710.58:547:23
2810.58:537:24
2910.58:537:24
3010.58:527:25
3110.68:527:26

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 4.69 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.34 kWh/m² to a high of 7.57 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 4.69 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.4Bright
24.4Bright
34.4Bright
44.4Bright
54.4Bright
64.5Bright
74.5Bright
84.5Bright
94.5Bright
104.5Bright
114.5Bright
124.6Bright
134.6Bright
144.6Bright
154.7Bright
164.7Bright
174.7Bright
184.7Bright
194.8Bright
204.8Bright
214.8Bright
224.8Bright
234.9Bright
244.9Bright
255.0Bright
265.0Bright
275.0Bright
285.0Bright
295.1Bright
305.1Bright
315.1Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Lhasa

In seasonPeak

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

Lhasa's rainy season runs June–September, 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 Lhasa?

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
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Lhasa.

What to pack for Lhasa in January

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

In January, Lhasa sees daytime highs around -2°C and nights near -17°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: sun protection. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatsun protection

UV index in Lhasa in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lhasa peaks around June 18 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 5 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighExtremeVery highHighJun 18UV 16Dec 23UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan5Moderate
Feb7High
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun16Extreme
Jul15Extreme
Aug14Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov7Very high
Dec5Moderate

Air quality in Lhasa 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 Lhasa is worst in April — around 30 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.8× the cleanest month (September, 11 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Lhasa's WHO annual average of 16.8 µg/m³.

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodGoodApr 1529 µg/m³Sep 2211 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan16Moderate
Feb20Moderate
Mar24Moderate
Apr30Moderate
May22Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct11Good
Nov12Moderate
Dec11Good
Location & terrain

Where is Lhasa?

Lhasa sits at 29.6°N, 91.1°E, 3,651 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Jakar, 236 km away.

Topography around Lhasa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lhasa has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 608 m around an average of 3,677 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,964 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,633 m.

The land around Lhasa is covered by artificial surfaces (43%) and grassland (32%) within 3 km, grassland (73%) within 16 km, and grassland (83%) within 80 km.

3 km
608 m
16 km
1,964 m
80 km
2,633 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Jakar 236 km · Trongsa 246 km · Punakha 258 km · Trashigang 261 km · Mongar 264 km · Thimphu 282 km · Paro 297 km · Tsirang 307 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 Lhasa (29.65°, 91.1°, elevation 3,651 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).