Urumqi weather in January

In January, Urumqi sees average daytime highs of -7°C and overnight lows near -16°C, with 7 mm of precipitation across 2.3 wet days and about 9.1 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 54% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 48 min at the start of January to 9 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Urumqi's 4th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Urumqi's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-7°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-16°
1st coldest
Precipitation
7 mm
2.3 wet days
Daylight
9 h 06 min
7:47 AM – 4:51 PM
Cloud cover
40%
4th clearest
Wind
8 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
2.43 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Urumqi is capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.

Air quality
Severe
PM2.5 65.7 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
220/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 -7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Urumqi reaches about -7°C in the afternoon and slips back to -16°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -13°C and -2°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 4°C cooler than February.

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

How January really feels in Urumqi

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.

Urumqi 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-7° / -16°72.32.89.10.0
Feb-3° / -12°1233.710.20.0
Mar / -4°255.44.111.60.9
Apr15° / 497.72.413.25.1
May21° / 10°547.90.614.56.8
Jun26° / 16°407015.27.1
Jul27° / 18°436.5014.96.9
Aug26° / 16°426.6013.87.3
Sep21° / 10°355.70.212.37.4
Oct13° / 345.92.610.84.4
Nov / -6°245.34.99.50.4
Dec-5° / -13°133.23.78.80.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 54% 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 33%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
17030
27030
37030
47129
57030
67030
77030
86931
96931
106931
116931
126832
136832
146832
156832
166733
176733
186733
196733
206634
216634
226634
236535
246634
256634
266634
276535
286535
296535
306436
316436

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Urumqi gets around 7 mm of rain and snow over 2.3 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 8% and peaks near 10% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11011
2911
3910
4910
5910
6910
7910
8910
9810
10810
11810
12810
13810
14810
15810
16810
17810
18710
1979
2079
2179
2279
2368
2468
2568
2667
2767
2867
2967
3067
3167

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 8 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.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
38calm
48calm
58calm
68calm
78calm
88calm
98calm
108calm
118calm
128calm
138calm
148calm
158calm
168calm
178calm
188calm
198calm
208calm
218calm
228calm
238calm
248calm
258calm
268calm
278calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 48 min at the start of January to 9 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 48 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:49 AM to 7:36 AM, and sunset from 4:36 PM to 5:10 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.87:494:36
28.87:494:37
38.87:494:38
48.87:494:39
58.87:494:40
68.97:494:41
78.97:494:41
88.97:494:42
98.97:494:43
108.97:494:44
119.07:494:46
129.07:484:47
139.07:484:48
149.07:484:49
159.07:474:50
169.17:474:51
179.17:464:52
189.17:464:53
199.27:454:55
209.27:454:56
219.27:444:57
229.27:434:58
239.37:434:59
249.37:425:01
259.37:415:02
269.47:405:03
279.47:405:05
289.57:395:06
299.57:385:07
309.57:375:09
319.67:365:10

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.43 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.03 kWh/m² to a high of 6.56 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.43 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.1Moderate
22.1Moderate
32.1Moderate
42.2Moderate
52.2Moderate
62.2Moderate
72.2Moderate
82.2Moderate
92.3Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.3Moderate
122.3Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.4Moderate
162.4Moderate
172.5Moderate
182.5Moderate
192.5Moderate
202.5Moderate
212.6Moderate
222.6Moderate
232.6Moderate
242.6Moderate
252.7Moderate
262.7Moderate
272.8Moderate
282.8Moderate
292.8Moderate
302.8Moderate
312.9Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Urumqi?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Urumqi.

What to pack for Urumqi in January

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

In January, Urumqi sees daytime highs around -7°C and nights near -16°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Urumqi 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 Urumqi peaks around July 19 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 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 19UV 9Jan 10UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Urumqi 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 Urumqi is worst in March — around 77 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Urumqi's WHO annual average of 65.7 µg/m³.

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyMar 1777 µg/m³Sep 2254 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan77Unhealthy
Feb73Unhealthy
Mar77Unhealthy
Apr73Unhealthy
May77Unhealthy
Jun61Unhealthy
Jul53Poor
Aug60Unhealthy
Sep54Poor
Oct55Poor
Nov59Unhealthy
Dec69Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Urumqi?

Urumqi sits at 43.8°N, 87.6°E, 862 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Turpan, 159 km away.

ZaysanMaqanshyKhovdÖlgiiZharkentSarqantAltay

Topography around Urumqi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Urumqi has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 253 m around an average of 881 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,040 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,842 m.

The land around Urumqi is covered by artificial surfaces (79%) within 3 km, grassland (36%), artificial surfaces (32%) and bare terrain (24%) within 16 km, and grassland (43%) and bare terrain (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
253 m
16 km
1,040 m
80 km
4,842 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Turpan 159 km · Zaysan 459 km · Maqanshy 548 km · Khovd 562 km · Ölgii 602 km · Zharkent 609 km · Sarqant 634 km · Altay 707 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 Urumqi (43.801°, 87.6005°, elevation 862 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).