Xiamen weather in January

In January, Xiamen sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 40 mm of rain across 5.6 wet days and about 10.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 18°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 44% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 30 min at the start of January to 10 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Xiamen's 4th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Xiamen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
18°
12th warmest
Overnight low
10°
1st coldest
Rainfall
40 mm
5.6 wet days
Daylight
10 h 36 min
6:58 AM – 5:36 PM
Cloud cover
48%
4th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
3.28 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.4
out of 10

Xiamen is prefecture-level city in Fujian, China.

Air quality
High
PM2.5 25.2 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
2,717/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 18°C through the month.

A typical January day in Xiamen reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and on par with February.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
11811
21811
31811
41811
51811
61811
71811
81811
91811
101811
111811
121811
131811
141811
151710
161710
171710
181710
191710
201710
211710
221710
231710
241710
251710
261710
271710
281710
291710
301710
311710

How January really feels in Xiamen

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

January sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Xiamen 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 daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan18° / 10°405.610.76.4
Feb18° / 11°608.711.16.0
Mar20° / 14°8911.711.86.0
Apr24° / 18°10812.812.66.1
May28° / 22°18416.113.25.3
Jun30° / 25°24519.713.53.7
Jul31° / 26°18817.113.43.5
Aug31° / 26°25119.712.93.4
Sep30° / 24°13112.312.24.7
Oct28° / 21°443.811.47.3
Nov24° / 17°494.710.87.9
Dec20° / 12°42510.57.2

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 44% 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 43%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16535
26436
36436
46436
56337
66337
76139
86139
96040
105941
115842
125743
135743
145644
155545
165545
175446
185347
195347
205446
215446
225446
235446
245545
255545
265545
275545
285545
295545
305545
315545

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Xiamen gets around 40 mm of rain over 5.6 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 rain averages around 19% and peaks near 22% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
117
217
317
416
516
616
716
816
916
1016
1116
1217
1317
1417
1517
1618
1719
1819
1920
2020
2121
2221
2321
2421
2521
2621
2721
2822
2922
3022
3122

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 86% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
183134
284133
384133
484133
584133
684133
784133
884133
984133
1084133
1184133
1284133
1385123
1485123
1585123
1686122
1786122
1887112
1987112
2087112
2188102
2288102
2388102
248992
258992
268992
278992
288992
298992
309091
319091

Wind in January

Winds average 12 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 12 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
112light breeze
212light breeze
312light breeze
412light breeze
512light breeze
612light breeze
712light breeze
812light breeze
912light breeze
1012light breeze
1112light breeze
1212light breeze
1312light breeze
1412light breeze
1512light breeze
1612light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2012light breeze
2112light breeze
2212light breeze
2312light breeze
2412light breeze
2512light breeze
2612light breeze
2712light breeze
2812light breeze
2912light breeze
3012light breeze
3112light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min at the start of January to 10 h 54 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 6:56 AM to 6:55 AM, and sunset from 5:26 PM to 5:47 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.56:565:26
210.56:565:27
310.56:565:27
410.56:565:28
510.56:575:29
610.56:575:29
710.56:575:30
810.66:575:31
910.66:575:31
1010.66:585:32
1110.66:585:33
1210.66:585:33
1310.66:585:34
1410.66:585:35
1510.66:585:35
1610.66:585:36
1710.66:585:37
1810.76:585:37
1910.76:585:38
2010.76:585:39
2110.76:585:40
2210.76:575:40
2310.76:575:41
2410.76:575:42
2510.86:575:43
2610.86:575:43
2710.86:565:44
2810.86:565:45
2910.86:565:45
3010.86:565:46
3110.96:555:47

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.28 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.12 kWh/m² to a high of 5.63 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 3.28 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.3Moderate
23.3Moderate
33.3Moderate
43.3Moderate
53.3Moderate
63.3Moderate
73.3Moderate
83.3Moderate
93.3Moderate
103.2Moderate
113.2Moderate
123.2Moderate
133.2Moderate
143.2Moderate
153.2Moderate
163.2Moderate
173.2Moderate
183.2Moderate
193.2Moderate
203.2Moderate
213.2Moderate
223.2Moderate
233.2Moderate
243.3Moderate
253.3Moderate
263.3Moderate
273.3Moderate
283.3Moderate
293.3Moderate
303.3Moderate
313.4Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Xiamen

In seasonPeak

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

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

Xiamen's monsoon runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is January a good time to visit Xiamen?

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

6.4
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
1.9
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Xiamen for sightseeing.

What to pack for Xiamen in January

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

In January, Xiamen sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 10°C. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 6 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Xiamen in January

The nearest coast averages about 16°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Apr 20 to Nov 29 — about 7.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan16Cool
Feb15Cool
Mar17Cool
Apr20Cool
May23Refreshing
Jun26Warm
Jul27Warm
Aug28Warm
Sep27Warm
Oct25Warm
Nov22Refreshing
Dec18Cool

UV index in Xiamen in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Xiamen peaks around June 18 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 5 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighVery highExtremeVery highHighJun 18UV 11Dec 21UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan6High
Feb7High
Mar9Very high
Apr8Very high
May10Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep10Extreme
Oct8Very high
Nov6High
Dec5High

Air quality in Xiamen 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 Xiamen is worst in January — around 33 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (July, 16 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Xiamen's WHO annual average of 25.2 µg/m³.

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateJan 2033 µg/m³Jul 1517 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan33Moderate
Feb32Moderate
Mar33Moderate
Apr29Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun18Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct21Moderate
Nov27Moderate
Dec28Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Xiamen?

Xiamen sits at 24.5°N, 118.1°E, 12 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Jincheng, 24 km away.

Topography around Xiamen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Xiamen has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 213 m around an average of 19 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 460 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,439 m.

The land around Xiamen is covered by artificial surfaces (46%), water (31%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, water (46%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km
213 m
16 km
460 m
80 km
1,439 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Jincheng 24 km · Jinhu 35 km · Magong 184 km · Fuzhou 215 km · Erlin 241 km · Budai 244 km · Beigang 247 km · Erlun 249 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 Xiamen (24.4798°, 118.0819°, 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).