San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas weather in January

In January, San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas sees average daytime highs of 29°C and overnight lows near 23°C, with 442 mm of rain across 28.8 wet days and about 11.9 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 29°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 0% of the time in January, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 54 min at the start of January to 11 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas's 1st-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas's year-round climate.

Daytime high
29°
5th warmest
Overnight low
23°
7th coldest
Rainfall
442 mm
28.8 wet days
Daylight
11 h 54 min
6:27 AM – 6:23 PM
Cloud cover
85%
1st clearest
Wind
5 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
3.49 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.1
out of 10

San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas is city of Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador.

Founded
1743

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 29°C through the month.

A typical January day in San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas reaches about 29°C in the afternoon and slips back to 23°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 27°C and 31°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12923
22923
32923
42923
52923
62923
72923
82923
92923
102923
112923
122923
132923
142923
152923
162923
172923
182923
192923
202923
212923
222923
232923
242923
252923
262923
272923
282923
292923
302923
312923

How January really feels in San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 31 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
31
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in January is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 5th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 23°44228.811.93.1
Feb29° / 23°36425.4123.0
Mar29° / 23°40527.6123.0
Apr29° / 23°46727.8122.9
May29° / 23°54629.412.12.9
Jun29° / 23°42827.412.13.1
Jul28° / 22°39627.312.13.3
Aug28° / 22°31926.3123.5
Sep28° / 22°32625.3123.5
Oct28° / 22°28824.5123.6
Nov28° / 22°23822.111.93.7
Dec29° / 23°35725.711.93.5

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 0% of the time in January, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 6% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 94%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1694
2694
3694
4694
5694
6694
7694
8694
9694
10694
11694
12694
13694
14694
15793
16793
17793
18892
19892
20892
21892
22892
23892
24793
25793
26793
27793
28694
29694
30595
31496

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas gets around 442 mm of rain over 28.8 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 93% and peaks near 94% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%80%100%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
189
289
390
491
591
692
792
893
993
1094
1194
1294
1394
1494
1594
1694
1794
1894
1993
2093
2193
2293
2392
2492
2592
2692
2792
2892
2993
3093
3193

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of January feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, January lands in the oppressive band about 77% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
118118
218118
318118
418118
518019
618019
718019
818019
918019
1017920
1117920
1217920
1317821
1417821
1517722
1617722
1717623
1817623
1917623
2017524
2117524
2217524
2317425
2417425
2517425
2617326
2717326
2807426
2907327
3007327
3107327

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 11 h 54 min at the start of January to 11 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 0 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 6:21 AM to 6:30 AM, and sunset from 6:16 PM to 6:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.96:216:16
211.96:216:17
311.96:226:17
411.96:226:18
511.96:226:18
611.96:236:19
711.96:236:19
811.96:246:19
911.96:246:20
1011.96:246:20
1111.96:256:21
1211.96:256:21
1311.96:266:21
1411.96:266:22
1511.96:266:22
1611.96:276:23
1711.96:276:23
1811.96:276:23
1911.96:286:24
2011.96:286:24
2111.96:286:24
2211.96:286:25
2311.96:296:25
2411.96:296:25
2511.96:296:26
2611.96:296:26
2711.96:306:26
2811.96:306:26
2911.96:306:27
3011.96:306:27
3111.96:306:27

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.25 kWh/m² to a high of 4.14 kWh/m² in March across the year — January's 3.49 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.5Moderate
23.5Moderate
33.5Moderate
43.5Moderate
53.5Moderate
63.5Moderate
73.5Moderate
83.5Moderate
93.5Moderate
103.5Moderate
113.5Moderate
123.5Moderate
133.5Moderate
143.5Moderate
153.5Moderate
163.5Moderate
173.5Moderate
183.5Moderate
193.5Moderate
203.5Moderate
213.5Moderate
223.5Moderate
233.6Moderate
243.6Moderate
253.6Moderate
263.6Moderate
273.6Moderate
283.6Moderate
293.6Moderate
303.6Moderate
313.6Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas?

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

3.1
Sightseeing
7th-best month of the year
3.9
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas.

What to pack for San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas in January

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

In January, San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

light clothesrain gear

Sea temperature near San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas in January

The nearest coast averages about 27°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 May at about 28°C and coldest in December near 27°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb27Warm
Mar27Warm
Apr28Warm
May28Warm
Jun27Warm
Jul27Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep27Warm
Oct27Warm
Nov27Warm
Dec27Warm

UV index in San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas peaks around February 22 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 19 at about 11 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeFeb 22UV 15Jul 19UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May13Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec12Extreme

Air quality in San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas 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 San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas is worst in March — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (July, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateMar 1716 µg/m³Jul 188 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr14Moderate
May11Good
Jun9Good
Jul8Good
Aug9Good
Sep9Good
Oct10Good
Nov13Moderate
Dec12Good
Location & terrain

Where is San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas?

San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas sits at 1.3°N, 78.8°W, 14 m above sea level, in Ecuador. The nearest listed city is Tumaco, 56 km away.

AtuntaquiRosa ZarateIbarraOtavaloTulcánTúquerres

Topography around San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas.

Within 3 km, the terrain around San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 44 m around an average of 12 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 125 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,370 m.

The land around San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas is covered by mangroves (33%), trees (32%) and water (21%) within 3 km, trees (56%) and mangroves (24%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) and water (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
44 m
16 km
125 m
80 km
2,370 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswatermangroves
January weather nearby: Tumaco 56 km · Esmeraldas 98 km · Atuntaqui 127 km · Rosa Zarate 128 km · Ibarra 131 km · Otavalo 133 km · Tulcán 135 km · Túquerres 137 km

Ecuador travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 43% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$7,125
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
70%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
45.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
20.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 466
Religion
Roman Catholic 68%Protestant 19%none 8%other 2%

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 San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas (1.2863°, -78.8351°, elevation 14 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. 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).