Brest weather in January

In January, Brest sees average daytime highs of 10°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 99 mm of precipitation across 15.3 wet days and about 8.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 10°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Brest's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Brest's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10°
11th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
99 mm
15.3 wet days
Daylight
8 h 30 min
9:11 AM – 5:43 PM
Cloud cover
74%
12th clearest
Wind
24 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
1.07 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.8
out of 10

Brest is port city in the Finistère department, Brittany, France.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
2,927/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 10°C through the month.

A typical January day in Brest reaches about 10°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 6°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and on par with February.

10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1107
2107
3107
4107
5107
6107
7107
8107
9107
10107
11107
12107
13107
14107
15107
16107
17107
18107
19107
20106
21106
22106
23106
24106
25106
26106
2796
2896
2996
3096
3196

Brest weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan10° / 9915.38.61.8
Feb10° / 7913.39.91.8
Mar11° / 6412.611.62.5
Apr13° / 6611.913.43.2
May15° / 10°5910.6154.4
Jun17° / 13°479.715.85.5
Jul19° / 14°4510.115.56.1
Aug19° / 14°531014.16.1
Sep18° / 13°529.612.45.8
Oct15° / 11°9214.110.64.1
Nov12° / 9614.992.9
Dec11° / 10615.38.22.1

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 72%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12575
22575
32674
42674
52674
62674
72674
82674
92872
102872
112872
122872
132971
142872
152872
162872
173070
182971
192971
202971
212872
222872
232773
242773
252773
262773
272773
282773
292872
302872
312773

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Brest gets around 99 mm of rain and snow over 15.3 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 49% and peaks near 53% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
151
252
352
452
553
653
753
853
953
1053
1153
1253
1353
1452
1552
1651
1750
1849
1949
2048
2147
2246
2346
2445
2545
2644
2744
2844
2944
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 24 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 23 km/h on the calmest days to 25 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0102030151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
125breezy
225breezy
325breezy
425breezy
525breezy
625breezy
725breezy
825breezy
925breezy
1025breezy
1125breezy
1225breezy
1324breezy
1424breezy
1524breezy
1624breezy
1724breezy
1824breezy
1924breezy
2024breezy
2124breezy
2224breezy
2324breezy
2424breezy
2524breezy
2624breezy
2723breezy
2823breezy
2923breezy
3023breezy
3123breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 06 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 9:16 AM to 8:58 AM, and sunset from 5:26 PM to 6:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.29:165:26
28.29:165:27
38.29:165:28
48.29:165:29
58.29:165:30
68.39:155:31
78.39:155:32
88.39:155:33
98.39:155:34
108.49:145:36
118.49:145:37
128.49:145:38
138.49:135:39
148.59:135:40
158.59:125:42
168.59:115:43
178.69:115:44
188.69:105:46
198.69:095:47
208.79:095:49
218.79:085:50
228.79:075:51
238.89:065:53
248.89:055:54
258.99:045:56
268.99:035:57
278.99:025:59
289.09:016:00
299.09:006:02
309.18:596:03
319.18:586:05

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.07 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.89 kWh/m² to a high of 6.38 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.07 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.9Dim
20.9Dim
30.9Dim
40.9Dim
50.9Dim
60.9Dim
70.9Dim
80.9Dim
91.0Dim
101.0Dim
111.0Dim
121.0Dim
131.0Dim
141.0Dim
151.1Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.2Dim
221.2Dim
231.2Dim
241.2Dim
251.2Dim
261.3Dim
271.3Dim
281.3Dim
291.3Dim
301.4Dim
311.4Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Brest?

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

1.8
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Brest.

What to pack for Brest in January

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

In January, Brest sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 7°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a windbreaker. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara windbreaker

Sea temperature near Brest in January

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 16°C and coldest in February near 10°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

8°10°12°14°16°18°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan11Bracing
Feb10Bracing
Mar10Bracing
Apr11Bracing
May13Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul15Cool
Aug16Cool
Sep15Cool
Oct15Bracing
Nov14Bracing
Dec12Bracing

UV index in Brest 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 Brest peaks around August 14 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 14UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul6High
Aug7High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Brest?

Brest sits at 48.4°N, 4.5°W, 49 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Landerneau, 19 km away.

Topography around Brest

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Brest has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 109 m around an average of 39 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 182 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 384 m.

The land around Brest is covered by artificial surfaces (46%), water (28%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, trees (27%), water (25%) and cropland (21%) within 16 km, and water (56%) within 80 km.

3 km
109 m
16 km
182 m
80 km
384 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Landerneau 19 km · Douarnenez 35 km · Quimper 52 km · Morlaix 53 km · Concarneau 71 km · Lannion 85 km · Ploemeur 107 km · Lorient 109 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 77% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$48,986
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.3
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 539
Religion
Roman Catholic 47%none 33%Muslim 4%Protestant 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 Brest (48.3903°, -4.4863°, elevation 49 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).