Gap weather in January

In January, Gap sees average daytime highs of 5°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 79 mm of precipitation across 9.3 wet days and about 9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 5°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 47% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 42 min at the start of January to 9 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Gap's 6th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Gap's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-5°
1st coldest
Precipitation
79 mm
9.3 wet days
Daylight
9 hours
8:15 AM – 5:15 PM
Cloud cover
48%
6th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
1.83 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10
Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 10.6 µg/m³ · 2019

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 5°C through the month.

A typical January day in Gap reaches about 5°C in the afternoon and slips back to -5°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-15°-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
15-4
25-4
35-4
45-4
55-4
65-4
75-4
85-4
95-4
105-5
115-5
125-5
135-5
145-5
155-5
165-5
175-5
185-5
195-5
205-5
215-5
225-5
235-5
245-5
255-5
265-5
275-5
285-5
295-5
305-5
315-5

How January really feels in Gap

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
wind chill below the day's low

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Gap weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -5°799.36.590.0
Feb / -4°577.65.410.10.6
Mar10° / -1°708.8311.62.6
Apr13° / 8611.22.113.23.7
May17° / 9011.70.214.65.4
Jun21° / 10°638.8015.36.9
Jul24° / 12°396.60158.0
Aug24° / 11°445.8013.98.0
Sep20° / 697.4012.36.9
Oct15° / 1009.10.410.74.8
Nov / -0°11910.82.99.42.0
Dec / -3°909.75.48.70.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 47% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 41%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15644
25644
35644
45644
55644
65644
75644
85644
95743
105842
115842
125941
135941
145941
156040
166040
176139
186139
196238
206139
216139
226139
236139
246139
256040
266040
276139
286040
296040
306040
315941

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Gap gets around 79 mm of rain and snow over 9.3 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 30% and peaks near 34% on the wettest days, and about 7 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13422
23422
33422
43422
53422
63322
73321
83221
93221
103121
113121
123021
133021
142921
152921
162921
172821
182821
192821
202821
212821
222821
232721
242720
252720
262720
272720
282620
292620
302620
312620

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 6 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 42 min at the start of January to 9 h 30 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 8:18 AM to 8:04 AM, and sunset from 5:00 PM to 5:34 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.78:185:00
28.78:185:00
38.78:185:01
48.78:185:02
58.78:185:03
68.88:185:04
78.88:185:05
88.88:185:06
98.88:185:07
108.88:175:08
118.98:175:09
128.98:175:10
138.98:175:11
148.98:165:12
159.08:165:13
169.08:155:15
179.08:155:16
189.08:145:17
199.18:145:18
209.18:135:20
219.18:125:21
229.28:125:22
239.28:115:23
249.28:105:25
259.38:105:26
269.38:095:27
279.38:085:29
289.48:075:30
299.48:065:31
309.58:055:33
319.58:045:34

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.83 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.5 kWh/m² to a high of 6.95 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.83 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.5Dim
21.5Dim
31.5Dim
41.6Dim
51.6Dim
61.6Dim
71.6Dim
81.6Dim
91.6Dim
101.7Dim
111.7Dim
121.7Dim
131.7Dim
141.8Dim
151.8Dim
161.8Dim
171.9Dim
181.9Dim
191.9Dim
201.9Dim
212.0Dim
222.0Moderate
232.0Moderate
242.1Moderate
252.1Moderate
262.1Moderate
272.2Moderate
282.2Moderate
292.2Moderate
302.3Moderate
312.3Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Gap?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Gap.

What to pack for Gap in January

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

In January, Gap sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Gap 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 Gap peaks around July 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 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 16UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May7High
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Gap?

Gap sits at 44.6°N, 6.1°E, 741 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Digne-les-Bains, 53 km away.

Topography around Gap

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gap has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 450 m around an average of 843 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,079 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,777 m.

The land around Gap is covered by trees (47%), grassland (25%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, trees (55%) and grassland (34%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) and grassland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
450 m
16 km
2,079 m
80 km
3,777 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainmoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Digne-les-Bains 53 km · Échirolles 71 km · Saint-Martin-d'Hères 73 km · Grenoble 75 km · Meylan 76 km · Fontaine 77 km · Saint-Égrève 81 km · Manosque 84 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 Gap (44.5586°, 6.0787°, elevation 741 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).