Garmisch-Partenkirchen weather in January

In January, Garmisch-Partenkirchen sees average daytime highs of 0°C and overnight lows near -8°C, with 87 mm of precipitation across 12.6 wet days and about 8.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

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

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 18 min at the start of January to 9 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Garmisch-Partenkirchen's 3rd-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Garmisch-Partenkirchen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-8°
1st coldest
Precipitation
87 mm
12.6 wet days
Daylight
8 h 36 min
8:06 AM – 4:44 PM
Cloud cover
61%
3rd clearest
Wind
6 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
1.45 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 4 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 0°C through the month.

A typical January day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen reaches about 0°C in the afternoon and slips back to -8°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -5°C and 6°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-20°-10°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
10-8
20-8
30-8
40-8
50-8
60-8
70-8
80-8
90-8
100-8
110-8
120-8
130-8
140-8
150-8
160-8
170-8
180-8
190-8
200-8
210-8
220-8
230-8
240-8
250-8
260-8
270-8
280-8
290-8
301-8
311-8

How January really feels in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -8°8712.611.78.70.0
Feb / -7°8111.911.69.90.0
Mar / -3°11015.411.811.60.4
Apr10° / 11715.68.713.31.9
May15° / 18720.82.914.93.3
Jun18° / 20220.30.415.74.3
Jul20° / 10°20219.50.115.44.9
Aug19° / 10°20318.70.214.15.0
Sep15° / 14215.3112.44.1
Oct11° / 10913.14.310.62.7
Nov / -2°9912.48.99.10.5
Dec / -7°9413.511.88.30.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% 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 58%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
24159
34060
44159
54159
64159
74258
84258
94258
104258
114258
124357
134456
144456
154456
164456
174456
184555
194456
204456
214456
224357
234357
244357
254357
264357
274258
284159
294159
304060
314060

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Garmisch-Partenkirchen gets around 87 mm of rain and snow over 12.6 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 40% and peaks near 45% on the wettest days, and about 12 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14540
24440
34439
44439
54338
64338
74237
84136
94036
103935
113935
123834
133734
143734
153734
163735
173735
183735
193836
203836
213837
223937
233938
243938
254038
264038
274038
284038
294139
304139
314139

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, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 6 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
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 18 min at the start of January to 9 h 12 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 8:10 AM to 7:53 AM, and sunset from 4:28 PM to 5:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.38:104:28
28.38:104:29
38.38:104:30
48.38:104:31
58.48:104:32
68.48:094:33
78.48:094:34
88.48:094:35
98.58:094:36
108.58:084:37
118.58:084:38
128.58:084:39
138.68:074:40
148.68:074:42
158.68:064:43
168.68:064:44
178.78:054:45
188.78:044:47
198.78:044:48
208.88:034:49
218.88:024:51
228.88:014:52
238.98:014:54
248.98:004:55
259.07:594:57
269.07:584:58
279.07:574:59
289.17:565:01
299.17:555:02
309.27:545:04
319.27:535:05

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.45 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.16 kWh/m² to a high of 5.2 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.45 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.2Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.2Dim
51.2Dim
61.3Dim
71.3Dim
81.3Dim
91.3Dim
101.3Dim
111.4Dim
121.4Dim
131.4Dim
141.4Dim
151.4Dim
161.4Dim
171.5Dim
181.5Dim
191.5Dim
201.5Dim
211.6Dim
221.6Dim
231.6Dim
241.6Dim
251.7Dim
261.7Dim
271.7Dim
281.8Dim
291.8Dim
301.8Dim
311.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen?

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
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

What to pack for Garmisch-Partenkirchen in January

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

In January, Garmisch-Partenkirchen sees daytime highs around 0°C and nights near -8°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen peaks around July 12 at about 8 (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 12UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Garmisch-Partenkirchen?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen sits at 47.5°N, 11.1°E, 705 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Telfs, 21 km away.

Topography around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Garmisch-Partenkirchen has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 898 m around an average of 855 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,307 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,249 m.

The land around Garmisch-Partenkirchen is covered by trees (64%) within 3 km, trees (72%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
898 m
16 km
2,307 m
80 km
3,249 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Telfs 21 km · Fussen 31 km · Hötting 32 km · Innsbruck 34 km · Wilten 34 km · Pradl 35 km · Penzberg 36 km · Igls 37 km

Germany travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 80% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,496
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 615
Religion
none 44%Roman Catholic 25%Protestant 23%other 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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen (47.4921°, 11.0958°, elevation 705 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).