Leipzig weather in January

In January, Leipzig sees average daytime highs of 3°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 48 mm of precipitation across 11.4 wet days and about 8.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 3°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Leipzig's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Leipzig's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
1st coldest
Precipitation
48 mm
11.4 wet days
Daylight
8 h 06 min
8:16 AM – 4:23 PM
Cloud cover
74%
10th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.83 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Leipzig is largest city in Saxony, Germany.

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 10.6 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,696/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 3°C through the month.

A typical January day in Leipzig reaches about 3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -1°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -3°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
14-1
24-1
34-1
44-1
54-1
64-1
74-1
84-1
94-1
104-1
114-1
124-1
134-1
144-1
154-1
164-1
173-1
183-1
193-1
203-1
213-1
223-1
233-1
243-1
253-1
263-1
273-1
283-1
293-1
303-1
313-1

How January really feels in Leipzig

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.

Leipzig weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -1°4811.44.28.20.0
Feb / -1°379.73.89.60.1
Mar / 4911.8211.51.6
Apr14° / 389.30.413.54.1
May19° / 6110.8015.35.7
Jun22° / 12°5911016.36.3
Jul24° / 14°7411.9015.96.6
Aug24° / 14°6211.2014.46.7
Sep19° / 11°569.6012.46.0
Oct14° / 4810.20.110.43.8
Nov / 5210.71.38.61.1
Dec / 5112.43.67.70.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 73%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12476
22575
32575
42575
52575
62674
72674
82773
92872
102971
112971
122971
132971
142971
153070
163070
172971
182971
192971
202971
212872
222674
232575
242575
252575
262575
272575
282476
292476
302476
312476

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Leipzig gets around 48 mm of rain and snow over 11.4 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 36% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14013
23913
33912
43912
53912
63811
73811
83811
93711
103610
113610
123510
133411
143411
153311
163312
173312
183313
193314
203314
213415
223516
233516
243616
253617
263617
273717
283717
293617
303616
313616

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 15 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1414light breeze
1514light breeze
1614light breeze
1714light breeze
1814light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:23 AM to 8:00 AM, and sunset from 4:05 PM to 4:47 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.78:234:05
27.78:224:06
37.78:224:07
47.88:224:08
57.88:224:09
67.88:224:10
77.88:214:11
87.98:214:12
97.98:214:14
107.98:204:15
117.98:204:16
128.08:194:18
138.08:194:19
148.08:184:20
158.18:174:22
168.18:164:23
178.18:164:25
188.28:154:26
198.28:144:28
208.38:134:29
218.38:124:31
228.48:114:32
238.48:104:34
248.48:094:36
258.58:084:37
268.58:074:39
278.68:054:41
288.68:044:42
298.78:034:44
308.78:024:46
318.88:004:47

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.83 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.65 kWh/m² to a high of 5.38 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.83 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.7Dim
80.7Dim
90.7Dim
100.8Dim
110.8Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.9Dim
190.9Dim
200.9Dim
210.9Dim
220.9Dim
230.9Dim
241.0Dim
251.0Dim
261.0Dim
271.0Dim
281.1Dim
291.1Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Leipzig?

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

0.0
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 Leipzig.

What to pack for Leipzig in January

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

In January, Leipzig sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Leipzig 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 Leipzig peaks around July 11 at about 6 (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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 11UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Leipzig?

Leipzig sits at 51.3°N, 12.4°E, 116 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Gohlis, 3.0 km away.

Topography around Leipzig

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Leipzig has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 61 m around an average of 116 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 107 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 637 m.

The land around Leipzig is covered by artificial surfaces (58%) and trees (35%) within 3 km, cropland (42%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and cropland (53%) and trees (27%) within 80 km.

3 km
61 m
16 km
107 m
80 km
637 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Gohlis 3.0 km · Markkleeberg 7.0 km · Schkeuditz 12 km · Delitzsch 21 km · Eilenburg 23 km · Borna 25 km · Wurzen 26 km · Merseburg 27 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 Leipzig (51.3396°, 12.3713°, elevation 116 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).