Nuuk weather in January

In January, Nuuk sees average daytime highs of -10°C and overnight lows near -15°C, with 56 mm of precipitation across 9.4 wet days and about 4.9 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 9th-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 18% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 3 h 48 min at the start of January to 6 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Nuuk's 8th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nuuk's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-10°
11th warmest
Overnight low
-15°
1st coldest
Precipitation
56 mm
9.4 wet days
Daylight
4 h 48 min
10:11 AM – 3:01 PM
Cloud cover
75%
8th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0.19 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Nuuk is capital of Greenland.

Density
22/km²
people per km²
Founded
1721

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 Nuuk reaches about -10°C in the afternoon and slips back to -15°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -19°C and -0°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and on par with February.

-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-9-14
2-9-15
3-9-15
4-9-15
5-10-15
6-10-15
7-10-15
8-10-15
9-10-16
10-10-16
11-10-16
12-10-16
13-10-16
14-10-16
15-10-16
16-10-16
17-10-16
18-10-16
19-10-16
20-10-16
21-10-15
22-10-15
23-10-15
24-10-15
25-9-15
26-9-15
27-9-15
28-9-15
29-9-15
30-9-15
31-10-15

How January really feels in Nuuk

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.

Nuuk weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-10° / -15°569.411.74.90.0
Feb-10° / -15°427.19.57.90.0
Mar-8° / -13°487.89.411.20.0
Apr-2° / -7°538.1914.60.0
May / -2°588.26.917.90.0
Jun / 659.61.920.21.4
Jul11° / 6290.219.22.6
Aug10° / 7811.40.316.12.1
Sep / 9712.43.512.70.6
Oct / -4°7910.48.39.30.0
Nov-5° / -10°7711.111.360.0
Dec-8° / -13°6210.511.73.80.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 7% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12773
22872
32872
42971
52971
63070
73070
83070
93070
103070
113070
123070
132872
142872
152872
162773
172674
182674
192575
202377
212278
222278
232179
242179
252179
262179
272080
282080
292080
302080
312179

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Nuuk gets around 56 mm of rain and snow over 9.4 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 30% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 12 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12833
22732
32732
42631
52631
62531
72531
82531
92632
102633
112734
122735
132836
142937
153038
163139
173140
183242
193343
203444
213544
223545
233545
243544
253544
263543
273443
283442
293341
303240
313139

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.

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
114light breeze
214light breeze
314light breeze
414light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
714light breeze
814light breeze
914light breeze
1014light breeze
1114light breeze
1214light breeze
1314light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2415light breeze
2515light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 3 h 48 min at the start of January to 6 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 150 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 10:37 AM to 9:30 AM, and sunset from 2:23 PM to 3:50 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
13.810:372:23
23.810:362:25
33.910:352:27
43.910:342:29
54.010:322:31
64.010:312:34
74.110:292:36
84.210:282:39
94.310:262:41
104.310:242:44
114.410:222:47
124.510:202:49
134.610:182:52
144.710:162:55
154.710:132:58
164.810:113:01
174.910:093:04
185.010:063:08
195.110:043:11
205.210:013:14
215.39:593:17
225.49:563:20
235.59:533:24
245.69:503:27
255.79:483:30
265.89:453:33
275.99:423:37
286.09:393:40
296.19:363:43
306.29:333:47
316.39:303:50

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.19 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.06 kWh/m² to a high of 5.72 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.19 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.1Dim
20.1Dim
30.1Dim
40.1Dim
50.1Dim
60.1Dim
70.1Dim
80.1Dim
90.1Dim
100.1Dim
110.1Dim
120.1Dim
130.1Dim
140.2Dim
150.2Dim
160.2Dim
170.2Dim
180.2Dim
190.2Dim
200.2Dim
210.2Dim
220.3Dim
230.3Dim
240.3Dim
250.3Dim
260.3Dim
270.3Dim
280.4Dim
290.4Dim
300.4Dim
310.4Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Nuuk?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nuuk.

What to pack for Nuuk in January

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

In January, Nuuk sees daytime highs around -10°C and nights near -15°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Nuuk in January

The nearest coast averages about 0°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 5°C and coldest in February near -0°C.

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

-2°0°2°4°6°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan0Bracing
Feb0Bracing
Mar0Bracing
Apr0Bracing
May1Bracing
Jun3Bracing
Jul5Bracing
Aug5Bracing
Sep4Bracing
Oct3Bracing
Nov2Bracing
Dec1Bracing

UV index in Nuuk in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nuuk peaks around June 17 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 17UV 5Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr3Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep2Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Nuuk?

Nuuk sits at 64.2°N, 51.7°W, 5 m above sea level, in Greenland. The nearest listed city is Keflavik, 1,404 km away.

KeflavikReykjanesbærKópavogurHafnarfjörðurReykjavikAkureyriVik

Topography around Nuuk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nuuk has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 349 m around an average of 21 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,157 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,598 m.

The land around Nuuk is covered by water (65%) within 3 km, water (51%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and water (47%), moss and lichen (21%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
349 m
16 km
1,157 m
80 km
1,598 m
grasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Keflavik 1,404 km · Reykjanesbær 1,405 km · Kópavogur 1,432 km · Hafnarfjörður 1,432 km · Reykjavik 1,432 km · Akureyri 1,574 km · Vik 1,590 km · Corner Brook 1,734 km

Greenland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E / F / K
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 77% of US
price level, 2023
GDP per capita
$58,499
2023
Homicide rate
5.4
per 100k, 2016
Income group
High
World Bank

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 Nuuk (64.1835°, -51.7216°, elevation 5 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).