Delhi weather in January

In January, Delhi sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 27 mm of rain across 2.7 wet days and about 10.4 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 20°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 66% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 12 min at the start of January to 10 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Delhi's 8th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Delhi's year-round climate.

Daytime high
20°
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Rainfall
27 mm
2.7 wet days
Daylight
10 h 24 min
7:20 AM – 5:41 PM
Cloud cover
31%
8th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
3.9 kWh/m²
Travel score
7.9
out of 10

Delhi is megacity and union territory of India.

Air quality
Severe
PM2.5 105 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
7,436/km²
people per km²
Founded
~500 BCE

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 20°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical January day in Delhi reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 4°C cooler than February.

10°15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1208
2208
3208
4208
5198
6198
7198
8198
9198
10198
11198
12198
13198
14198
15208
16208
17209
18209
19209
20209
21209
22209
23209
24209
25219
26219
27219
28219
292110
302110
312210

How January really feels in Delhi

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 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
0
wind chill below the day's low

January sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Delhi 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 daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan20° / 272.710.47.9
Feb24° / 12°353.8118.3
Mar30° / 16°243.611.86.5
Apr36° / 22°153.212.72.4
May40° / 26°195.313.40.3
Jun38° / 28°699.813.80.9
Jul34° / 28°19219.713.62.1
Aug33° / 27°17619.7132.7
Sep33° / 25°9910.312.23.6
Oct32° / 20°142.111.35.1
Nov28° / 14°51.110.68.2
Dec22° / 10°71.210.28.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 66% 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 21%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
18515
28416
38416
48416
58416
68218
78218
88119
98020
107921
117921
127822
137723
147723
157723
167624
177624
187624
197624
207624
217624
227624
237624
247624
257723
267723
277723
287822
297921
307921
317921

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Delhi gets around 27 mm of rain over 2.7 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 9% and peaks near 12% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
15
25
36
46
56
66
76
87
97
107
118
128
139
149
159
169
1710
1810
1910
2010
2111
2211
2311
2411
2510
2610
2710
2811
2911
3011
3112

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 94% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1973
2973
3973
4973
5973
6964
7964
8964
9964
10964
11955
12955
13955
14955
15955
16955
17955
18946
19946
20946
21946
22937
23937
24937
25937
26937
27937
28928
29928
30919
31919

Wind in January

Winds average 9 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 12 min at the start of January to 10 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 24 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:18 AM to 7:16 AM, and sunset from 5:30 PM to 5:53 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.27:185:30
210.27:185:31
310.27:195:32
410.27:195:32
510.27:195:33
610.27:195:34
710.37:195:34
810.37:195:35
910.37:205:36
1010.37:205:37
1110.37:205:37
1210.37:205:38
1310.37:205:39
1410.37:205:40
1510.37:205:40
1610.47:205:41
1710.47:195:42
1810.47:195:43
1910.47:195:44
2010.47:195:44
2110.47:195:45
2210.57:195:46
2310.57:185:47
2410.57:185:48
2510.57:185:48
2610.57:185:49
2710.57:175:50
2810.67:175:51
2910.67:165:52
3010.67:165:52
3110.67:165:53

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.9 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.77 kWh/m² to a high of 7.31 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 3.9 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

012345151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.7Moderate
23.7Moderate
33.7Moderate
43.7Moderate
53.7Moderate
63.8Moderate
73.8Moderate
83.8Moderate
93.8Moderate
103.8Moderate
113.8Moderate
123.8Moderate
133.8Moderate
143.8Moderate
153.9Moderate
163.9Moderate
173.9Moderate
183.9Moderate
193.9Moderate
204.0Moderate
214.0Moderate
224.0Bright
234.0Bright
244.1Bright
254.1Bright
264.1Bright
274.2Bright
284.2Bright
294.2Bright
304.3Bright
314.3Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Delhi

In seasonPeak

None of Delhi's seasonal hazards are active in January. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Delhi's monsoon runs July–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Delhi sees seasonal dust haze (May–August), heaviest in June.

Monsoon
Dust
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Delhi?

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

7.9
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
4.2
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is one of the better times to visit Delhi for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Delhi in January

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

In January, Delhi sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 9°C. Little to plan around — just the basics.

UV index in Delhi in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Delhi peaks around August 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 4 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highHighModerateAug 15UV 9Jan 1UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar8Very high
Apr8Very high
May9Very high
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec4Moderate

Air quality in Delhi in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where January falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Delhi is worst in November — around 168 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 3.2× the cleanest month (July, 53 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Delhi's WHO annual average of 105 µg/m³.

0306090120150180JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery unhealthyUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyVery unhealthyNov 23168 µg/m³Jul 2153 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan159Very unhealthy
Feb137Unhealthy
Mar105Unhealthy
Apr79Unhealthy
May68Unhealthy
Jun63Unhealthy
Jul53Poor
Aug55Unhealthy
Sep75Unhealthy
Oct132Unhealthy
Nov168Very unhealthy
Dec167Very unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Delhi?

Delhi sits at 28.7°N, 77.2°E, 227 m above sea level, in India. The nearest listed city is Fatehpur Sikri, 178 km away.

AgraRishikeshJaipurShimlaBhimdattaDhangaḍhi̇̄Amargaḍhi̇̄

Topography around Delhi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Delhi has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 48 m around an average of 218 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 91 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 229 m.

The land around Delhi is covered by artificial surfaces (62%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (62%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and cropland (78%) within 80 km.

3 km
48 m
16 km
91 m
80 km
229 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Fatehpur Sikri 178 km · Agra 181 km · Rishikesh 192 km · Jaipur 239 km · Shimla 273 km · Bhimdatta 289 km · Dhangaḍhi̇̄ 328 km · Amargaḍhi̇̄ 334 km

India travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / D / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 23% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,702
2025
Happiness
4.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2.8
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
15.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 484
Religion
Hindu 80%Muslim 14%Christian 2%other and unspecified 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 Delhi (28.6519°, 77.2315°, elevation 227 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).