Shimla weather in January

In January, Shimla sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 85 mm of precipitation across 8.6 wet days and about 10.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 12°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 56% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 hours at the start of January to 10 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Shimla's 5th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Shimla's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12°
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
85 mm
8.6 wet days
Daylight
10 h 12 min
7:25 AM – 5:36 PM
Cloud cover
40%
5th clearest
Wind
5 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
3.65 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.3
out of 10

Shimla is capital of Himachal Pradesh, India.

Air quality
High
PM2.5 26 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
6,940/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 12°C through the month.

A typical January day in Shimla reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1121
2121
3121
4121
5121
6121
7121
8121
9111
10111
11111
12111
13111
14111
15111
16111
17111
18111
19111
20111
21121
22121
23121
24121
25121
26121
27121
28121
29122
30122
31122

How January really feels in Shimla

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 20 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
20
wind chill below the day's low

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

Shimla weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan12° / 858.64.110.23.3
Feb14° / 10910.73.810.94.1
Mar18° / 11213.60.811.85.6
Apr23° / 11°9812.8012.76.6
May26° / 15°7612.7013.66.6
Jun26° / 17°160170145.7
Jul25° / 19°37728.2013.84.0
Aug25° / 19°35227.8013.14.1
Sep24° / 16°19318.7012.25.8
Oct22° / 11°336.1011.27.9
Nov18° / 223.70.110.47.4
Dec14° / 304.41.1105.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 56% 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 32%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
17723
27624
37426
47426
57327
67228
77129
87030
96832
106832
116733
126733
136634
146535
156535
166535
176535
186535
196535
206535
216535
226535
236535
246634
256634
266733
276733
286733
296634
306634
316535

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Shimla gets around 85 mm of rain and snow over 8.6 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 27% and peaks near 31% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1218
2228
3229
4239
52410
62510
72511
82612
92712
102713
112713
122814
132814
142814
152815
162815
172815
182815
192815
202815
212815
222815
232815
242815
252815
262814
272914
282914
292914
303015
313115

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 5 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 hours at the start of January to 10 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:24 AM to 7:20 AM, and sunset from 5:25 PM to 5:49 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.07:245:25
210.07:245:26
310.07:255:26
410.07:255:27
510.07:255:28
610.17:255:28
710.17:255:29
810.17:255:30
910.17:255:31
1010.17:255:31
1110.17:255:32
1210.17:255:33
1310.17:255:34
1410.27:255:35
1510.27:255:35
1610.27:255:36
1710.27:255:37
1810.27:255:38
1910.27:255:39
2010.37:245:40
2110.37:245:40
2210.37:245:41
2310.37:235:42
2410.37:235:43
2510.47:235:44
2610.47:225:45
2710.47:225:46
2810.47:225:47
2910.47:215:47
3010.57:215:48
3110.57:205:49

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.65 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.57 kWh/m² to a high of 7.05 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 3.65 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

012345151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.5Moderate
23.5Moderate
33.5Moderate
43.5Moderate
53.5Moderate
63.5Moderate
73.5Moderate
83.5Moderate
93.5Moderate
103.5Moderate
113.5Moderate
123.5Moderate
133.6Moderate
143.6Moderate
153.6Moderate
163.6Moderate
173.6Moderate
183.7Moderate
193.7Moderate
203.7Moderate
213.8Moderate
223.8Moderate
233.8Moderate
243.8Moderate
253.9Moderate
263.9Moderate
273.9Moderate
283.9Moderate
294.0Moderate
304.0Moderate
314.0Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Shimla

In seasonPeak

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

Shimla's rainy season runs July–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Shimla sees seasonal dust haze (June), heaviest in June.

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

Is January a good time to visit Shimla?

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

3.3
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Shimla.

What to pack for Shimla in January

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

In January, Shimla sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Shimla 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 Shimla peaks around June 16 at about 11 (extreme) — 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 highExtremeExtremeVery highModerateJun 16UV 11Jan 1UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5High
Mar9Very high
Apr9Very high
May9Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul9Very high
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct7Very high
Nov4Moderate
Dec4Moderate

Air quality in Shimla 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 Shimla is worst in December — around 37 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.1× the cleanest month (August, 17 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Shimla's WHO annual average of 26 µg/m³.

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorDec 2037 µg/m³Aug 1318 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan36Poor
Feb30Moderate
Mar25Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun22Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct28Moderate
Nov35Moderate
Dec37Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Shimla?

Shimla sits at 31.1°N, 77.2°E, 2,073 m above sea level, in India. The nearest listed city is Rishikesh, 155 km away.

AmritsarLahoreDelhiSialkotNankana SahibLehDārchulā

Topography around Shimla

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Shimla has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 979 m around an average of 1,939 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,222 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,838 m.

The land around Shimla is covered by trees (79%) within 3 km, trees (78%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) within 80 km.

3 km
979 m
16 km
2,222 m
80 km
4,838 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Rishikesh 155 km · Amritsar 225 km · Lahore 272 km · Delhi 273 km · Sialkot 293 km · Nankana Sahib 331 km · Leh 343 km · Dārchulā 354 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 Shimla (31.1044°, 77.1666°, elevation 2,073 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).