Kirkuk weather in January

In January, Kirkuk sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 87 mm of precipitation across 10 wet days and about 9.9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 36 min at the start of January to 10 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Kirkuk's 12th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kirkuk's year-round climate.

Daytime high
13°
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
87 mm
10 wet days
Daylight
9 h 48 min
7:16 AM – 5:07 PM
Cloud cover
49%
12th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
2.75 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.7
out of 10

Kirkuk is city in Iraq.

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 13°C through the month.

A typical January day in Kirkuk reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 17°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1145
2135
3135
4135
5134
6134
7134
8134
9134
10134
11134
12134
13134
14134
15134
16134
17134
18124
19124
20124
21124
22124
23124
24124
25134
26134
27134
28134
29134
30134
31134

How January really feels in Kirkuk

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.

Kirkuk weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan13° / 87100.79.93.7
Feb15° / 789.60.510.74.5
Mar19° / 779.20.111.76.5
Apr25° / 14°537.2012.97.4
May32° / 19°173.6013.84.7
Jun39° / 24°10.3014.31.0
Jul42° / 27°00.1014.20.0
Aug42° / 27°00.1013.30.0
Sep38° / 22°10.4012.21.8
Oct30° / 17°292.7011.16.0
Nov21° / 10°576.3010.17.4
Dec15° / 818.90.19.64.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 41%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15941
25941
35941
45941
55941
65842
75842
85842
95842
105842
115842
125842
135842
145941
155941
165941
175941
185941
195941
205941
215941
225941
235842
245842
255842
265842
275941
285941
295941
305941
316040

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Kirkuk gets around 87 mm of rain and snow over 10 wet days in January, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 32% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1301
2301
3311
4312
5312
6312
7312
8312
9312
10313
11303
12303
13303
14293
15293
16293
17293
18293
19303
20303
21312
22322
23332
24342
25352
26352
27362
28362
29362
30372
31372

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 9 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
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
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min at the start of January to 10 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:16 AM to 7:10 AM, and sunset from 4:55 PM to 5:22 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.67:164:55
29.77:174:56
39.77:174:56
49.77:174:57
59.77:174:58
69.77:174:59
79.77:174:59
89.77:175:00
99.77:175:01
109.77:175:02
119.87:175:03
129.87:175:04
139.87:175:04
149.87:175:05
159.87:165:06
169.87:165:07
179.97:165:08
189.97:165:09
199.97:155:10
209.97:155:11
2110.07:155:12
2210.07:145:13
2310.07:145:14
2410.07:145:15
2510.07:135:16
2610.17:135:17
2710.17:125:18
2810.17:115:19
2910.27:115:20
3010.27:105:21
3110.27:105:22

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.75 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.51 kWh/m² to a high of 7.97 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.75 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.5Moderate
22.5Moderate
32.5Moderate
42.5Moderate
52.6Moderate
62.6Moderate
72.6Moderate
82.6Moderate
92.6Moderate
102.7Moderate
112.7Moderate
122.7Moderate
132.7Moderate
142.8Moderate
152.8Moderate
162.8Moderate
172.8Moderate
182.8Moderate
192.9Moderate
202.9Moderate
212.9Moderate
222.9Moderate
232.9Moderate
242.9Moderate
253.0Moderate
263.0Moderate
273.0Moderate
283.0Moderate
293.0Moderate
303.1Moderate
313.1Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Kirkuk

In seasonPeak

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

Kirkuk sees seasonal dust haze (April–June), heaviest in May.

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

Is January a good time to visit Kirkuk?

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

3.7
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kirkuk.

What to pack for Kirkuk in January

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

In January, Kirkuk sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Kirkuk in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kirkuk peaks around June 15 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateJun 15UV 10Jan 12UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul7High
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Kirkuk 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 Kirkuk is worst in March — around 55 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorUnhealthyPoorMay 1555 µg/m³Jan 1548 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan48Poor
Feb50Poor
Mar55Unhealthy
Apr55Poor
May55Unhealthy
Jun55Poor
Jul52Poor
Aug53Poor
Sep55Poor
Oct54Poor
Nov49Poor
Dec49Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Kirkuk?

Kirkuk sits at 35.5°N, 44.4°E, 346 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Tāzah Khūrmātū, 19 km away.

Ţūz KhūrmātūKoysinceqKhasnahzānErbilHajiawa

Topography around Kirkuk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kirkuk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 79 m around an average of 348 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 407 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,748 m.

The land around Kirkuk is covered by artificial surfaces (77%) within 3 km, cropland (33%), grassland (30%) and bare terrain (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (41%) and cropland (41%) within 80 km.

3 km
79 m
16 km
407 m
80 km
1,748 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Tāzah Khūrmātū 19 km · Jamjamāl 41 km · Shūrash 41 km · Ţūz Khūrmātū 68 km · Koysinceq 72 km · Khasnahzān 85 km · Erbil 87 km · Hajiawa 93 km

Iraq travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / D / G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 38% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$5,410
2025
Happiness
5.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
60%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
9.5
per 100k, 2013
Road deaths
27.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 406
Religion
Christian 1%

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 Kirkuk (35.4681°, 44.3922°, elevation 346 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).