Sāmarrā’ weather in January

In January, Sāmarrā’ sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 35 mm of rain across 5.8 wet days and about 10 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 16°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 48 min at the start of January to 10 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Sāmarrā’'s 12th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sāmarrā’'s year-round climate.

Daytime high
16°
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Rainfall
35 mm
5.8 wet days
Daylight
10 hours
7:15 AM – 5:12 PM
Cloud cover
40%
12th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
3.08 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.6
out of 10

Sāmarrā’ is city in Iraq.

Density
1,053/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 16°C through the month.

A typical January day in Sāmarrā’ reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 3°C cooler than February.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1166
2166
3166
4166
5166
6166
7166
8166
9166
10166
11166
12166
13156
14156
15156
16156
17156
18156
19156
20156
21156
22166
23166
24166
25166
26166
27166
28166
29166
30166
31166

How January really feels in Sāmarrā’

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.

Sāmarrā’ 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 daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan16° / 355.8105.6
Feb18° / 304.410.77.0
Mar24° / 12°284.511.78.1
Apr30° / 17°172.912.86.1
May37° / 23°4113.82.1
Jun42° / 28°00.114.20.0
Jul45° / 30°00140.0
Aug44° / 30°0013.30.0
Sep40° / 25°00.112.20.4
Oct34° / 20°111.711.14.1
Nov24° / 12°253.810.28.1
Dec18° / 325.59.86.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 31%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16832
26832
36832
46733
56733
66733
76733
86733
96733
106832
116832
126931
136931
146931
156832
166832
176832
186832
196931
206931
216931
226931
237030
247030
257030
267030
277030
287030
297129
307129
317129

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Sāmarrā’ gets around 35 mm of rain over 5.8 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 rain averages around 18% and peaks near 20% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
117
217
317
418
518
618
718
817
917
1017
1117
1217
1317
1417
1517
1617
1717
1817
1918
2018
2119
2219
2319
2420
2520
2620
2720
2820
2920
3020
3120

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 99% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1991
2991
3991
4991
5991
6991
7991
8991
9991
101000
111000
121000
131000
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
21991
22991
23991
24991
25991
26991
27991
28991
29991
30991
31991

Wind in January

Winds average 10 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min at the start of January to 10 h 18 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 7:15 AM to 7:09 AM, and sunset from 5:00 PM to 5:26 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.87:155:00
29.87:155:01
39.87:155:02
49.87:165:02
59.87:165:03
69.87:165:04
79.87:165:05
89.87:165:05
99.87:165:06
109.97:165:07
119.97:165:08
129.97:165:09
139.97:165:10
149.97:165:11
159.97:155:11
1610.07:155:12
1710.07:155:13
1810.07:155:14
1910.07:145:15
2010.07:145:16
2110.17:145:17
2210.17:145:18
2310.17:135:19
2410.17:135:20
2510.17:125:21
2610.27:125:22
2710.27:115:23
2810.27:115:24
2910.27:105:25
3010.37:105:25
3110.37:095:26

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.08 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.77 kWh/m² to a high of 7.96 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 3.08 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.8Moderate
22.8Moderate
32.8Moderate
42.9Moderate
52.9Moderate
62.9Moderate
72.9Moderate
82.9Moderate
92.9Moderate
103.0Moderate
113.0Moderate
123.0Moderate
133.0Moderate
143.1Moderate
153.1Moderate
163.1Moderate
173.1Moderate
183.1Moderate
193.2Moderate
203.2Moderate
213.2Moderate
223.3Moderate
233.3Moderate
243.3Moderate
253.3Moderate
263.4Moderate
273.4Moderate
283.4Moderate
293.5Moderate
303.5Moderate
313.5Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Sāmarrā’

In seasonPeak

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

Sāmarrā’ sees seasonal dust haze (March–August), heaviest in May.

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

Is January a good time to visit Sāmarrā’?

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

5.6
Sightseeing
6th-best month of the year
0.5
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Sāmarrā’ for sightseeing.

What to pack for Sāmarrā’ in January

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

In January, Sāmarrā’ sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Sāmarrā’ in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Sāmarrā’ peaks around June 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 13UV 9Jan 11UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul5Moderate
Aug8Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Sāmarrā’ 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 Sāmarrā’ is worst in March — around 59 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorUnhealthyPoorMar 1859 µg/m³Nov 1553 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan53Poor
Feb53Poor
Mar59Unhealthy
Apr55Poor
May58Unhealthy
Jun56Unhealthy
Jul56Unhealthy
Aug56Unhealthy
Sep55Poor
Oct55Poor
Nov53Poor
Dec55Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Sāmarrā’?

Sāmarrā’ sits at 34.2°N, 43.9°E, 80 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Balad, 31 km away.

Al-'AlamKhālişBaqubahBayjīAl Fallūjah

Topography around Sāmarrā’

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sāmarrā’ has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 36 m around an average of 74 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 63 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 329 m.

The land around Sāmarrā’ is covered by artificial surfaces (50%) and bare terrain (31%) within 3 km, cropland (58%) and bare terrain (31%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (51%) and cropland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
36 m
16 km
63 m
80 km
329 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Balad 31 km · Ad Dujayl 50 km · Tikrīt 50 km · Al-'Alam 60 km · Khāliş 74 km · Baqubah 83 km · Bayjī 89 km · Al Fallūjah 95 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 Sāmarrā’ (34.1959°, 43.8857°, elevation 80 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).