Seto in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Seto sees average daytime highs around 11°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 169 mm of precipitation over about 18 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Seto's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Seto's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
11°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
1°C
Precipitation
169 mm
18 wet days
Avg wind
9 km/h
Travel score
2.8
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Seto in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C.

A typical winter day in Seto reaches about 11°C and drops to 1°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-5°10°15°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Seto

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 77 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
77
wind chill below the day's low

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

Seto weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 545.70.39.92.2
Feb11° / 606.50.610.72.7
Mar14° / 11010.1011.74.3
Apr19° / 12310.6012.96.1
May24° / 14°14410.6013.86.7
Jun27° / 19°17814.3014.35.5
Jul31° / 23°19015014.14.0
Aug32° / 24°11211.8013.33.7
Sep29° / 20°18612.1012.25.3
Oct23° / 14°17110.3011.16.8
Nov17° / 857.2010.15.9
Dec12° / 5560.19.73.5

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Seto gets around 169 mm of rain and snow over 18 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.0 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Seto

In seasonPeak

In winter, Seto overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Seto sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Seto?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

2.8
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Seto.

What to pack for Seto in Winter

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

In winter, Seto sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer. About 18 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Seto in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 15°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 45 km away) is warmest in August at about 27°C and coldest in February near 13°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 31 to Nov 9 — about 5.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan14Bracing
Feb13Bracing
Mar14Bracing
Apr15Cool
May18Cool
Jun22Refreshing
Jul25Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep26Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov19Cool
Dec17Cool

UV index in Seto in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Seto peaks around July 12 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 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 highModerateJul 12UV 10Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Seto in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Seto is worst in April — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (December, 13 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateApr 1322 µg/m³Dec 1813 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan14Moderate
Feb17Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr22Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun19Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct15Moderate
Nov15Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Seto?

Seto sits at 35.2°N, 137.1°E, 111 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Owariasahi, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Seto

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Seto has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 181 m around an average of 140 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 714 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,926 m.

The land around Seto is covered by artificial surfaces (47%) and trees (44%) within 3 km, trees (55%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 16 km, and trees (64%) within 80 km.

3 km
181 m
16 km
714 m
80 km
2,926 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Owariasahi 7.0 km · Nagakute 8.0 km · Tajimi 10 km · Nisshin 12 km · Kasugai 12 km · Toki 15 km · Morowa 15 km · Miyoshi 16 km

Japan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
100 V · 50 / 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$35,951
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 446
Religion
Shintoism 49%Buddhism 46%other 4%Christianity 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 Seto (35.2333°, 137.1°, elevation 111 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.