Balykchy weather in January

In January, Balykchy sees average daytime highs of -3°C and overnight lows near -11°C, with 4 mm of precipitation across 1.4 wet days and about 9.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -3°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 54 min at the start of January to 9 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Balykchy's 7th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Balykchy's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-3°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-11°
1st coldest
Precipitation
4 mm
1.4 wet days
Daylight
9 h 12 min
8:28 AM – 5:41 PM
Cloud cover
55%
7th clearest
Wind
4 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
2.49 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Balykchy is city in Kyrgyzstan.

Density
1,128/km²
people per km²
Founded
1884

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 -3°C through the month.

A typical January day in Balykchy reaches about -3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -11°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -7°C and 2°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-2-10
2-2-11
3-2-11
4-2-11
5-2-11
6-3-11
7-3-11
8-3-11
9-3-11
10-3-11
11-3-11
12-3-11
13-3-12
14-3-12
15-3-12
16-3-12
17-3-12
18-3-12
19-3-12
20-3-12
21-3-12
22-3-12
23-3-12
24-3-12
25-3-11
26-2-11
27-2-11
28-2-11
29-2-11
30-2-11
31-2-11

How January really feels in Balykchy

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Balykchy weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-3° / -11°41.42.49.20.0
Feb-1° / -10°1033.710.30.0
Mar / -4°2376.311.60.4
Apr11° / 5112.54.213.12.6
May15° / 8017.11.214.43.7
Jun18° / 8118.10.1154.8
Jul21° / 11°7517.2014.85.5
Aug20° / 11°6515013.75.8
Sep16° / 5815.20.412.34.7
Oct10° / 3810.42.910.82.5
Nov / -4°164.849.60.3
Dec-1° / -9°82.63.48.90.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 49%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15149
25149
35149
45050
55149
65149
75149
85149
95248
105248
115248
125347
135347
145248
155347
165347
175347
185347
195347
205347
215347
225347
235248
245149
255050
264951
274951
284753
294753
304555
314555

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Balykchy gets around 4 mm of rain and snow over 1.4 wet days in January, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 5% and peaks near 8% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
179
268
368
468
558
657
757
857
957
1057
1157
1257
1357
1447
1547
1647
1747
1847
1947
2048
2148
2248
2358
2459
2559
2659
27610
28610
29711
30711
31812

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 4 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 4 km/h on the calmest days to 4 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
14calm
24calm
34calm
44calm
54calm
64calm
74calm
84calm
94calm
104calm
114calm
124calm
134calm
144calm
154calm
164calm
174calm
184calm
194calm
204calm
214calm
224calm
234calm
244calm
254calm
264calm
274calm
284calm
294calm
304calm
314calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 54 min at the start of January to 9 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 48 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:30 AM to 8:18 AM, and sunset from 5:27 PM to 5:59 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.98:305:27
28.98:305:27
39.08:305:28
49.08:305:29
59.08:305:30
69.08:305:31
79.08:305:32
89.08:305:33
99.18:305:34
109.18:305:35
119.18:305:36
129.18:305:37
139.18:295:38
149.28:295:39
159.28:295:40
169.28:285:41
179.28:285:42
189.38:275:43
199.38:275:44
209.38:265:45
219.38:265:47
229.48:255:48
239.48:245:49
249.48:245:50
259.58:235:51
269.58:225:53
279.58:225:54
289.68:215:55
299.68:205:56
309.68:195:58
319.78:185:59

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.07 kWh/m² to a high of 6.55 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.49 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.2Moderate
22.2Moderate
32.2Moderate
42.2Moderate
52.2Moderate
62.3Moderate
72.3Moderate
82.3Moderate
92.3Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.4Moderate
122.4Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.5Moderate
162.5Moderate
172.5Moderate
182.5Moderate
192.6Moderate
202.6Moderate
212.6Moderate
222.6Moderate
232.7Moderate
242.7Moderate
252.7Moderate
262.8Moderate
272.8Moderate
282.8Moderate
292.8Moderate
302.9Moderate
312.9Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Balykchy?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Balykchy.

What to pack for Balykchy in January

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

In January, Balykchy sees daytime highs around -3°C and nights near -11°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Balykchy 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 Balykchy peaks around May 20 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateLowMay 20UV 10Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May10Extreme
Jun9Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Balykchy 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 Balykchy is worst in May — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (December, 12 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMay 1322 µg/m³Dec 1512 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb15Moderate
Mar19Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May22Moderate
Jun20Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct17Moderate
Nov13Moderate
Dec12Good
Location & terrain

Where is Balykchy?

Balykchy sits at 42.5°N, 76.2°E, 1,641 m above sea level, in Kyrgyzstan. The nearest listed city is Kochkor, 45 km away.

TokmokIvanovkaAlmatyBurundayNarynKantOtegen Batyra

Topography around Balykchy

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Balykchy has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 176 m around an average of 1,655 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,214 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,853 m.

The land around Balykchy is covered by bare terrain (33%) and artificial surfaces (31%) within 3 km, grassland (37%), bare terrain (33%) and water (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (60%) within 80 km.

3 km
176 m
16 km
2,214 m
80 km
3,853 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Kochkor 45 km · Tokmok 84 km · Ivanovka 102 km · Almaty 106 km · Burunday 113 km · Naryn 116 km · Kant 119 km · Otegen Batyra 126 km

Kyrgyzstan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 33% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$3,081
2025
Happiness
6.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
74%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.7
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 443
Religion
Muslim 90%Christian 7%other 3%

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 Balykchy (42.4602°, 76.1871°, elevation 1,641 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).