Nkhotakota weather in January

In January, Nkhotakota sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 23°C, with 379 mm of rain across 29.3 wet days and about 12.7 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in January, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 42 min at the start of January to 12 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Nkhotakota's 12th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nkhotakota's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 27°; 6th warmest
Overnight low: 23°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 379 mm; 29.3 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 42 min; 5:32 AM – 6:13 PM
Cloud cover: 87%; 12th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 5.25 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.5; out of 10

Nkhotakota is human settlement in Malawi.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← December Nkhotakota year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month.

A typical January day in Nkhotakota reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 23°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 26°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

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

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

Nkhotakota weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 6th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	27° / 23°	379	29.3	12.7	3.5
Feb	27° / 23°	320	24.8	12.4	3.7
Mar	27° / 23°	252	25.7	12.1	4.1
Apr	27° / 22°	91	13.8	11.7	6.4
May	25° / 21°	9	2.4	11.4	8.6
Jun	24° / 19°	2	0.5	11.3	9.3
Jul	23° / 18°	2	0.6	11.3	9.2
Aug	25° / 19°	1	0.1	11.6	9.3
Sep	27° / 21°	1	0.2	11.9	8.6
Oct	29° / 24°	17	2.9	12.3	7.0
Nov	29° / 24°	87	12.1	12.6	5.2
Dec	28° / 23°	315	25.7	12.7	3.9

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 6% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 90%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	17	17	16	15	14	13	13	11	10	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	8	8	9	9	10	10	9	10	10	10	11	11
Cloudier (%)	83	83	84	85	86	87	87	89	90	91	92	92	92	92	92	92	92	92	93	92	92	91	91	90	90	91	90	90	90	89	89

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	17	83
2	17	83
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	14	86
6	13	87
7	13	87
8	11	89
9	10	90
10	9	91
11	8	92
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	8	92
16	8	92
17	8	92
18	8	92
19	7	93
20	8	92
21	8	92
22	9	91
23	9	91
24	10	90
25	10	90
26	9	91
27	10	90
28	10	90
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Nkhotakota gets around 379 mm of rain over 29.3 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 94% and peaks near 96% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	92	92	92	93	93	94	94	94	95	95	95	95	96	95	95	95	95	95	95	95	95	95	94	94	94	94	93	93	93	93	92

	Rain chance (%)
1	92
2	92
3	92
4	93
5	93
6	94
7	94
8	94
9	95
10	95
11	95
12	95
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	95
17	95
18	95
19	95
20	95
21	95
22	95
23	94
24	94
25	94
26	94
27	93
28	93
29	93
30	93
31	92

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the oppressive band about 89% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Muggy (%)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13
Oppressive (%)	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	90	90	90	90	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	87	87	87	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	87

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	9	91
2	9	91
3	9	91
4	9	91
5	9	91
6	9	91
7	9	91
8	9	91
9	9	91
10	10	90
11	10	90
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	11	89
16	11	89
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	13	87
24	12	88
25	12	88
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	12	88
31	13	87

Wind in January

Winds average 7 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 42 min at the start of January to 12 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:24 AM to 5:39 AM, and sunset from 6:08 PM to 6:13 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6	12.6
Sunrise (AM)	5:24	5:24	5:25	5:25	5:26	5:26	5:27	5:27	5:28	5:28	5:29	5:29	5:30	5:30	5:31	5:32	5:32	5:33	5:33	5:34	5:34	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:38	5:38	5:39
Sunset (PM)	6:08	6:09	6:09	6:10	6:10	6:10	6:10	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:14	6:14	6:14	6:14	6:13	6:13	6:13

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.7	5:24	6:08
2	12.7	5:24	6:09
3	12.7	5:25	6:09
4	12.7	5:25	6:10
5	12.7	5:26	6:10
6	12.7	5:26	6:10
7	12.7	5:27	6:10
8	12.7	5:27	6:11
9	12.7	5:28	6:11
10	12.7	5:28	6:11
11	12.7	5:29	6:12
12	12.7	5:29	6:12
13	12.7	5:30	6:12
14	12.7	5:30	6:12
15	12.7	5:31	6:12
16	12.7	5:32	6:13
17	12.7	5:32	6:13
18	12.7	5:33	6:13
19	12.7	5:33	6:13
20	12.7	5:34	6:13
21	12.7	5:34	6:13
22	12.6	5:35	6:13
23	12.6	5:35	6:13
24	12.6	5:36	6:13
25	12.6	5:36	6:14
26	12.6	5:37	6:14
27	12.6	5:37	6:14
28	12.6	5:38	6:14
29	12.6	5:38	6:13
30	12.6	5:38	6:13
31	12.6	5:39	6:13

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 5.25 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 5.05 kWh/m² to a high of 7.21 kWh/m² in October across the year — January's 5.25 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.4	Bright
2	5.4	Bright
3	5.3	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.3	Bright
6	5.3	Bright
7	5.3	Bright
8	5.3	Bright
9	5.2	Bright
10	5.2	Bright
11	5.2	Bright
12	5.2	Bright
13	5.2	Bright
14	5.2	Bright
15	5.2	Bright
16	5.2	Bright
17	5.2	Bright
18	5.2	Bright
19	5.3	Bright
20	5.3	Bright
21	5.3	Bright
22	5.3	Bright
23	5.3	Bright
24	5.3	Bright
25	5.3	Bright
26	5.3	Bright
27	5.3	Bright
28	5.3	Bright
29	5.3	Bright
30	5.3	Bright
31	5.3	Bright

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Nkhotakota

In seasonPeak

In January, Nkhotakota sits inside its cyclone and monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Nkhotakota sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

Nkhotakota's monsoon runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Cyclone

Monsoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is January a good time to visit Nkhotakota?

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

3.5

Sightseeing

12th-best month of the year

3.7

Beach & pool

12th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nkhotakota.

What to pack for Nkhotakota in January

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

In January, Nkhotakota sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 29 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Nkhotakota in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 16 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nkhotakota peaks around January 22 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 9 (very high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	16	15	15	12	9	9	9	10	11	12	12	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	16	Extreme
Feb	15	Extreme
Mar	15	Extreme
Apr	12	Extreme
May	9	Very high
Jun	9	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	11	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Air quality in Nkhotakota 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 Nkhotakota is worst in September — around 30 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.2× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	9	10	9	8	8	9	13	23	30	24	12	7
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	9	Good
Feb	10	Good
Mar	9	Good
Apr	8	Good
May	8	Good
Jun	9	Good
Jul	13	Moderate
Aug	23	Moderate
Sep	30	Moderate
Oct	24	Moderate
Nov	12	Good
Dec	7	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Nkhotakota?

Nkhotakota sits at 12.9°S, 34.3°E, 497 m above sea level, in Malawi. The nearest listed city is Kasungu, 89 km away.

Topography around Nkhotakota

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nkhotakota has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 59 m around an average of 489 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 189 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,230 m.

The land around Nkhotakota is covered by water (34%) within 3 km, water (49%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and water (41%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

59 m

water 34%

16 km

189 m

water 49%

80 km

1,230 m

water 41%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland

← December Nkhotakota year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

January weather nearby: Kasungu 89 km · Mponela 90 km · Salima 96 km · Lichinga 111 km · Lilongwe 128 km · Mzimba 137 km · Lundazi 140 km · Monkey Bay 145 km

Malawi travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type G; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 53% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $672; 2025
Happiness: 3.3 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 18%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.8; per 100k, 2012
Road deaths: 33.4; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 465
Religion

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 Nkhotakota (-12.9274°, 34.2961°, elevation 497 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	17	83
2	17	83
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	14	86
6	13	87
7	13	87
8	11	89
9	10	90
10	9	91
11	8	92
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	8	92
16	8	92
17	8	92
18	8	92
19	7	93
20	8	92
21	8	92
22	9	91
23	9	91
24	10	90
25	10	90
26	9	91
27	10	90
28	10	90
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	92
2	92
3	92
4	93
5	93
6	94
7	94
8	94
9	95
10	95
11	95
12	95
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	95
17	95
18	95
19	95
20	95
21	95
22	95
23	94
24	94
25	94
26	94
27	93
28	93
29	93
30	93
31	92

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	9	91
2	9	91
3	9	91
4	9	91
5	9	91
6	9	91
7	9	91
8	9	91
9	9	91
10	10	90
11	10	90
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	11	89
16	11	89
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	13	87
24	12	88
25	12	88
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	12	88
31	13	87

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	17	83
2	17	83
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	14	86
6	13	87
7	13	87
8	11	89
9	10	90
10	9	91
11	8	92
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	8	92
16	8	92
17	8	92
18	8	92
19	7	93
20	8	92
21	8	92
22	9	91
23	9	91
24	10	90
25	10	90
26	9	91
27	10	90
28	10	90
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	92
2	92
3	92
4	93
5	93
6	94
7	94
8	94
9	95
10	95
11	95
12	95
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	95
17	95
18	95
19	95
20	95
21	95
22	95
23	94
24	94
25	94
26	94
27	93
28	93
29	93
30	93
31	92

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	9	91
2	9	91
3	9	91
4	9	91
5	9	91
6	9	91
7	9	91
8	9	91
9	9	91
10	10	90
11	10	90
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	11	89
16	11	89
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	13	87
24	12	88
25	12	88
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	12	88
31	13	87

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	17	83
2	17	83
3	16	84
4	15	85
5	14	86
6	13	87
7	13	87
8	11	89
9	10	90
10	9	91
11	8	92
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	8	92
16	8	92
17	8	92
18	8	92
19	7	93
20	8	92
21	8	92
22	9	91
23	9	91
24	10	90
25	10	90
26	9	91
27	10	90
28	10	90
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	92
2	92
3	92
4	93
5	93
6	94
7	94
8	94
9	95
10	95
11	95
12	95
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	95
17	95
18	95
19	95
20	95
21	95
22	95
23	94
24	94
25	94
26	94
27	93
28	93
29	93
30	93
31	92

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	9	91
2	9	91
3	9	91
4	9	91
5	9	91
6	9	91
7	9	91
8	9	91
9	9	91
10	10	90
11	10	90
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	11	89
16	11	89
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	13	87
24	12	88
25	12	88
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	12	88
31	13	87