Ulaanbaatar weather in January

In January, Ulaanbaatar sees average daytime highs of -17°C and overnight lows near -28°C, with 2 mm of precipitation across 0.5 wet days and about 8.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -17°C in the first days to -15°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 54% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Ulaanbaatar's 1st-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Ulaanbaatar's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-17°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-28°
1st coldest
Precipitation
2 mm
0.5 wet days
Daylight
8 h 36 min
8:44 AM – 5:19 PM
Cloud cover
40%
1st clearest
Wind
7 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
1.9 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Ulaanbaatar is capital and largest city of Mongolia.

Air quality
Severe
PM2.5 60 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
180/km²
people per km²
Founded
1639

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -17°C in the first days to -15°C by the end.

A typical January day in Ulaanbaatar reaches about -17°C in the afternoon and slips back to -28°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -23°C and -11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 5°C cooler than February.

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

How January really feels in Ulaanbaatar

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.

Ulaanbaatar 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-17° / -28°20.50.78.60.0
Feb-11° / -24°31.21.59.90.0
Mar-2° / -15°72.22.711.60.0
Apr / -5°164.33.613.41.3
May15° / 356.7314.94.8
Jun20° / 559.50.215.76.3
Jul22° / 11°6611.2015.46.4
Aug20° / 6810.7014.16.2
Sep14° / 397.21.512.44.6
Oct / -6°153.83.310.60.7
Nov-7° / -18°62.12.690.0
Dec-15° / -25°20.91.38.30.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 54% of the time in January, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 31%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16733
26733
36832
46832
56931
66931
76931
86931
96931
106931
116931
126931
136931
146832
156832
166931
176832
186832
196832
206832
216931
226931
236931
246931
256931
266931
277030
287030
297030
307030
317129

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Ulaanbaatar gets around 2 mm of rain and snow over 0.5 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 2% and peaks near 4% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
145
245
344
434
533
633
723
822
922
1022
1122
1222
1312
1412
1512
1612
1712
1812
1912
2012
2112
2212
2312
2412
2512
2612
2712
2822
2922
3023
3123

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 7 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 8 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
248calm
258calm
268calm
278calm
288calm
298calm
308calm
318calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:48 AM to 8:31 AM, and sunset from 5:03 PM to 5:41 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.28:485:03
28.38:485:04
38.38:485:05
48.38:485:06
58.38:485:07
68.38:485:08
78.38:485:09
88.48:485:10
98.48:475:11
108.48:475:12
118.48:475:13
128.58:465:14
138.58:465:16
148.58:455:17
158.68:455:18
168.68:445:19
178.68:435:21
188.78:435:22
198.78:425:23
208.78:415:25
218.88:415:26
228.88:405:28
238.88:395:29
248.98:385:31
258.98:375:32
269.08:365:33
279.08:355:35
289.08:345:36
299.18:335:38
309.18:325:39
319.28:315:41

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.9 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.49 kWh/m² to a high of 6.52 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 1.9 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.6Dim
21.6Dim
31.6Dim
41.6Dim
51.6Dim
61.6Dim
71.7Dim
81.7Dim
91.7Dim
101.7Dim
111.8Dim
121.8Dim
131.8Dim
141.8Dim
151.9Dim
161.9Dim
171.9Dim
181.9Dim
192.0Dim
202.0Moderate
212.0Moderate
222.1Moderate
232.1Moderate
242.1Moderate
252.2Moderate
262.2Moderate
272.2Moderate
282.3Moderate
292.3Moderate
302.4Moderate
312.4Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Ulaanbaatar?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Ulaanbaatar.

What to pack for Ulaanbaatar in January

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

In January, Ulaanbaatar sees daytime highs around -17°C and nights near -28°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Ulaanbaatar in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ulaanbaatar peaks around July 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highModerateLowJul 18UV 8Dec 17UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Ulaanbaatar 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 Ulaanbaatar is worst in July — around 135 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.3× the cleanest month (October, 41 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Ulaanbaatar's WHO annual average of 60 µg/m³.

0306090120150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyPoorJul 16128 µg/m³Oct 1141 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan56Unhealthy
Feb55Unhealthy
Mar48Poor
Apr48Poor
May54Poor
Jun78Unhealthy
Jul135Unhealthy
Aug73Unhealthy
Sep42Poor
Oct41Poor
Nov48Poor
Dec41Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Ulaanbaatar?

Ulaanbaatar sits at 47.9°N, 106.9°E, 1,284 m above sea level, in Mongolia. The nearest listed city is Zuunmod, 23 km away.

DarhanErdenetSühbaatarBulgan

Topography around Ulaanbaatar

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ulaanbaatar has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 247 m around an average of 1,304 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,018 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,795 m.

The land around Ulaanbaatar is covered by artificial surfaces (81%) within 3 km, grassland (57%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (79%) within 80 km.

3 km
247 m
16 km
1,018 m
80 km
1,795 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Zuunmod 23 km · Dzuunmod 23 km · Nalayh 34 km · Dzüünharaa 110 km · Darhan 189 km · Erdenet 241 km · Sühbaatar 263 km · Bulgan 267 km

Mongolia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / E / F
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 34% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$7,108
2025
Happiness
5.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
43%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
21
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 447
Religion
Buddhist 52%no religion 41%Muslim 3%Shaman 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 Ulaanbaatar (47.9077°, 106.8832°, elevation 1,284 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).