Queenstown weather in January

In January, Queenstown sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 127 mm of precipitation across 12.3 wet days and about 15 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 4th-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 17% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 24 min at the start of January to 14 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Queenstown's 3rd-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Queenstown's year-round climate.

Daytime high
16°
2nd warmest
Overnight low
11th coldest
Precipitation
127 mm
12.3 wet days
Daylight
15 h 06 min
6:23 AM – 9:27 PM
Cloud cover
69%
3rd clearest
Wind
7 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
6.48 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.6
out of 10

Queenstown is resort town in Otago Region, New Zealand.

Founded
1863

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 Queenstown reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 20°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C warmer than December and on par with February.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1157
2157
3157
4157
5157
6157
7157
8157
9157
10157
11167
12167
13167
14167
15167
16167
17167
18167
19167
20167
21167
22167
23167
24167
25167
26168
27178
28178
29178
30178
31178

How January really feels in Queenstown

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.

Queenstown weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 2nd-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan16° / 12712.30.5154.6
Feb16° / 9210.30.313.94.8
Mar14° / 10811.80.512.43.8
Apr11° / 10111.31.810.82.4
May / 12514.35.29.40.7
Jun / -3°9812.67.98.60.0
Jul / -4°9011.28.98.90.0
Aug / -2°8911.38.410.10.0
Sep / -1°12513.78.111.70.2
Oct / 13315.36.413.31.3
Nov11° / 13114.63.914.72.5
Dec14° / 13514.9115.43.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 67%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12971
22971
32971
42971
53070
63070
73070
83070
93169
103169
113169
123169
133268
143367
153367
163367
173367
183466
193466
203565
213664
223664
233664
243664
253664
263664
273763
283763
293763
303763
313763

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Queenstown gets around 127 mm of rain and snow over 12.3 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 40% and peaks near 47% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1472
2462
3462
4452
5442
6442
7432
8432
9422
10422
11412
12412
13402
14402
15402
16392
17392
18392
19392
20382
21382
22382
23382
24372
25371
26371
27371
28371
29361
30361
31361

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 (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
31000
41000
51000
61000
71000
81000
91000
101000
111000
121000
131000
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
221000
231000
24991
25991
26991
27991
28991
29991
30982
31982

Wind in January

Winds average 7 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 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
247calm
257calm
267calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 24 min at the start of January to 14 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 6:07 AM to 6:42 AM, and sunset from 9:30 PM to 9:15 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.46:079:30
215.46:089:30
315.36:099:30
415.36:109:30
515.36:119:30
615.36:129:30
715.36:139:29
815.36:149:29
915.26:159:29
1015.26:169:29
1115.26:179:29
1215.26:189:28
1315.16:199:28
1415.16:209:27
1515.16:229:27
1615.16:239:27
1715.06:249:26
1815.06:259:25
1915.06:269:25
2014.96:289:24
2114.96:299:24
2214.96:309:23
2314.86:329:22
2414.86:339:21
2514.86:349:21
2614.76:359:20
2714.76:379:19
2814.76:389:18
2914.66:409:17
3014.66:419:16
3114.56:429:15

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.48 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.18 kWh/m² to a high of 6.48 kWh/m² in January across the year — January's 6.48 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.8Intense
26.8Intense
36.8Intense
46.7Intense
56.7Intense
66.7Intense
76.6Intense
86.6Intense
96.5Intense
106.5Intense
116.5Intense
126.4Intense
136.4Intense
146.3Intense
156.3Intense
166.3Intense
176.3Intense
186.3Intense
196.2Intense
206.2Intense
216.2Intense
226.2Intense
236.1Intense
246.1Intense
256.1Intense
266.1Intense
276.0Intense
286.0Intense
296.0Bright
305.9Bright
315.9Bright
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Queenstown?

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

4.6
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a reasonable time to visit Queenstown for sightseeing.

What to pack for Queenstown in January

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

In January, Queenstown sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 7°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

UV index in Queenstown in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Queenstown peaks around January 14 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 14UV 11Jun 16UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb9Very high
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul2Low
Aug2Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct6High
Nov8Very high
Dec10Very high
Location & terrain

Where is Queenstown?

Queenstown sits at 45.0°S, 168.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Wanaka, 53 km away.

InvercargillDunedinTekapoTimaruFranz JosefAshburtonRolleston

Topography around Queenstown

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Queenstown has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,008 m around an average of 513 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,956 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,884 m.

The land around Queenstown is covered by trees (42%) and water (32%) within 3 km, grassland (55%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (64%) and trees (25%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,008 m
16 km
1,956 m
80 km
2,884 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater
January weather nearby: Wanaka 53 km · Invercargill 154 km · Dunedin 172 km · Tekapo 184 km · Timaru 216 km · Franz Josef 219 km · Ashburton 274 km · Rolleston 337 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type I
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 86% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$49,591
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.5
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
9.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
no religion 49%Christian 37%objected to answering 7%Hindu 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 Queenstown (-45.0302°, 168.6627°, elevation 0 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).