Tekapo weather in January

In January, Tekapo sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 108 mm of precipitation across 10.9 wet days and about 14.9 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 18°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 12 min at the start of January to 14 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Tekapo's 9th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tekapo's year-round climate.

Daytime high
18°
2nd warmest
Overnight low
11th coldest
Precipitation
108 mm
10.9 wet days
Daylight
15 hours
6:19 AM – 9:16 PM
Cloud cover
63%
9th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
6.55 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.6
out of 10

Tekapo is locality in Mackenzie District, Canterbury Region, New Zealand.

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 18°C through the month.

A typical January day in Tekapo reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 22°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)
1178
2178
3178
4178
5178
6178
7178
8178
9179
10179
11179
12179
13179
14179
15179
16189
17189
18189
19189
20189
21189
22189
23189
24189
25189
26189
27189
28189
29189
30189
31189

How January really feels in Tekapo

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.

Tekapo 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
Jan18° / 10810.90.114.95.6
Feb18° / 869.40.113.85.8
Mar16° / 939.40.212.45.0
Apr13° / 9710.60.910.83.5
May / 10511.429.51.9
Jun / -1°9710.64.38.80.2
Jul / -2°9410.35.690.0
Aug / -1°8811.25.110.20.2
Sep / 10312.7411.71.5
Oct11° / 11913.63.513.22.5
Nov14° / 11112.7214.63.6
Dec16° / 11412.50.415.24.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 58%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
24060
34159
44159
54159
64159
74159
84159
94159
104159
114159
124159
134159
144258
154258
164258
174258
184258
194258
204258
214258
224357
234357
244357
254456
264456
274456
284456
294456
304456
314456

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Tekapo gets around 108 mm of rain and snow over 10.9 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 35% and peaks near 38% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
138
238
338
438
538
638
738
838
938
1038
1138
1238
1337
1437
1537
1636
1736
1835
1935
2034
2134
2233
2333
2433
2532
2632
2732
2832
2932
3032
3131

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 96% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1991
2991
3991
4991
5991
6991
7982
8982
9982
10982
11982
12982
13973
14973
15973
16973
17973
18964
19964
20964
21955
22955
23955
24946
25946
26946
27946
28937
29937
30937
31937

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.

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
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 12 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 42 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 6:04 AM to 6:38 AM, and sunset from 9:19 PM to 9:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.26:049:19
215.26:059:19
315.26:069:19
415.26:069:19
515.26:079:19
615.26:089:19
715.26:099:18
815.16:109:18
915.16:119:18
1015.16:129:18
1115.16:139:18
1215.16:149:17
1315.06:159:17
1415.06:179:17
1515.06:189:16
1615.06:199:16
1714.96:209:15
1814.96:219:15
1914.96:229:14
2014.86:249:14
2114.86:259:13
2214.86:269:12
2314.76:279:12
2414.76:299:11
2514.76:309:10
2614.66:319:09
2714.66:339:09
2814.66:349:08
2914.56:359:07
3014.56:369:06
3114.56:389:05

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.55 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.45 kWh/m² to a high of 6.55 kWh/m² in January across the year — January's 6.55 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.9Intense
26.9Intense
36.9Intense
46.8Intense
56.8Intense
66.7Intense
76.7Intense
86.6Intense
96.5Intense
106.5Intense
116.5Intense
126.4Intense
136.4Intense
146.4Intense
156.3Intense
166.3Intense
176.3Intense
186.3Intense
196.3Intense
206.3Intense
216.3Intense
226.3Intense
236.3Intense
246.2Intense
256.2Intense
266.2Intense
276.2Intense
286.2Intense
296.1Intense
306.1Intense
316.0Intense
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Tekapo?

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

5.6
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
1.6
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Tekapo for sightseeing.

What to pack for Tekapo in January

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

In January, Tekapo sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 9°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

UV index in Tekapo 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 Tekapo peaks around January 16 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 16UV 11Jun 16UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb10Extreme
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul2Low
Aug3Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct6High
Nov9Very high
Dec10Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Tekapo?

Tekapo sits at 44.0°S, 170.5°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Franz Josef, 73 km away.

AshburtonWanakaRollestonChristchurchQueenstownRangiora

Topography around Tekapo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tekapo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 358 m around an average of 746 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,523 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,635 m.

The land around Tekapo is covered by grassland (65%) within 3 km, grassland (84%) within 16 km, and grassland (61%) within 80 km.

3 km
358 m
16 km
1,523 m
80 km
3,635 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater
January weather nearby: Franz Josef 73 km · Timaru 75 km · Ashburton 101 km · Wanaka 131 km · Rolleston 160 km · Christchurch 181 km · Queenstown 184 km · Rangiora 186 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 Tekapo (-44.0064°, 170.4803°, 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).