Wanaka weather in January

In January, Wanaka sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 113 mm of precipitation across 11.2 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 17°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 18 min at the start of January to 14 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Wanaka's 3rd-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wanaka's year-round climate.

Daytime high
17°
2nd warmest
Overnight low
11th coldest
Precipitation
113 mm
11.2 wet days
Daylight
15 hours
6:22 AM – 9:23 PM
Cloud cover
67%
3rd clearest
Wind
7 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
6.66 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.4
out of 10

Wanaka is ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.

Density
461/km²
people per km²

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 17°C through the month.

A typical January day in Wanaka reaches about 17°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
9178
10178
11178
12178
13178
14179
15179
16179
17189
18189
19189
20189
21189
22189
23189
24189
25189
26189
27189
28189
29189
30189
31189

How January really feels in Wanaka

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.

Wanaka 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
Jan17° / 11311.20.1155.4
Feb18° / 819.30.113.95.6
Mar15° / 9610.50.112.44.6
Apr12° / 8910.20.510.83.2
May / 10412.72.29.41.4
Jun / -1°8510.64.38.70.0
Jul / -3°799.7590.0
Aug / -1°7810.64.610.10.2
Sep / 11012.83.911.71.3
Oct11° / 118142.713.32.4
Nov13° / 11613.41.214.63.4
Dec16° / 12414.10.315.34.4

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 20% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 64%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13268
23268
33268
43367
53367
63367
73466
83367
93466
103466
113466
123565
133664
143664
153664
163763
173763
183763
193862
203862
213961
223961
233961
243961
253961
263961
273961
283961
293961
303862
313961

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Wanaka gets around 113 mm of rain and snow over 11.2 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 37% and peaks near 43% 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 (%)
143
242
342
441
541
640
740
840
939
1039
1138
1238
1338
1437
1537
1636
1736
1835
1935
2034
2134
2234
2333
2433
2533
2633
2733
2833
2933
3032
3132

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 97% 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
7991
8982
9982
10982
11982
12982
13982
14982
15982
16973
17973
18973
19973
20973
21964
22964
23964
24964
25955
26955
27955
28955
29946
30946
31946

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
18calm
28calm
38calm
48calm
58calm
68calm
78calm
88calm
98calm
108calm
118calm
128calm
138calm
148calm
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 18 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 48 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 6:07 AM to 6:41 AM, and sunset from 9:26 PM to 9:12 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.36:079:26
215.36:089:26
315.36:089:27
415.36:099:27
515.36:109:26
615.36:119:26
715.26:129:26
815.26:139:26
915.26:149:26
1015.26:159:26
1115.26:169:25
1215.16:179:25
1315.16:189:25
1415.16:209:24
1515.16:219:24
1615.06:229:23
1715.06:239:23
1815.06:249:22
1914.96:269:22
2014.96:279:21
2114.96:289:21
2214.86:299:20
2314.86:319:19
2414.86:329:18
2514.76:339:18
2614.76:359:17
2714.76:369:16
2814.66:379:15
2914.66:399:14
3014.66:409:13
3114.56:419:12

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.66 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.21 kWh/m² to a high of 6.66 kWh/m² in January across the year — January's 6.66 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

02468151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
17.0Intense
27.0Intense
37.0Intense
47.0Intense
56.9Intense
66.9Intense
76.8Intense
86.8Intense
96.7Intense
106.7Intense
116.6Intense
126.6Intense
136.5Intense
146.5Intense
156.5Intense
166.5Intense
176.4Intense
186.4Intense
196.4Intense
206.4Intense
216.4Intense
226.3Intense
236.3Intense
246.3Intense
256.3Intense
266.3Intense
276.2Intense
286.2Intense
296.2Intense
306.2Intense
316.1Intense
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Wanaka?

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

5.4
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
1.5
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Wanaka for sightseeing.

What to pack for Wanaka in January

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

In January, Wanaka sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 9°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

UV index in Wanaka 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 Wanaka peaks around January 15 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 15UV 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 Wanaka?

Wanaka sits at 44.7°S, 169.2°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Queenstown, 53 km away.

TekapoFranz JosefDunedinTimaruInvercargillAshburtonRolleston

Topography around Wanaka

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Wanaka has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 258 m around an average of 325 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,573 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,837 m.

The land around Wanaka is covered by grassland (49%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, grassland (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) and trees (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
258 m
16 km
1,573 m
80 km
2,837 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater
January weather nearby: Queenstown 53 km · Tekapo 131 km · Franz Josef 167 km · Dunedin 168 km · Timaru 170 km · Invercargill 199 km · Ashburton 224 km · Rolleston 286 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 Wanaka (-44.7°, 169.15°, 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).