Žilina weather in January

In January, Žilina sees average daytime highs of -0°C and overnight lows near -6°C, with 63 mm of precipitation across 12.1 wet days and about 8.5 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -0°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 8 hours at the start of January to 9 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Žilina's 10th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Žilina's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-0°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-6°
1st coldest
Precipitation
63 mm
12.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 24 min
7:42 AM – 4:07 PM
Cloud cover
75%
10th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
5th windiest
Solar energy
1.01 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Žilina is capital of the Žilina region in north-western Slovakia.

Air quality
Elevated
PM2.5 18.4 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,015/km²
people per km²
Founded
1069

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 -0°C through the month.

A typical January day in Žilina reaches about -0°C in the afternoon and slips back to -6°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -5°C and 5°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-20°-10°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
10-5
20-5
30-5
40-5
50-5
60-5
70-5
80-5
90-5
100-5
110-5
120-5
130-5
140-6
150-6
160-6
170-6
180-6
190-6
200-6
210-6
220-6
230-6
240-6
250-6
260-6
270-6
280-6
290-6
300-6
310-6

How January really feels in Žilina

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
14 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Žilina weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-0° / -6°6312.110.38.50.0
Feb / -5°5911.39.69.80.0
Mar / -2°6812.8711.60.6
Apr12° / 6711.72.713.43.1
May17° / 9815.20.215.14.7
Jun20° / 10°10615.4015.95.5
Jul22° / 12°11616015.65.8
Aug22° / 12°9212.8014.26.3
Sep17° / 8312.2012.45.1
Oct12° / 69111.410.52.8
Nov / 6311.45.38.90.5
Dec / -4°6412.110.18.10.0

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 8% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 75%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12278
22278
32377
42278
52278
62278
72377
82377
92377
102476
112476
122575
132674
142674
152674
162773
172773
182773
192773
202773
212773
222773
232674
242674
252575
262575
272575
282575
292575
302575
312575

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Žilina gets around 63 mm of rain and snow over 12.1 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 39% and peaks near 43% on the wettest days, and about 10 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14336
24336
34235
44234
54134
64133
74032
84032
93931
103930
113830
123830
133730
143730
153730
163730
173631
183631
193732
203732
213733
223734
233834
243835
253835
263835
273935
283936
293936
303936
313936

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 9 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 60 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:47 AM to 7:27 AM, and sunset from 3:50 PM to 4:29 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.07:473:50
28.17:473:51
38.17:473:52
48.17:473:53
58.17:463:54
68.17:463:55
78.27:463:56
88.27:463:57
98.27:453:58
108.27:453:59
118.37:454:00
128.37:444:02
138.37:444:03
148.47:434:04
158.47:424:05
168.47:424:07
178.57:414:08
188.57:404:10
198.57:404:11
208.67:394:12
218.67:384:14
228.67:374:15
238.77:364:17
248.77:354:18
258.87:344:20
268.87:334:21
278.87:324:23
288.97:314:25
298.97:304:26
309.07:294:28
319.07:274:29

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.01 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.77 kWh/m² to a high of 5.31 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.01 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.8Dim
20.8Dim
30.8Dim
40.8Dim
50.8Dim
60.8Dim
70.8Dim
80.9Dim
90.9Dim
100.9Dim
110.9Dim
120.9Dim
130.9Dim
141.0Dim
151.0Dim
161.0Dim
171.0Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.1Dim
221.1Dim
231.1Dim
241.2Dim
251.2Dim
261.2Dim
271.3Dim
281.3Dim
291.3Dim
301.3Dim
311.4Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Žilina?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Žilina.

What to pack for Žilina in January

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

In January, Žilina sees daytime highs around -0°C and nights near -6°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Žilina 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 Žilina peaks around July 11 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 11UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Žilina 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 Žilina is worst in June — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (December, 13 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Žilina's WHO annual average of 18.4 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateJun 1722 µg/m³Dec 1313 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan16Moderate
Feb17Moderate
Mar20Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun23Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug21Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct15Moderate
Nov14Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Žilina?

Žilina sits at 49.2°N, 18.7°E, 347 m above sea level, in Slovakia. The nearest listed city is Rajecke Teplice, 11 km away.

ČadcaPovažská BystricaPúchovDolný KubínRužomberokBojnice

Topography around Žilina

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Žilina has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 293 m around an average of 376 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,177 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,023 m.

The land around Žilina is covered by artificial surfaces (40%) and trees (37%) within 3 km, trees (64%) within 16 km, and trees (68%) within 80 km.

3 km
293 m
16 km
1,177 m
80 km
2,023 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Rajecke Teplice 11 km · Martin 22 km · Čadca 24 km · Považská Bystrica 26 km · Púchov 32 km · Dolný Kubín 41 km · Ružomberok 44 km · Bojnice 50 km

Slovakia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / E / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 58% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$28,544
2025
Happiness
6.3 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
6.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 606
Religion
Roman Catholic 56%none 24%Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession 5%Greek Catholic 4%

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 Žilina (49.2231°, 18.7394°, elevation 347 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).