Gwangju weather in January

In January, Gwangju sees average daytime highs of 5°C and overnight lows near -4°C, with 29 mm of precipitation across 5.2 wet days and about 9.9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 5°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 42 min at the start of January to 10 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Gwangju's 9th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Gwangju's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-4°
1st coldest
Precipitation
29 mm
5.2 wet days
Daylight
9 h 54 min
7:45 AM – 5:38 PM
Cloud cover
63%
9th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
2.6 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Gwangju is metropolitan city in South Korea.

Air quality
Elevated
PM2.5 18 µg/m³ · 2020
Density
2,796/km²
people per km²
Founded
1986

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 5°C through the month.

A typical January day in Gwangju reaches about 5°C in the afternoon and slips back to -4°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -0°C and 10°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 3°C cooler than February.

-10°-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
15-3
25-3
35-3
45-4
55-4
65-4
75-4
85-4
95-4
105-4
115-4
125-4
135-4
145-4
155-4
165-4
175-4
185-4
194-4
204-4
214-4
225-4
235-4
245-4
255-4
265-4
275-4
285-4
295-4
305-4
315-4

How January really feels in Gwangju

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Gwangju 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 / -4°295.23.19.90.0
Feb / -2°355.21.310.71.1
Mar13° / 637.60.911.73.7
Apr19° / 887.8012.96.3
May24° / 12°998.2013.87.1
Jun27° / 17°16410.4014.36.1
Jul29° / 22°25517.1014.14.4
Aug30° / 22°22615.5013.34.4
Sep26° / 17°1389.5012.26.6
Oct21° / 575011.17.4
Nov14° / 466.20.210.24.5
Dec / -2°305.11.89.71.1

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 59%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14753
24654
34654
44654
54555
64456
74357
84357
94258
104258
114159
124060
134060
143961
153961
163862
173763
183763
193763
203763
213862
223862
233961
243961
254060
264159
274159
284258
294357
304456
314555

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Gwangju gets around 29 mm of rain and snow over 5.2 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 17% and peaks near 18% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11610
21610
31611
41611
51511
61511
71511
81511
91511
101511
111611
121611
131611
141611
151711
161710
171710
181710
191810
201810
21189
22189
23189
24189
25188
26188
27188
28178
29177
30177
31177

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 10 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 10 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
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min at the start of January to 10 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:45 AM to 7:39 AM, and sunset from 5:26 PM to 5:52 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.77:455:26
29.77:465:26
39.77:465:27
49.77:465:28
59.77:465:29
69.77:465:29
79.77:465:30
89.77:465:31
99.87:465:32
109.87:465:33
119.87:465:33
129.87:465:34
139.87:465:35
149.87:465:36
159.97:465:37
169.97:455:38
179.97:455:39
189.97:455:40
199.97:455:41
2010.07:445:42
2110.07:445:43
2210.07:445:44
2310.07:435:45
2410.07:435:45
2510.17:425:46
2610.17:425:47
2710.17:415:48
2810.17:415:49
2910.27:405:50
3010.27:405:51
3110.27:395:52

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.6 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.34 kWh/m² to a high of 5.82 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 2.6 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.4Moderate
22.5Moderate
32.5Moderate
42.5Moderate
52.5Moderate
62.5Moderate
72.5Moderate
82.5Moderate
92.5Moderate
102.5Moderate
112.5Moderate
122.5Moderate
132.5Moderate
142.5Moderate
152.5Moderate
162.5Moderate
172.6Moderate
182.6Moderate
192.6Moderate
202.6Moderate
212.7Moderate
222.7Moderate
232.7Moderate
242.8Moderate
252.8Moderate
262.8Moderate
272.9Moderate
282.9Moderate
292.9Moderate
303.0Moderate
313.0Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Gwangju

In seasonPeak

In January, Gwangju sits inside its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Gwangju sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Gwangju's rainy season runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Gwangju?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Gwangju.

What to pack for Gwangju in January

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

In January, Gwangju sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near -4°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

Sea temperature near Gwangju in January

The nearest coast averages about 8°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 55 km away) is warmest in August at about 25°C and coldest in February near 6°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 26 to Oct 11 — about 3.6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May14Bracing
Jun19Cool
Jul23Refreshing
Aug25Warm
Sep23Refreshing
Oct19Cool
Nov15Cool
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Gwangju in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gwangju peaks around July 12 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateJul 12UV 8Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Gwangju 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 Gwangju is worst in March — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (August, 13 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Gwangju's WHO annual average of 18 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMar 1927 µg/m³Aug 1113 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan18Moderate
Feb21Moderate
Mar27Moderate
Apr24Moderate
May20Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul13Moderate
Aug13Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct16Moderate
Nov17Moderate
Dec15Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Gwangju?

Gwangju sits at 35.2°N, 126.9°E, 47 m above sea level, in South Korea. The nearest listed city is Masan, 8.0 km away.

Koch'angYeonggwangMuan

Topography around Gwangju

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gwangju has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 345 m around an average of 69 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,170 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,875 m.

The land around Gwangju is covered by artificial surfaces (78%) and trees (20%) within 3 km, trees (54%), cropland (21%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 16 km, and trees (52%), cropland (22%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
345 m
16 km
1,170 m
80 km
1,875 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Masan 8.0 km · Hwasun 12 km · Damyang 19 km · Jangseong 20 km · Naju 23 km · Koch'ang 37 km · Yeonggwang 39 km · Muan 44 km

South Korea travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
220 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 57% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$36,227
2025
Happiness
6.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.5
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
8.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 522
Religion
none 60%Protestant 17%Buddhist 16%Catholic 6%

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 Gwangju (35.1547°, 126.9156°, elevation 47 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).