Kandy weather in January

In January, Kandy sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 110 mm of rain across 14.4 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in January, and the air most often feels muggy.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 36 min at the start of January to 11 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Kandy's 4th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kandy's year-round climate.

Daytime high
24°
11th warmest
Overnight low
18°
2nd coldest
Rainfall
110 mm
14.4 wet days
Daylight
11 h 36 min
6:28 AM – 6:05 PM
Cloud cover
72%
4th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
4.42 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.1
out of 10

Kandy is capital city in Central Province, Sri Lanka.

Density
3,915/km²
people per km²
Founded
1350

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 24°C through the month.

A typical January day in Kandy reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 18°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12418
22418
32418
42418
52418
62418
72418
82418
92418
102418
112418
122418
132418
142418
152418
162418
172418
182418
192418
202418
212418
222418
232418
242418
252418
262418
272518
282518
292518
302518
312518

Kandy weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan24° / 18°11014.411.66.1
Feb26° / 18°861111.86.4
Mar28° / 19°8310.9126.0
Apr28° / 20°17118.312.24.6
May28° / 21°1252012.34.5
Jun27° / 21°7917.412.45.0
Jul27° / 21°8318.312.45.0
Aug27° / 20°9018.112.25.0
Sep27° / 20°12119.2124.9
Oct27° / 20°2572311.84.4
Nov25° / 19°27423.711.74.3
Dec24° / 19°21420.811.65.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% 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 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12674
22773
32773
42773
52773
62773
72872
82971
93070
103070
113070
123070
133268
143268
153268
163268
173367
183367
193466
203466
213367
223367
233268
243268
253367
263268
273268
283268
293268
303367
313367

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Kandy gets around 110 mm of rain over 14.4 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 47% and peaks near 57% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
156
256
356
456
557
657
756
856
955
1054
1153
1252
1350
1449
1547
1645
1744
1842
1941
2039
2139
2238
2338
2438
2538
2638
2739
2840
2941
3041
3142

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of January feels muggy — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, January lands in the muggy band about 58% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 58% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
1062767
2062668
3062668
4062668
5062668
6062668
7062767
8062767
9062866
10072964
11073063
12073162
13073261
14073459
15073558
16073657
17173854
18183952
19184051
20184150
21184150
22194149
23194149
24194149
25194050
261104050
271103950
281103851
291103653
301103554
311113454

Wind in January

Winds average 6 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 36 min at the start of January to 11 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 6:23 AM to 6:30 AM, and sunset from 5:58 PM to 6:11 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.66:235:58
211.66:245:59
311.66:245:59
411.66:246:00
511.66:256:00
611.66:256:01
711.66:256:01
811.66:266:02
911.66:266:02
1011.66:266:03
1111.66:276:03
1211.66:276:03
1311.66:276:04
1411.66:286:04
1511.66:286:05
1611.66:286:05
1711.66:286:06
1811.66:296:06
1911.66:296:07
2011.66:296:07
2111.66:296:07
2211.66:296:08
2311.66:306:08
2411.66:306:09
2511.76:306:09
2611.76:306:09
2711.76:306:10
2811.76:306:10
2911.76:306:11
3011.76:306:11
3111.76:306:11

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 4.42 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.88 kWh/m² to a high of 6.28 kWh/m² in March across the year — January's 4.42 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.0Bright
24.0Bright
34.1Bright
44.1Bright
54.1Bright
64.1Bright
74.1Bright
84.2Bright
94.2Bright
104.2Bright
114.3Bright
124.3Bright
134.3Bright
144.4Bright
154.4Bright
164.5Bright
174.5Bright
184.5Bright
194.5Bright
204.6Bright
214.6Bright
224.6Bright
234.7Bright
244.7Bright
254.7Bright
264.7Bright
274.8Bright
284.8Bright
294.8Bright
304.8Bright
314.8Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Kandy

In seasonPeak

None of Kandy's seasonal hazards are active in January. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Kandy's rainy season runs April–May, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is January a good time to visit Kandy?

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

6.1
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
5.2
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Kandy for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kandy in January

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

In January, Kandy sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 18°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes. About 14 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothes

UV index in Kandy 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 Kandy peaks around April 16 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 11 (extreme).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeApr 16UV 14Dec 17UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec11Extreme

Air quality in Kandy 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 Kandy is worst in April — around 46 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorApr 1146 µg/m³Jul 1930 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan40Poor
Feb37Poor
Mar45Poor
Apr46Poor
May40Poor
Jun31Moderate
Jul30Moderate
Aug30Moderate
Sep34Moderate
Oct43Poor
Nov44Poor
Dec41Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Kandy?

Kandy sits at 7.3°N, 80.6°E, 500 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Gampola, 16 km away.

KegalleKurunegalaNuwara EliyaHattonBadullaDambulla

Topography around Kandy

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kandy has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 562 m around an average of 566 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,298 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,498 m.

The land around Kandy is covered by trees (78%) within 3 km, trees (91%) within 16 km, and trees (87%) within 80 km.

3 km
562 m
16 km
1,298 m
80 km
2,498 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Gampola 16 km · Matale 20 km · Kegalle 32 km · Kurunegala 36 km · Nuwara Eliya 39 km · Hatton 45 km · Badulla 58 km · Dambulla 63 km

Sri Lanka travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 27% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$5,002
2025
Happiness
4.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
47%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
3.3
per 100k, 2019
Road deaths
19.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 486
Religion
Buddhist 70%Hindu 13%Muslim 10%Roman 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 Kandy (7.2906°, 80.6336°, elevation 500 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).