Matale weather in January

In January, Matale sees average daytime highs of 28°C and overnight lows near 21°C, with 79 mm of rain across 10 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 28°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% 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 Matale's 3rd-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Matale's year-round climate.

Daytime high
28°
11th warmest
Overnight low
21°
1st coldest
Rainfall
79 mm
10 wet days
Daylight
11 h 36 min
6:29 AM – 6:05 PM
Cloud cover
65%
3rd clearest
Wind
9 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
4.66 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.6
out of 10

Matale is Administrative Capital in Central Province, Sri Lanka.

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 28°C through the month.

A typical January day in Matale reaches about 28°C in the afternoon and slips back to 21°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 27°C and 30°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 2°C cooler than February.

15°20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12821
22821
32821
42821
52821
62821
72821
82821
92821
102821
112821
122821
132821
142821
152821
162821
172821
182921
192921
202921
212921
222921
232921
242921
252921
262921
272921
282921
292921
302921
312921

How January really feels in Matale

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.

Matale weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan28° / 21°791011.65.6
Feb30° / 21°638.511.85.0
Mar32° / 22°8311.611.93.8
Apr32° / 23°1962112.23.1
May30° / 24°13022.412.33.4
Jun29° / 23°9923.812.43.5
Jul29° / 23°10324.312.43.6
Aug29° / 23°9823.212.23.8
Sep29° / 23°10921.2123.8
Oct29° / 22°31225.211.83.5
Nov29° / 22°31022.711.73.8
Dec28° / 21°18517.811.64.9

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 21% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14159
24159
34258
44258
54258
64357
74357
84357
94357
104357
114357
124357
134357
144456
154456
164357
174456
184357
194357
204258
214258
224258
234357
244357
254357
264357
274258
284357
294357
304357
314456

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Matale gets around 79 mm of rain over 10 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 33% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
142
241
341
441
540
640
740
839
939
1038
1137
1236
1335
1434
1532
1631
1730
1829
1928
2027
2126
2226
2326
2426
2526
2627
2728
2828
2929
3030
3131

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 46% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 88% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
1093952
2093952
3093952
4093952
5093952
6094051
7094051
8094051
9094051
100104149
110104248
121104347
131104445
141104544
151114642
161114841
171114939
181125038
191125136
201125235
211135234
221135234
231135234
241135333
251135234
261135234
271135135
281135135
291134936
302134837
312134738

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 9 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
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

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 6:31 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
211.66:245:58
311.66:245:59
411.66:255:59
511.66:256:00
611.66:256:00
711.66:266:01
811.66:266:01
911.66:266:02
1011.66:276:02
1111.66:276:03
1211.66:276:03
1311.66:286:04
1411.66:286:04
1511.66:286:05
1611.66:296:05
1711.66:296:06
1811.66:296:06
1911.66:296:06
2011.66:296:07
2111.66:306:07
2211.66:306:08
2311.66:306:08
2411.66:306:08
2511.66:306:09
2611.66:306:09
2711.76:306:10
2811.76:316:10
2911.76:316:10
3011.76:316:11
3111.76:316:11

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 4.66 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.05 kWh/m² to a high of 6.3 kWh/m² in March across the year — January's 4.66 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.3Bright
24.3Bright
34.3Bright
44.3Bright
54.3Bright
64.3Bright
74.4Bright
84.4Bright
94.4Bright
104.5Bright
114.5Bright
124.5Bright
134.6Bright
144.6Bright
154.7Bright
164.7Bright
174.7Bright
184.8Bright
194.8Bright
204.8Bright
214.8Bright
224.9Bright
234.9Bright
244.9Bright
254.9Bright
265.0Bright
275.0Bright
285.0Bright
295.0Bright
305.0Bright
315.1Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Matale

In seasonPeak

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

Matale's rainy season runs October–December, 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 Matale?

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

5.6
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
6.8
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Matale for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Matale in January

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

In January, Matale sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Matale in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Matale peaks around April 19 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 10 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeApr 19UV 14Dec 19UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec10Very high

Air quality in Matale 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 Matale is worst in November — around 60 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.4× the cleanest month (July, 25 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyPoorNov 1759 µg/m³Jul 2025 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan45Poor
Feb41Poor
Mar57Unhealthy
Apr59Unhealthy
May42Poor
Jun27Moderate
Jul25Moderate
Aug26Moderate
Sep30Moderate
Oct49Poor
Nov60Unhealthy
Dec52Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Matale?

Matale sits at 7.5°N, 80.6°E, 366 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Kandy, 20 km away.

KurunegalaGampolaKegalleDambullaSigiriyaNuwara EliyaHatton

Topography around Matale

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Matale has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 876 m around an average of 471 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,752 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,502 m.

The land around Matale is covered by trees (88%) within 3 km, trees (94%) within 16 km, and trees (83%) within 80 km.

3 km
876 m
16 km
1,752 m
80 km
2,502 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Kandy 20 km · Kurunegala 28 km · Gampola 34 km · Kegalle 39 km · Dambulla 44 km · Sigiriya 55 km · Nuwara Eliya 58 km · Hatton 64 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 Matale (7.4698°, 80.6217°, elevation 366 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).