Nuwara Eliya weather in January

In January, Nuwara Eliya sees average daytime highs of 23°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 120 mm of rain across 14.7 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 23°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January, and the air most often feels humid.

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 Nuwara Eliya's 3rd-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nuwara Eliya's year-round climate.

Daytime high
23°
11th warmest
Overnight low
16°
2nd coldest
Rainfall
120 mm
14.7 wet days
Daylight
11 h 36 min
6:27 AM – 6:05 PM
Cloud cover
72%
3rd clearest
Wind
5 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
4.64 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.9
out of 10

Nuwara Eliya is human settlement.

Density
2,115/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 23°C through the month.

A typical January day in Nuwara Eliya reaches about 23°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 21°C and 24°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12316
22316
32316
42316
52316
62316
72316
82316
92316
102316
112316
122316
132316
142316
152316
162316
172316
182316
192316
202316
212316
222316
232316
242316
252316
262316
272316
282316
292316
302316
312316

Nuwara Eliya weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 16°12014.711.65.9
Feb24° / 16°10211.511.86.5
Mar26° / 17°10911.9126.4
Apr26° / 18°24321.412.14.7
May25° / 19°21128.612.33.8
Jun24° / 19°16626.412.44.0
Jul24° / 18°17726.912.44.1
Aug24° / 18°18326.912.24.1
Sep24° / 18°22825.7124.2
Oct24° / 18°35327.411.84.0
Nov23° / 17°33024.611.74.2
Dec23° / 17°2342111.64.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12476
22476
32476
42476
52476
62674
72674
82674
92674
102674
112773
122872
132872
142872
152971
163070
173169
183169
193169
203169
213169
223268
233169
243169
253169
263169
273169
283169
293169
303268
313268

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Nuwara Eliya gets around 120 mm of rain over 14.7 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 (%)
157
257
357
457
557
657
756
856
955
1054
1152
1251
1349
1448
1546
1645
1743
1842
1941
2040
2140
2240
2339
2440
2540
2640
2741
2842
2942
3043
3144

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the humid band about 62% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 8% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
12196910
22196910
32196910
42196910
5219709
6319699
7320689
8320689
9321679
10322669
11323659
12324649
13325639
14426619
15427609
16428599
17529588
18529588
19530578
20631558
21631558
22731557
23730567
24830557
25829567
26828577
27928567
28927577
29926596
30925606
31925606

Wind in January

Winds average 5 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

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 6:22 AM to 6:29 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)
111.66:225:58
211.66:225:59
311.66:235:59
411.66:236:00
511.66:246:00
611.66:246:01
711.66:246:01
811.66:256:01
911.66:256:02
1011.66:256:02
1111.66:266:03
1211.66:266:03
1311.66:266:04
1411.66:276:04
1511.66:276:05
1611.66:276:05
1711.66:276:06
1811.66:286:06
1911.66:286:07
2011.66:286:07
2111.76:286:07
2211.76:286:08
2311.76:296:08
2411.76:296:09
2511.76:296:09
2611.76:296:09
2711.76:296:10
2811.76:296:10
2911.76:296:10
3011.76:296:11
3111.76:296:11

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 4.64 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.05 kWh/m² to a high of 6.21 kWh/m² in March across the year — January's 4.64 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
154.6Bright
164.7Bright
174.7Bright
184.8Bright
194.8Bright
204.8Bright
214.8Bright
224.9Bright
234.9Bright
244.9Bright
254.9Bright
264.9Bright
275.0Bright
285.0Bright
295.0Bright
305.0Bright
315.0Bright
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Nuwara Eliya?

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

5.9
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
4.5
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Nuwara Eliya for sightseeing.

What to pack for Nuwara Eliya in January

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

In January, Nuwara Eliya sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

UV index in Nuwara Eliya 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 Nuwara Eliya peaks around April 15 at about 15 (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 15UV 15Dec 17UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr15Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep14Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec11Extreme

Air quality in Nuwara Eliya 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 Nuwara Eliya is worst in November — around 48 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 1.8× the cleanest month (July, 27 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorNov 1847 µg/m³Jul 1327 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan42Poor
Feb36Poor
Mar41Poor
Apr44Poor
May36Poor
Jun27Moderate
Jul27Moderate
Aug28Moderate
Sep29Moderate
Oct41Poor
Nov48Poor
Dec44Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Nuwara Eliya?

Nuwara Eliya sits at 7.0°N, 80.8°E, 1,868 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Hatton, 22 km away.

BadullaEllaGampolaKandyRatnapuraKegalleMatale

Topography around Nuwara Eliya

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nuwara Eliya has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 740 m around an average of 1,985 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,984 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,495 m.

The land around Nuwara Eliya is covered by trees (60%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, trees (77%) within 16 km, and trees (89%) within 80 km.

3 km
740 m
16 km
1,984 m
80 km
2,495 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Hatton 22 km · Badulla 30 km · Ella 31 km · Gampola 32 km · Kandy 39 km · Ratnapura 53 km · Kegalle 58 km · Matale 58 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 Nuwara Eliya (6.9708°, 80.7829°, elevation 1,868 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).