Chur weather in January

In January, Chur sees average daytime highs of -4°C and overnight lows near -12°C, with 78 mm of precipitation across 12.1 wet days and about 8.8 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -4°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Chur's 1st-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Chur's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-4°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-12°
1st coldest
Precipitation
78 mm
12.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 42 min
8:09 AM – 4:53 PM
Cloud cover
59%
1st clearest
Wind
4 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
1.63 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Chur is capital of the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 8.2 µg/m³ · 2020
Density
652/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 -4°C through the month.

A typical January day in Chur reaches about -4°C in the afternoon and slips back to -12°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -9°C and 1°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-4-12
2-4-12
3-4-12
4-4-12
5-4-11
6-4-11
7-4-11
8-4-11
9-4-11
10-4-11
11-4-11
12-4-11
13-4-11
14-4-11
15-4-12
16-4-12
17-4-12
18-4-12
19-4-12
20-4-12
21-4-12
22-4-12
23-3-12
24-3-12
25-3-12
26-3-12
27-3-12
28-3-11
29-3-11
30-3-11
31-3-11

How January really feels in Chur

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
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Chur weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-4° / -12°7812.113.58.80.0
Feb-2° / -11°6911.512.6100.0
Mar / -7°911414.611.60.0
Apr / -3°10715.212.513.30.3
May11° / 14018.8714.82.0
Jun15° / 16418.92.115.63.5
Jul17° / 15417.80.715.34.4
Aug16° / 16316.50.5144.5
Sep13° / 12013.73.212.43.1
Oct / -0°11112.16.410.61.3
Nov / -6°11913.5139.20.0
Dec-3° / -11°9113.113.98.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time in January, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14159
24159
34159
44159
54060
64060
74159
84258
94258
104258
114357
124357
134456
144357
154357
164456
174456
184555
194555
204456
214456
224555
234555
244456
254456
264357
274357
284258
294159
304159
314159

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Chur gets around 78 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 14 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14347
24347
34246
44246
54146
64145
74044
83944
93943
103842
113842
123741
133741
143741
153641
163641
173741
183741
193741
203742
213742
223842
233843
243843
253943
263943
273943
283943
293943
304044
314044

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 4 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 4 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
194calm
204calm
214calm
224calm
234calm
244calm
254calm
264calm
274calm
284calm
294calm
304calm
314calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:13 AM to 7:57 AM, and sunset from 4:37 PM to 5:14 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.48:134:37
28.48:134:38
38.48:134:39
48.48:134:39
58.58:134:40
68.58:134:41
78.58:134:42
88.58:134:43
98.58:124:45
108.68:124:46
118.68:124:47
128.68:114:48
138.68:114:49
148.78:114:50
158.78:104:52
168.78:094:53
178.88:094:54
188.88:084:55
198.88:084:57
208.98:074:58
218.98:064:59
228.98:055:01
239.08:055:02
249.08:045:04
259.08:035:05
269.18:025:06
279.18:015:08
289.28:005:09
299.27:595:11
309.27:585:12
319.37:575:14

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.63 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.31 kWh/m² to a high of 5.69 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.63 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.4Dim
21.4Dim
31.4Dim
41.4Dim
51.4Dim
61.4Dim
71.4Dim
81.4Dim
91.5Dim
101.5Dim
111.5Dim
121.5Dim
131.6Dim
141.6Dim
151.6Dim
161.6Dim
171.6Dim
181.7Dim
191.7Dim
201.7Dim
211.8Dim
221.8Dim
231.8Dim
241.8Dim
251.9Dim
261.9Dim
271.9Dim
281.9Dim
292.0Dim
302.0Moderate
312.1Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Chur?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Chur.

What to pack for Chur in January

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

In January, Chur sees daytime highs around -4°C and nights near -12°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 Chur 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 Chur peaks around July 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. 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 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar6High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Chur?

Chur sits at 46.8°N, 9.5°E, 601 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Davos, 24 km away.

DavosVaduzBludenzFeldkirchSt. MoritzHohenemsHerisauDornbirn

Topography around Chur

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Chur has very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,304 m around an average of 879 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,677 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,742 m.

The land around Chur is covered by trees (65%) within 3 km, trees (49%) and grassland (39%) within 16 km, and grassland (43%) and trees (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,304 m
16 km
2,677 m
80 km
3,742 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Davos 24 km · Vaduz 32 km · Bludenz 40 km · Feldkirch 43 km · St. Moritz 46 km · Hohenems 58 km · Herisau 63 km · Dornbirn 65 km

Switzerland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / J
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 112% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$114,769
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 564
Religion
Roman Catholic 34%none 29%Protestant 23%other Christian 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 Chur (46.8499°, 9.5329°, elevation 601 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).