Davos weather in January

In January, Davos sees average daytime highs of -5°C and overnight lows near -13°C, with 81 mm of precipitation across 12.7 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 -5°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% 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 Davos's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Davos's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-5°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-13°
1st coldest
Precipitation
81 mm
12.7 wet days
Daylight
8 h 42 min
8:08 AM – 4:52 PM
Cloud cover
60%
1st clearest
Wind
5 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
1.68 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10
Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7.2 µg/m³ · 2020

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 Davos reaches about -5°C in the afternoon and slips back to -13°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -10°C and 0°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

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

How January really feels in Davos

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.

Davos 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-5° / -13°8112.713.98.80.0
Feb-3° / -12°691213.2100.0
Mar / -8°8614.114.911.60.0
Apr / -4°10315.212.913.30.2
May / 14019.68.914.81.5
Jun14° / 162203.315.63.1
Jul16° / 156191.315.34.0
Aug15° / 16618.21143.9
Sep12° / 11113.74.612.42.7
Oct / -1°104127.210.61.0
Nov / -7°11613.613.39.20.0
Dec-4° / -12°8513.114.28.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% 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 58%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13961
23961
33961
43961
53961
63961
74060
84159
94159
104357
114357
124357
134456
144555
154555
164555
174555
184555
194456
204456
214357
224357
234258
244258
254159
263961
273961
283862
293961
303862
313763

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Davos gets around 81 mm of rain and snow over 12.7 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 41% and peaks near 45% on the wettest days, and about 14 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14549
24449
34448
44348
54347
64246
74246
84145
94044
104043
113942
123942
133842
143842
153842
163842
173842
183942
193943
203943
213943
224044
234044
244044
254144
264145
274145
284145
294145
304245
314245

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 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 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 8:12 AM to 7:55 AM, and sunset from 4:36 PM to 5:12 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.48:124:36
28.48:124:37
38.48:124:38
48.48:124:38
58.58:124:39
68.58:124:40
78.58:114:41
88.58:114:42
98.58:114:44
108.68:114:45
118.68:104:46
128.68:104:47
138.68:104:48
148.78:094:49
158.78:094:51
168.78:084:52
178.88:084:53
188.88:074:54
198.88:064:56
208.98:064:57
218.98:054:58
228.98:045:00
239.08:035:01
249.08:025:02
259.08:025:04
269.18:015:05
279.18:005:07
289.27:595:08
299.27:585:10
309.27:575:11
319.37:555:12

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.68 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.36 kWh/m² to a high of 5.81 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.68 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.4Dim
21.4Dim
31.4Dim
41.4Dim
51.4Dim
61.5Dim
71.5Dim
81.5Dim
91.5Dim
101.5Dim
111.6Dim
121.6Dim
131.6Dim
141.6Dim
151.6Dim
161.7Dim
171.7Dim
181.7Dim
191.8Dim
201.8Dim
211.8Dim
221.8Dim
231.9Dim
241.9Dim
251.9Dim
261.9Dim
272.0Dim
282.0Moderate
292.0Moderate
302.1Moderate
312.1Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Davos?

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 Davos.

What to pack for Davos in January

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

In January, Davos sees daytime highs around -5°C and nights near -13°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Davos 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 Davos peaks around July 15 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 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 15UV 10Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Davos?

Davos sits at 46.8°N, 9.8°E, 0 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Chur, 24 km away.

ChurSt. MoritzBludenzVaduzFeldkirchHohenemsDornbirnLustenau

Topography around Davos

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Davos has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,149 m around an average of 1,892 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,434 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,742 m.

The land around Davos is covered by trees (46%) and grassland (41%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and trees (26%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%) and trees (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,149 m
16 km
2,434 m
80 km
3,742 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Chur 24 km · St. Moritz 34 km · Bludenz 39 km · Vaduz 44 km · Feldkirch 51 km · Hohenems 63 km · Dornbirn 68 km · Lustenau 70 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 Davos (46.8043°, 9.8372°, elevation 0 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).