Lugano weather in January

In January, Lugano sees average daytime highs of 5°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 66 mm of precipitation across 7.2 wet days and about 8.9 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 45% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 30 min at the start of January to 9 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Lugano's 1st-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lugano's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
1st coldest
Precipitation
66 mm
7.2 wet days
Daylight
8 h 48 min
8:09 AM – 4:58 PM
Cloud cover
49%
1st clearest
Wind
5 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
1.56 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Lugano is city in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 11.2 µg/m³ · 2020
Density
832/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 5°C through the month.

A typical January day in Lugano reaches about 5°C in the afternoon and slips back to -1°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
15-1
25-1
35-1
45-1
55-1
65-1
75-1
85-1
95-1
105-1
115-1
125-1
135-1
145-1
155-1
165-1
175-1
185-1
195-1
205-1
215-1
225-1
235-1
245-1
255-1
265-1
275-1
285-1
295-1
305-1
315-1

How January really feels in Lugano

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Lugano 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 / -1°667.25.48.90.0
Feb / -0°627.45.1100.7
Mar11° / 8793.311.62.7
Apr14° / 14212.71.413.33.9
May18° / 10°16214.70.114.75.3
Jun22° / 14°17013.8015.56.1
Jul24° / 16°14112.8015.26.7
Aug24° / 16°17413.50146.6
Sep19° / 13°17511.2012.36.0
Oct14° / 18011.40.410.74.1
Nov / 18011.12.79.21.8
Dec / 817.74.38.50.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time in January, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 42%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15842
25842
35743
45743
55743
65743
75743
85743
95743
105743
115743
125842
135842
145842
155842
165842
175941
186040
195941
205941
216040
226040
236040
245941
255941
265842
275842
285842
295743
305743
315743

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Lugano gets around 66 mm of rain and snow over 7.2 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 24% and peaks near 25% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12519
22519
32519
42519
52519
62519
72519
82518
92518
102518
112517
122517
132517
142417
152417
162417
172317
182316
192316
202216
212217
222217
232217
242217
252217
262217
272317
282317
292417
302417
312517

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 30 min at the start of January to 9 h 24 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 7:57 AM, and sunset from 4:42 PM to 5:18 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.58:124:42
28.58:124:43
38.58:124:44
48.58:124:45
58.68:124:46
68.68:124:47
78.68:124:48
88.68:124:49
98.68:114:50
108.78:114:51
118.78:114:52
128.78:114:53
138.78:104:55
148.88:104:56
158.88:094:57
168.88:094:58
178.98:084:59
188.98:085:01
198.98:075:02
208.98:065:03
219.08:065:05
229.08:055:06
239.18:045:07
249.18:035:09
259.18:025:10
269.28:025:11
279.28:015:13
289.28:005:14
299.37:595:15
309.37:585:17
319.47:575:18

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.56 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.26 kWh/m² to a high of 5.94 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.56 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.3Dim
21.3Dim
31.3Dim
41.3Dim
51.3Dim
61.4Dim
71.4Dim
81.4Dim
91.4Dim
101.4Dim
111.4Dim
121.4Dim
131.5Dim
141.5Dim
151.5Dim
161.5Dim
171.6Dim
181.6Dim
191.6Dim
201.6Dim
211.7Dim
221.7Dim
231.7Dim
241.8Dim
251.8Dim
261.8Dim
271.8Dim
281.9Dim
291.9Dim
301.9Dim
311.9Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Lugano?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Lugano.

What to pack for Lugano in January

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

In January, Lugano sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near -1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 7 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Lugano 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 Lugano peaks around July 16 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 8Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Lugano?

Lugano sits at 46.0°N, 9.0°E, 284 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Bellinzona, 21 km away.

BellinzonaLocarnoVareseComoMalnateErbaPallanza-Intra-SunaCantù

Topography around Lugano

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lugano has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 918 m around an average of 400 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,007 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,905 m.

The land around Lugano is covered by trees (44%), artificial surfaces (25%) and water (22%) within 3 km, trees (76%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
918 m
16 km
2,007 m
80 km
3,905 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Bellinzona 21 km · Locarno 22 km · Varese 24 km · Como 24 km · Malnate 25 km · Erba 30 km · Pallanza-Intra-Suna 31 km · Cantù 33 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 Lugano (46.0101°, 8.96°, elevation 284 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).