Thun weather in January

In January, Thun sees average daytime highs of 2°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 107 mm of precipitation across 12.9 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 2°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 Thun's 4th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Thun's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-5°
1st coldest
Precipitation
107 mm
12.9 wet days
Daylight
8 h 42 min
8:17 AM – 5:01 PM
Cloud cover
60%
4th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
1.45 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 12.4 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 2°C through the month.

A typical January day in Thun reaches about 2°C in the afternoon and slips back to -5°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -3°C and 7°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-15°-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12-5
22-5
32-5
42-5
52-5
62-5
72-5
82-5
92-5
102-5
112-5
122-5
132-5
142-5
152-5
162-5
172-5
182-5
192-5
202-5
212-5
222-5
232-5
242-5
252-6
262-6
272-6
282-6
292-6
302-6
312-6

How January really feels in Thun

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.

Thun 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°10712.911.48.80.0
Feb / -5°10011.710.4100.0
Mar / -1°10814.19.511.61.0
Apr11° / 12014.86.713.32.4
May15° / 18318.32.614.83.8
Jun19° / 10°182180.415.64.9
Jul21° / 11°19316.80.215.35.6
Aug20° / 11°180160.1145.6
Sep16° / 13713.7112.44.8
Oct12° / 11212.42.810.63.1
Nov / -1°11713.27.99.20.6
Dec / -4°12213.711.48.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
24159
34159
44159
54159
64258
74159
84159
94258
104258
114357
124357
134456
144456
154456
164456
174456
184456
194456
204456
214456
224456
234456
244456
254357
264357
274258
284357
294258
304258
314357

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Thun gets around 107 mm of rain and snow over 12.9 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 44% on the wettest days, and about 11 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14437
24437
34437
44336
54336
64335
74235
84234
94134
104134
114034
124034
134034
144035
154035
164036
174136
184137
194137
204138
214138
224139
234139
244139
254139
264139
274038
284038
294038
304037
313937

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 6 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

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 8:20 AM to 8:04 AM, and sunset from 4:45 PM to 5:22 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.48:204:45
28.48:214:46
38.48:214:47
48.58:204:48
58.58:204:48
68.58:204:49
78.58:204:50
88.58:204:52
98.58:204:53
108.68:194:54
118.68:194:55
128.68:194:56
138.68:184:57
148.78:184:58
158.78:175:00
168.78:175:01
178.88:165:02
188.88:165:03
198.88:155:05
208.98:145:06
218.98:135:07
228.98:135:09
239.08:125:10
249.08:115:11
259.08:105:13
269.18:095:14
279.18:085:16
289.28:075:17
299.28:065:19
309.28:055:20
319.38:045:22

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.45 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.17 kWh/m² to a high of 5.73 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.45 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.2Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.2Dim
51.2Dim
61.3Dim
71.3Dim
81.3Dim
91.3Dim
101.3Dim
111.3Dim
121.4Dim
131.4Dim
141.4Dim
151.4Dim
161.4Dim
171.5Dim
181.5Dim
191.5Dim
201.5Dim
211.6Dim
221.6Dim
231.6Dim
241.6Dim
251.7Dim
261.7Dim
271.7Dim
281.7Dim
291.8Dim
301.8Dim
311.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Thun?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Thun.

What to pack for Thun in January

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

In January, Thun sees daytime highs around 2°C and nights near -5°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 Thun 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 Thun peaks around July 15 at about 9 (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 9Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Thun?

Thun sits at 46.8°N, 7.6°E, 560 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Steffisburg, 3.0 km away.

InterlakenKönizBernLauterbrunnenBurgdorfGrindelwaldFribourg

Topography around Thun

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Thun has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 456 m around an average of 603 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,858 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,156 m.

The land around Thun is covered by trees (39%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, trees (43%) and grassland (43%) within 16 km, and trees (39%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
456 m
16 km
1,858 m
80 km
4,156 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Steffisburg 3.0 km · Interlaken 20 km · Köniz 25 km · Bern 26 km · Lauterbrunnen 28 km · Burgdorf 34 km · Grindelwald 35 km · Fribourg 36 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 Thun (46.7512°, 7.6217°, elevation 560 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).