Swansea weather in January

In January, Swansea sees average daytime highs of 8°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 128 mm of precipitation across 17 wet days and about 8.1 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 8°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Swansea's 11th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Swansea's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
128 mm
17 wet days
Daylight
8 h 06 min
8:23 AM – 4:27 PM
Cloud cover
73%
11th clearest
Wind
26 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.82 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.1
out of 10

Swansea is city in Wales.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 9.9 µg/m³ · 2019
Founded
1158

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 8°C through the month.

A typical January day in Swansea reaches about 8°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 4°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and on par with February.

10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
186
286
386
486
586
686
786
886
986
1086
1186
1286
1386
1485
1585
1685
1785
1885
1985
2085
2185
2285
2385
2485
2585
2685
2785
2885
2985
3085
3185

Swansea weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 128170.48.11.1
Feb / 90130.69.61.1
Mar / 8313.70.311.51.6
Apr11° / 69120.113.62.5
May13° / 10°7212.4015.33.6
Jun16° / 12°7912.2016.34.6
Jul18° / 14°8613.8015.95.2
Aug18° / 15°10114.3014.45.2
Sep17° / 13°9613.2012.44.8
Oct14° / 11°14316.7010.43.4
Nov11° / 14317.308.62.2
Dec / 14516.80.37.71.4

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%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12674
22674
32773
42872
52872
62872
72872
82971
92971
102971
112971
122971
133169
143169
153169
163169
173070
183070
193169
203169
213169
223169
233169
243169
253169
263070
272971
282971
292971
302971
312971

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Swansea gets around 128 mm of rain and snow over 17 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 54% and peaks near 58% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1561
2561
3561
4561
5571
6571
7571
8581
9581
10581
11581
12581
13581
14581
15571
16571
17561
18561
19551
20541
21531
22531
23522
24512
25502
26502
27492
28492
29492
30483
31483

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 26 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 25 km/h on the calmest days to 27 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0102030151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
126breezy
226breezy
327breezy
427breezy
527breezy
627breezy
727breezy
827breezy
926breezy
1026breezy
1126breezy
1226breezy
1326breezy
1426breezy
1526breezy
1626breezy
1726breezy
1826breezy
1925breezy
2025breezy
2125breezy
2225breezy
2325breezy
2425breezy
2525breezy
2625breezy
2725breezy
2825breezy
2925breezy
3025breezy
3125breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:29 AM to 8:07 AM, and sunset from 4:09 PM to 4:52 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.78:294:09
27.78:294:10
37.78:294:11
47.78:294:12
57.78:294:13
67.88:284:14
77.88:284:15
87.88:284:16
97.88:274:17
107.98:274:19
117.98:264:20
127.98:264:21
138.08:254:23
148.08:244:24
158.08:244:26
168.18:234:27
178.18:224:29
188.18:214:30
198.28:214:32
208.28:204:33
218.38:194:35
228.38:184:36
238.48:174:38
248.48:154:40
258.58:144:41
268.58:134:43
278.58:124:45
288.68:114:46
298.68:094:48
308.78:084:50
318.88:074:52

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.82 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.65 kWh/m² to a high of 5.63 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.82 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.7Dim
80.7Dim
90.7Dim
100.7Dim
110.7Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.8Dim
190.9Dim
200.9Dim
210.9Dim
220.9Dim
230.9Dim
241.0Dim
251.0Dim
261.0Dim
271.0Dim
281.1Dim
291.1Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Swansea?

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

1.1
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Swansea.

What to pack for Swansea in January

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

In January, Swansea sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 5°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coata windbreaker

Sea temperature near Swansea in January

The nearest coast averages about 8°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct15Cool
Nov12Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Swansea 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 Swansea peaks around August 13 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 13UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Swansea?

Swansea sits at 51.6°N, 3.9°W, 18 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Clydach, 8.0 km away.

Topography around Swansea

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Swansea has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 194 m around an average of 44 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 422 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 878 m.

The land around Swansea is covered by artificial surfaces (34%), water (32%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, water (35%), grassland (28%) and trees (26%) within 16 km, and grassland (46%) and water (35%) within 80 km.

3 km
194 m
16 km
422 m
80 km
878 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
January weather nearby: Clydach 8.0 km · Briton Ferry 9.0 km · Gorseinon 9.0 km · Neath 11 km · Llanelli 17 km · Ammanford 19 km · Maesteg 20 km · Porthcawl 23 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 2%

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 Swansea (51.6208°, -3.9432°, elevation 18 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).