Wellington weather in January

In January, Wellington sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 54 mm of precipitation across 12.3 wet days and about 7.9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 30 min at the start of January to 8 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Wellington's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wellington's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
54 mm
12.3 wet days
Daylight
7 h 54 min
8:23 AM – 4:16 PM
Cloud cover
75%
12th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.7 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.8
out of 10

Wellington is town in Shropshire, England.

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 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Wellington reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
172
272
372
472
572
672
773
873
973
1073
1173
1273
1373
1473
1573
1673
1773
1872
1972
2072
2172
2272
2372
2472
2572
2672
2772
2872
2972
3072
3172

How January really feels in Wellington

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.

Wellington weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5412.31.17.90.8
Feb / 4710.51.39.51.1
Mar10° / 5011.40.711.52.0
Apr13° / 5711.90.313.63.1
May16° / 6211.9015.54.4
Jun18° / 10°6811.5016.55.5
Jul20° / 12°6411.9016.15.9
Aug20° / 12°6111.9014.55.8
Sep17° / 10°5710.5012.45.2
Oct14° / 6511.8010.33.6
Nov10° / 6312.60.38.51.9
Dec / 6311.917.51.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 73%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
22872
32872
42872
52872
62773
72872
82872
92872
102872
112872
122872
132872
142872
152872
162872
172872
182872
192872
202773
212773
222773
232674
242575
252575
262575
272575
282575
292575
302575
312575

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Wellington gets around 54 mm of rain and snow over 12.3 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 40% and peaks near 43% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1415
2415
3415
4425
5424
6424
7434
8434
9434
10434
11434
12424
13424
14424
15414
16404
17404
18394
19384
20384
21374
22374
23374
24364
25364
26364
27364
28364
29364
30375
31375

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 16 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 16 km/h on the calmest days to 16 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
116light breeze
216light breeze
316light breeze
416light breeze
516light breeze
616light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2516light breeze
2616light breeze
2716light breeze
2816light breeze
2916light breeze
3016light breeze
3116light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 30 min at the start of January to 8 h 36 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 8:05 AM, and sunset from 3:57 PM to 4:42 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.58:293:57
27.58:293:58
37.58:293:59
47.58:294:00
57.58:294:01
67.68:284:02
77.68:284:04
87.68:284:05
97.78:274:06
107.78:274:08
117.78:264:09
127.78:254:10
137.88:254:12
147.88:244:13
157.98:234:15
167.98:234:16
177.98:224:18
188.08:214:19
198.08:204:21
208.18:194:23
218.18:184:24
228.28:174:26
238.28:164:28
248.28:144:29
258.38:134:31
268.38:124:33
278.48:114:35
288.58:094:36
298.58:084:38
308.68:064:40
318.68:054:42

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.7 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.56 kWh/m² to a high of 4.98 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.7 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.6Dim
40.6Dim
50.6Dim
60.6Dim
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
120.7Dim
130.7Dim
140.7Dim
150.7Dim
160.7Dim
170.7Dim
180.7Dim
190.7Dim
200.8Dim
210.8Dim
220.8Dim
230.8Dim
240.8Dim
250.8Dim
260.9Dim
270.9Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
301.0Dim
311.0Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Wellington?

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

0.8
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 Wellington.

What to pack for Wellington in January

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

In January, Wellington sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Wellington 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 Wellington 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
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Wellington?

Wellington sits at 52.7°N, 2.5°W, 101 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Telford, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Wellington

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Wellington has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 261 m around an average of 114 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 383 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 884 m.

The land around Wellington is covered by trees (37%), artificial surfaces (24%) and cropland (21%) within 3 km, cropland (45%), grassland (27%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (55%) and cropland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
261 m
16 km
383 m
80 km
884 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Telford 5.0 km · Ryton 15 km · Shrewsbury 16 km · Stafford 29 km · Wolverhampton 29 km · Loughton 30 km · Wednesfield 31 km · Kingswinford 33 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 Wellington (52.7°, -2.5167°, elevation 101 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).