Istanbul weather in January
Temperature, sea and sunshine in January: long-term averages from 30 years of weather data, not a forecast.
Holiday weather in January
Poor
Best time to visit: May – September
What is the weather like in Istanbul in January?
In January, Istanbul is cold: daytime highs average 9 °C, and nights cool down to about 5 °C. The sea averages 9.4 °C – swimming is only for the hardy. Expect around 4 hours of sunshine a day. Rain is frequent, with about 13 rainy days and 87 mm in total. Snow falls on about 3 days. All in all, January is not an ideal month for a holiday in Istanbul.
January compared
How the weather changes from December to February. Tap a month to open it.
| DecemberDec | JanuaryJan | FebruaryFeb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 25 | 17 | 25 |
| Day | 11° | 9° | 9° |
| Night | 7° | 5° | 4° |
| Sea | 12° | 9° | 8° |
| Sun | 4 h | 4 h | 5 h |
| Rain days | 13 | 13 | 12 |
More details for January
- Daylight
- 9 h 32 min08:27 – 17:59
- UV index
- 2 · lowclear sky, noon (estimate)
- Muggy days
- 0 daysdew point 18 °C or more
- Wind
- 23 km/haverage daily peak
- Cloud cover
- 66 %on average
- Hot days
- 0 days30 °C or more
- Snow days
- 3 days1 cm or more of fresh snow
- Time zone
- UTC+3Europe/Istanbul
How the score comes together
- Temperatureweight 50 %5 %
- Sunshineweight 20 %20 %
- Few rainy daysweight 30 %36 %
Each factor is rated from 0 to 100 % and weighted for the travel style “City break”.
What to pack in January
- Warm jacket
- Hat, scarf & gloves
- Rain jacket or umbrella
Istanbul in January: quick answers
Is Istanbul hot in January?
No. In January, Istanbul is cold: daytime highs average 9 °C and nights drop to about 5 °C.
Can you swim in Istanbul in January?
Only if you don't mind cold water: in January the sea averages just 9.4 °C. Comfortable swimming is possible from June to September.
Does it rain much in Istanbul in January?
Rain is frequent, with about 13 rainy days and 87 mm in total.
Istanbul month by month
The whole year in IstanbulAll destinations: Turkey
Climate averages 1996–2025, not a forecast. Data: Copernicus ERA5 / ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), NOAA OISST, GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)