Nairobi weather in January
In January, Nairobi has daytime highs averaging 26 °C, nights around 14 °C, with 6.5 wet days. Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
- 25.6°C Average high
- 14.4°C Average low
- 6.5days Wet days
- 39mm Rainfall
- 12h Daylight
Daily temperatures through January
How January develops
Averages for the first, middle and last part of the month, from daily 1991–2020 normals. Chance of rain is the share of years in which that calendar day recorded more than 1 mm.
| Days | Avg high | Avg low | Chance of rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–10 January | 25.1 °C | 14.4 °C | 21 % |
| 11–20 January | 25.5 °C | 14.4 °C | 25 % |
| 21–31 January | 26.2 °C | 14.4 °C | 17 % |
- Average highs rise from 25.1 °C early in January to 26.2 °C by the end of it.
- Rain is most likely over days 11–20 of January (25 % of days) and least likely over days 21–31 (17 %).
What to expect
| Measure | Typical January | Share of the month |
|---|---|---|
| Days above 25 °C | 20 of 31 | 65 % |
| Days above 30 °C | 0.1 of 31 | 0 % |
| Days below 0 °C | 0 of 31 | 0 % |
| Days with more than 1 mm rain | 6.5 of 31 | 21 % |
Conditions in January
| Measure | Average |
|---|---|
| Mean temperature | 20 °C |
| Record high (1991–2020) | 31 °C |
| Record low (1991–2020) | 11 °C |
| Relative humidity | 65 % |
| Wind speed | 17 km/h |
| Cloud cover | 53 % |
January compared with the months around it
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.6 °C | 39 mm | 53 % |
| February | 26.9 °C | 36 mm | 52 % |
| March | 26.5 °C | 63 mm | 59 % |
| November | 23.2 °C | 97 mm | 76 % |
| December | 23.9 °C | 53 mm | 61 % |
See all twelve months for Nairobi
- January is the 3rd warmest month here.
- It is the 5th driest month of the year.
- It ranks 2nd for least cloud cover.
- Days last about 12 hours from sunrise to sunset.
- It rains on 6.5 of 31 days — 21 % of the month.
- Nights are about 11 °C cooler than the middle of the day.
- The hottest January day on record since 1991 reached 31 °C, 5.6 °C above the usual daytime high.
QuestionsJanuary in Nairobi, answered
How warm is Nairobi in January?
Daily highs average 26 °C and nights fall to about 14 °C, a spread of 11 °C between afternoon and dawn. That makes January the 3rd warmest month of the year here.
Does it rain much in Nairobi in January?
January averages 39 mm of rain, spread over about 7 of the 31 days — 21 % of the month. Cloud cover averages 53 % of the sky.
How long are the days in January?
Nairobi averages 12 hours between sunrise and sunset in January. Day length is computed from latitude and date, so it is exact rather than modelled — but it says nothing about how much of that time is sunny.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: daylight hours, beach and comfort scores, monthly rankings, threshold day counts, chance of a wet day by date, ten-day averages within the month. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.