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Climate · Reykjavik

Reykjavik in January

Cold and wet, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

January in Reykjavik is cold: highs near 37°F, lows near 26°F. Rain or snow falls on about four days a week, and the days lengthen by 1 hour 41 minutes from the first week to the last.January in Reykjavik is cold: highs near 3°C, lows near -3°C. Rain or snow falls on about four days a week, and the days lengthen by 1 hour 41 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
37°F3°Caverage
Low
26°F-3°Caverage
Wet days
4a week · 60% of days
Daylight
5h 28mon average

Is January a good time to visit Reykjavik?

January sits outside Reykjavik's mildest months, which run from June to August. Expect cold days and rain or snow on about four days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How January sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 37°F in January, against 37°F to 61°F through the year.Highs near 3°C in January, against 3°C to 16°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

60% of days in January, against 52% to 64% through the year.

Cloud cover

76% cover in January, against 61% to 76% through the year.

Daylight

5h 28m in January, against 4h 20m to 20h 51m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with January shaded. The olive line marks the mildest months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. December38°3°low 26°low -3°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.
  2. January37°3°low 26°low -3°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.
  3. February37°3°low 25°low -4°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.

Where Reykjavik sits, in January

Atlantic/Reykjavik
this place
typical high in January 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-January
10:57 AMsets 4:16 PM
Above the sea
0 mlow-lying
Latitude
64.1°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Grindavík41 km south-west

The land around Reykjavik, shaded by its typical high in January, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in Iceland in January

high · low · wet days
See January on the planning mapThe whole year in Reykjavik

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Reykjavik. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (0 m) against the climate model's (77 m).Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (0 m) against the climate model's (77 m). Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.