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Climate · Istanbul

Istanbul in January

Cool and wet, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

January in Istanbul is cool: highs near 51°F, lows near 40°F. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 29 minutes from the first week to the last.January in Istanbul is cool: highs near 11°C, lows near 4°C. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 29 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
51°F11°Caverage
Low
40°F4°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 46% of days
Daylight
9h 35mon average

Is January a good time to visit Istanbul?

January sits outside Istanbul's best months, which run in two parts: May to June, or September to October. Expect cool days and rain on about three 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 51°F in January, against 51°F to 86°F through the year.Highs near 11°C in January, against 11°C to 30°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

46% of days in January, against 14% to 46% through the year.

Cloud cover

62% cover in January, against 10% to 62% through the year.

Daylight

9h 35m in January, against 9h 16m to 15h 04m through the year.

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

Either side

  1. December54°12°low 44°low 7°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. January51°11°low 40°low 4°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. February51°11°low 39°low 4°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Istanbul sits, in January

Europe/Istanbul
this place
typical high in January 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-January
8:27 AMsets 5:59 PM
Above the sea
40 mlow-lying
Latitude
41.0°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Ankara350 km east

The land around Istanbul, 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 Turkey in January

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

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Istanbul. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. 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.