Climate averages 1991–2020
Nairobi weather
in January.
A warm, fairly dry month: the 3rd warmest and the 5th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a warm month in Nairobi: daytime highs average 25.6°C and nights cool to about 14.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 35 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes January a fairly dry month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 11 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Karuri (Kiambu County), Kenya (14 km away). In January its highs average 23.6°C, 2.0°C cooler than Nairobi, with 35 mm of rain.
Among the 37 cities listed in Kenya, Nairobi ranks 20th of 37 for the warmest January highs and joint 16th of 37 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 37 cities is 27.3°C; Nairobi is 1.7°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 1.2°C to 26.8°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 35 mm to 30 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Nairobi climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 25.6°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 35 | 6.3 | 12.212 h |
| February | 26.8°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 30 | 4.6 | 12.212 h |
| March | 26.5°C15.6°C | 15.6°C | 57 | 10.3 | 12.112 h |
| April | 24.4°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 114 | 19.4 | 12.112 h |
| May | 23.2°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 92 | 16.0 | 12.112 h |
| June | 22.2°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 42 | 7.9 | 12.012 h |
| July | 21.7°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 13 | 3.2 | 12.112 h |
| August | 22.3°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 21 | 3.9 | 12.112 h |
| September | 24.2°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 16 | 3.3 | 12.112 h |
| October | 25.0°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 40 | 9.3 | 12.112 h |
| November | 23.2°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 83 | 17.6 | 12.212 h |
| December | 24.0°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 47 | 10.2 | 12.212 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Karuri (Kiambu County), Kenya in JanuaryKenya · 14 kmHigh 23.6°C · Low 12.8°C · 35 mm rain
- Ongata Rongai in JanuaryKenya · 14 kmHigh 25.1°C · Low 14.6°C · 31 mm rain
- Kikuyu in JanuaryKenya · 18 kmHigh 23.6°C · Low 12.6°C · 35 mm rain
- Ngong in JanuaryKenya · 18 kmHigh 25.1°C · Low 13.8°C · 35 mm rain
- Mlolongo in JanuaryKenya · 19 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 14.8°C · 41 mm rain
- Ruiru in JanuaryKenya · 22 kmHigh 25.1°C · Low 13.6°C · 30 mm rain
- Kitengela in JanuaryKenya · 27 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 15.1°C · 41 mm rain
- Limuru in JanuaryKenya · 27 kmHigh 22.4°C · Low 10.8°C · 45 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Nairobi) is explained once on the Nairobi year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Kikuyu, Karuri (Kiambu County), Kenya and Ngong lie in the same rainfall cell, so their rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.