Places to avoid in January

Cyclone season on47 places

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

• 🇲🇬 Nosy Be · Madagascar — Cyclone season, 15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  58
• 🇦🇺 Port Douglas · Australia — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April brings the rain and the cyclone risk together. · instead September
  59
• 🇦🇺 Cairns · Australia — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — November to April is the cyclone half of the year. · instead October
  60
• 🇵🇫 Papeete · French Polynesia — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — The wet season doubles as the cyclone window. · instead August
  63
• 🇲🇬 Antananarivo · Madagascar — Cyclone season, 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  64
• 🇵🇫 Bora Bora · French Polynesia — Cyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — The South Pacific storm season. · instead August
  65

…and 41 more, 11 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Monsoon on44 places

The wet season proper — heavy, daily, and the reason prices fall.

• 🇦🇺 Kakadu · Australia — Monsoon, 1 Nov – 31 May (usually) · instead July
  35
• 🇮🇩 Yogyakarta · Indonesia — Monsoon, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) — Long afternoon storms roll off Merapi and the Prambanan open-air stage moves indoors for the season. · instead July
  51
• 🇸🇬 Singapore · Singapore — Monsoon, 1 Nov – 31 Jan (usually) · instead February
  54
• 🇲🇬 Nosy Be · Madagascar — Monsoon, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) — Heavy afternoon rain, dive visibility down and a good share of the smaller hotels closed until after Easter. · instead July
  58
• 🇿🇲 Livingstone · Zambia — Monsoon, 15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) — Afternoon storms and green bush. · instead June
  59
• 🇮🇩 Denpasar · Indonesia — Monsoon, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead August
  60

…and 38 more, 26 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Extreme cold on42 places

The weeks the city stops going outside — dzud, ice storms, minus thirty.

• 🇨🇦 Winnipeg · Canada — Extreme cold, 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually) · instead June
  28
• 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia — Extreme cold, 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually) · instead June
  32
• 🇨🇦 Edmonton · Canada — Extreme cold, 1 Dec – 28 Feb — Arctic air settles over the city for stretches of a week and extreme cold warnings become routine. · instead August
  34
• 🇨🇦 Toronto · Canada — Extreme cold, 15 Dec – 28 Feb (usually) · instead September
  36
• 🇺🇸 Detroit · United States — Extreme cold, 10 Dec – 1 Mar (usually) — Two months of grey, freezing days with the wind coming off the lakes and a snow event most weeks. · instead September
  39
• 🇮🇳 Srinagar · India — Extreme cold, 21 Dec – 31 Jan · instead October
  42

…and 36 more, 11 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Winter smog on35 places

Coal smoke and a valley inversion; the air, not the cold, is the problem.

• 🇵🇱 Warsaw · Poland — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June
  39
• 🇵🇱 Kraków · Poland — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June
  41
• 🇨🇳 Beijing · China — Winter smog, 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead April
  48
• 🇷🇸 Belgrade · Serbia — Winter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead May
  54
• 🇨🇳 Xi'an · China — Winter smog, 15 Nov – 28 Feb · instead April
  57
• 🇮🇹 Milan · Italy — Winter smog, 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead September
  60

…and 29 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Flood season on31 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

• 🇦🇺 Uluru · Australia — Flood season, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July
  39
• 🇩🇪 Hamburg · Germany — Flood season, 15 Sep – 31 Mar — The city counts its storm tide season from mid-September to the end of March. · instead August
  43
• 🇩🇪 Cologne · Germany — Flood season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead June
  48
• 🇧🇷 Foz do Iguaçu · Brazil — Flood season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually) · instead July
  51
• 🇮🇩 Jakarta · Indonesia — Flood season, 1 Jan – 28 Feb (usually) — The peak of the wet season is also when the canals back up and whole districts go under for a day or two. · instead August
  51
• 🇬🇧 York · United Kingdom — Flood season, 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead August
  53

…and 25 more, 14 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Dust season on21 places

Spring dust and sandstorms; sensitive lungs stay in.

• 🇪🇸 Lanzarote · Spain — Dust season, 15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) · instead June
  82
• 🇪🇸 Fuerteventura · Spain — Dust season, 15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) · instead June
  84
• 🇪🇸 Las Palmas · Spain — Dust season, 15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) · instead May
  92
• 🇨🇮 Abidjan · Côte d'Ivoire — Dust season, 10 Dec – 15 Feb (usually) — Abidjan sits at the far southern edge of the harmattan. · instead August
  68
• 🇬🇭 Accra · Ghana — Dust season, 5 Dec – 10 Feb (usually) · instead August
  68
• 🇹🇬 Lomé · Togo — Dust season, 5 Dec – 15 Feb (usually) · instead August
  69

…and 15 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Smoke season on17 places

Burning fields or forests; the air, not the weather, is the problem.

• 🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche · Argentina — Smoke season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  14
• 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia — Smoke season, 1 Nov – 31 Mar · instead June
  32
• 🇰🇿 Almaty · Kazakhstan — Smoke season, 15 Nov – 1 Mar (usually) — Coal heating and a valley inversion pin the smoke over the city for weeks at a time once the cold sets in. · instead September
  39
• 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City · United States — Smoke season, 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually) · instead May
  51
• 🇹🇭 Bangkok · Thailand — Smoke season, 25 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) — Agricultural fires north and west of the city put a lid of smoke over Bangkok through the late dry season. · instead December
  73
• 🇳🇵 Kathmandu · Nepal — Smoke season, 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead November
  76

…and 11 more, 9 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Storm season on16 places

Tornadoes, derechos, hail — the afternoons to watch the sky.

• 🇳🇴 Svolvær · Norway — Storm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July
  14
• 🇳🇴 Ålesund · Norway — Storm season, 15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually) · instead July
  26
• 🇮🇪 Dingle · Ireland — Storm season, 15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually) — Named lows come in off the ocean from mid-autumn and the peninsula takes them first. · instead June
  40
• 🇫🇷 La Rochelle · France — Storm season, 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead August
  42
• Tórshavn · Faroe Islands — Storm season, 1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  45
• 🇺🇸 Seattle · United States — Storm season, 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead July
  52

…and 10 more, 6 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Avalanche season on14 places

Backcountry and passes on forecast; the weeks the road closes after a dump.

• 🇬🇪 Mestia · Georgia — Avalanche season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) · instead September
  49
• 🇬🇧 Fort William · United Kingdom — Avalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) — The Lochaber forecast runs from mid-December to mid-April and covers Ben Nevis and the Aonachs. · instead May
  52
• 🇬🇪 Kazbegi · Georgia — Avalanche season, 1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  60
• 🇩🇪 Berchtesgaden · Germany — Avalanche season, 1 Jan – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September
  61
• 🇦🇹 Innsbruck · Austria — Avalanche season, 1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually) · instead April
  68
• 🇬🇧 Aviemore · United Kingdom — Avalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead January
  72

…and 8 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Extreme heat on6 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

• 🇦🇺 Uluru · Australia — Extreme heat, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July
  39
• 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires · Argentina — Extreme heat, 1 Jan – 25 Feb (usually) — River-plate humidity on top of the heat, and the porteños who can afford to have gone to the coast. · instead October
  79
• 🇦🇺 Adelaide · Australia — Extreme heat, 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead November
  85
• 🇦🇺 Alice Springs · Australia — Extreme heat, 1 Dec – 28 Feb · instead August
  55
• 🇵🇾 Asunción · Paraguay — Extreme heat, 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually) · instead July
  57
• 🇸🇿 Hlane Royal National Park · Eswatini — Extreme heat, 1 Dec – 28 Feb · instead June
  68

Algae & red tide on4 places

Blooms that close beaches and clear the water of fish for a few weeks; not the Caribbean weed.

• 🇺🇸 Clearwater · United States — Algae & red tide, 1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually) · instead April
  70
• 🇺🇸 Sarasota · United States — Algae & red tide, 1 Sep – 1 Mar (usually) · instead March
  74
• 🇺🇸 Naples, Florida · United States — Algae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) — Blooms of Karenia brevis drift onto this coast most often between autumn and late winter. · instead April
  79
• 🇺🇸 Tampa · United States — Algae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) · instead February
  84

Too wet by the numbers273 places

Eighteen or more rainy days, or a soaked month by volume — the real rainy season, not afternoon showers.

• 🇵🇪 Ollantaytambo · Peru — 31 rainy days, 274 mm · instead July
  73
• 🇵🇪 Aguas Calientes · Peru — 31 rainy days, 309 mm · instead July
  67
• 🇪🇨 Quito · Ecuador — 30 rainy days, 309 mm · instead August
  62
• 🇲🇬 Nosy Be · Madagascar — 29 rainy days, 592 mm · instead July
  58
• 🇮🇩 Lombok · Indonesia — 29 rainy days, 298 mm · instead August
  63
• 🇮🇩 Denpasar · Indonesia — 29 rainy days, 366 mm · instead August
  60
• 🇮🇩 Nusa Penida · Indonesia — 29 rainy days, 366 mm · instead August
  62
• 🇮🇩 Labuan Bajo · Indonesia — 28 rainy days, 391 mm · instead August
  60

…and 265 more, 111 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Too hot by the numbers92 places

Afternoons that feel like 35 °C or more, or heat the humidity turns sticky. A dry, sunny month cannot average this away.

• 🇧🇷 Foz do Iguaçu · Brazil — 39°C afternoons · instead July
  51
• 🇧🇷 Salvador · Brazil — 38°C afternoons · instead September
  87
• 🇹🇿 Zanzibar · Tanzania — 38°C afternoons · instead September
  84
• 🇲🇽 Acapulco · Mexico — 37°C afternoons · instead April
  90
• 🇨🇴 Cartagena · Colombia — 37°C afternoons · instead January
  91
• 🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City · Vietnam — 37°C afternoons · instead February
  73
• 🇹🇭 Khao Lak · Thailand — 37°C afternoons · instead February
  88
• 🇮🇳 Kochi · India — 37°C afternoons · instead January
  75

…and 84 more, 31 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Too cold by the numbers101 places

Afternoons that feel like −5 °C or below. Fine for a ski trip; not for walking a city.

• 🇨🇦 Churchill · Canada — -25°C afternoons · instead July
  30
• 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia — -19°C afternoons · instead June
  32
• 🇬🇱 Ilulissat · Greenland — -15°C afternoons · instead July
  24
• 🇮🇳 Leh · India — -15°C afternoons · instead August
  37
• 🇨🇦 Winnipeg · Canada — -14°C afternoons · instead June
  28
• 🇫🇮 Levi · Finland — -13°C afternoons · instead March
  68
• 🇺🇸 Killington · United States — -12°C afternoons · instead March
  80
• 🇷🇺 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky · Russia — -12°C afternoons · instead July
  37

…and 93 more, 42 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.

Bad air by the numbers54 places

A monthly mean air-quality index in the poor or unhealthy bands.

• 🇮🇳 Agra · India — AQI 186, unhealthy air · instead February
  82
• 🇮🇳 Delhi · India — AQI 186, unhealthy air · instead February
  80
• 🇮🇳 Kolkata · India — AQI 184, unhealthy air · instead January
  92
• 🇮🇳 Varanasi · India — AQI 176, unhealthy air · instead December
  86
• 🇨🇳 Beijing · China — AQI 169, unhealthy air · instead April
  48
• 🇮🇳 Mumbai · India — AQI 159, unhealthy air · instead January
  85
• 🇨🇳 Chengdu · China — AQI 157, unhealthy air · instead April
  67
• 🇨🇳 Chongqing · China — AQI 154, unhealthy air · instead March
  67

…and 46 more, 20 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own January verdict.