Macau (Macao) weather in January

January in Macau: nice, a little rain, with poor air quality — fine if you can take poor air.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Macau🇲🇴 Macao · Southern China & Hong Kong · City83
  1. 83Jan
  2. 85Feb
  3. 80Mar
  4. 71Apr
  5. 57May
  6. 43Jun
  7. 49Jul
  8. 38Aug
  9. 46Sep
  10. 63Oct
  11. 78Nov
  12. 89Dec

#3 of 12 months in Macau · #393 of 1413 destinations to visit in January · comfort 83/100 (tier A)

Days
20°C
Nights
13°C
Wet days
5
Sun
7.2 h
Humidity
73%
Daylight
11 h
Macau, Macao
Photo: Jeffrey Lau · Pexels

Traveller notes on Macau in January

Macau's forum describes January as cool, dry, and comfortable by day, with a jacket needed after dark — one of the better months before summer's humidity sets in. The one caveat regulars raise: if Chinese New Year lands during your trip, book well ahead, hotel prices spike hard.
Tripadvisor community · January · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Other months in Macau

Regulars quantify the typhoon risk rather than leaving it vague: the chance of one hitting during a specific one-week stay is under 10 percent, even though this month sits inside the peak August-September window for the strongest, signal-8 storms that shut down ferries, schools and casinos. Our row backs the wet, humid reality behind that risk, a striking 286.5mm of rain across 20.3 days, alongside intense heat, 31.5C reading as a hot 37C at 84 percent humidity, over 25.5C nights. Regulars are candid the year-to-year swing is real - some years bring three signal-8 closures in a season, others none at all - with one regular's most recent September described as warm and clear skies on most days despite sitting in typhoon season. The sea holds a very warm 29.8C. The record: 9.3 hours of sun, a 16.7 kph wind and AQI 78.
LessThanTenPercentChanceInAnyGivenWeek · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Mid-October to December is the comfortable stretch here and November is its best month: around 20C by the board's reckoning, our row a little warmer at 25.4C by day over 19.4C nights, with short sleeves at midday and a long sleeve after dark. Rain has dropped to 45.3mm across 6.3 days. The complication is the race. Grand Prix week closes streets across the peninsula, reroutes the buses and the hotel shuttles, and lifts room rates - while Cotai and Taipa carry on as normal, which is the practical answer if you are not here for it. The record: humidity 75 percent, 8.1 hours of sun, a 24.2C sea and AQI 89.
GrandPrixTakesThePeninsula · November · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
March here sits between the cold snaps and the rains: not hot yet, mostly past the chill, and the wet season still to come. Our row gives 22.4C reading as 24C over 17C nights with 69.4mm across 10.3 days. What regulars warn about is fog. Spring is the grey season, humidity starts climbing from late March - ours already reads 83 percent with a 17.1C dew point - and the view from the tower can simply be gone. They call March the year's least sunny month; our column puts it third at 7.8 hours, behind January and February, so the pattern is right and the ranking is not. A 19.9 kph wind makes a long walk cold. The record: a 21.5C sea and AQI 93.
GreyAndFoggyNotYetWet · March · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
A Hong Kong-forum thread planning a joint Hong Kong/Macau December trip lands on a Macau-specific rhythm: mornings are for the steep peninsula heritage climbs - Guia Hill, Monte Fort - while the cool afternoons suit the flat Cotai and Taipa side, timed so the light shows are running by evening. The advice is to skip Senado Square in the day and come back after 8pm once the festive lights are up and the tour buses have gone. December runs cooler than visitors expect, with harbour wind cutting through by evening. The record: 20.6C days feeling like 19C, 14.3C nights, 15mm total across 2.5 days and eight hours of sun. The gap between forum chat and the data: AQI sits at 111 here, hazier than the pleasant temperatures suggest.
TaipaEveningWalker · December · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Add your own note from Macau's card on the map.

Macau climate normals — January

Daytime high20°C / 67°F😎 nice
Nighttime low13°C / 56°F
Feels like (high)19°C / 66°F
Sea temperature17°C / 62°F🧊 bracing
Rainfall37 mm / 1.4 in🌦 some rain
Rainy days5 days
Humidity73%💧 humid
Dew point12°C / 54°F
Sunshine7.2 h/day
Daylight10.9 h
Wind20 km/h / 12 mph
Air quality (US AQI)102😷 poor

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in Macau in January

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

Busyschool holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for Macau's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Best weatherMacau's weather peaks December–February.

January includes Light Up Macao.

JFMAMJJASOND

Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather

What's on in Macau in January

Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.

  • Festival

    Light Up Macao

    1 Dec – 11 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New Year

    Projections and installations across the old squares and the Taipa houses from early December into January, tied to the handover anniversary on the twentieth. Free, and the least crowded thing the city puts on. Source ↗

What's on around the world in January →

Nearby, and something's on

Within 300 km of Macau — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.

Where is Macau?

Loading map…

Macau in January — FAQ

Is January a good time to visit Macau?
January in Macau: nice, a little rain, with poor air quality — fine if you can take poor air. It ranks #3 of 12 months for Macau on SeasonMap's comfort score (83/100).
What is the weather like in Macau in January?
In January, Macau averages a daily high of 19.7°C and a low of 13.4°C, with about 36.6 mm of rain over roughly 4.9 rainy days.
What is the air quality in Macau in January?
Macau has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 102 in January.

Within 300 km: Hong Kong's Hong Kong Marathon around 25 Jan – 25 Feb.