We are planning a trip to northern India for about 2 weeks in January. Is the weather there usually OK in January, or is it usually cold and possibly foggy? Thank you.

Hi, wk,

We were in Delhi, Varanasi, Agra and Rajasthan from Jan 19-Feb 9, and as I understand it, this year was unusually chilly, although it really didn't stay too cool for very long.

At the beginning of the trip, the evenings and mornings were cool, perhaps low-40s, but by the mid-afternoon, it had warmed up considerably. By mid-trip, it had warmed up considerably, and the days went up into to 70s (maybe into the 80s in Jaisalmer. Mornings and evenings were always cooler, but by the end of the trip, they were in the 50s, even low 60s.

As many have said, layers, layers, and more layers. And this was absolutely true. I wore a short-sleeve t-shirt, with a long-sleeve t-shirt, with a cashmere sweater, and a lightweight safari jacket. These pieces were layered on and peeled off from morning to afternoon to evening. It worked very well!

Fog does occur in January and it can be quite heavy. We were fortunate that it didn't affect any of our flights. However, it did cause a long delay for us with the overnight train, believe it or not! What we were told was that once the train is delayed, it stays last, allowing other trains to remain on time. So though the fog had long since cleared by the time we finally arrived in the train station, the fog was the actual cause of our delay!

Hope this helps.
Paule

Hi Paule,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. We are considering departing for India the second week of January or at the tail end of January. I suppose that it probably wouldn't make much of a difference, one or the other of those times. One never knows about the weather (including fog).... Still weighing the alternatives. I appreciate all your advice.

My sense is that the odds are in your favor if you go later in the month, going into February. The weather was certainly milder by February, and it was a perfect 70+ degrees the day we returned home.

I was in northern India in January (Delh, the Punjab, Jaipur) and weather was fine. A bit chilly, but it sure beat the previous trip June 2010 when temps were 110 F!!
Fog is definitely a possibility, and can affect not only flights but your sunrise views of Taj Mahal (if you are going there)>
I wouldnt worry about which week in January in the north--just go and enjoy!!! In the South (Kerala, TM) early Jan is a great time.