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Laos in January

Our take: ideal

The dry season in full swing: 20 mm of rain all month in Luang Prabang, afternoons around 27 °C and mornings around 16 °C. The river is falling. It's one of the busiest months of the year.

By Pierre-Marie Coupry · updated · sources

Hikers at a viewpoint above Nong Khiaw, the Nam Ou and limestone peaks

Photo by Teodor Kuduschiev on Unsplash

Laos weather in January, city by city

Luang Prabang in January

By day
27°
At night
16°
Rain
20 mm
Rainy days
3
The Mekong
Low
Climate and Mekong water level in Luang Prabang, month by month
Month J (current month) F M A M J J A S O N D
Airhigh / low
Rainmm
20
10
35
82
142
179
288
313
195
71
23
20
Daysof rain 3261220232628231253
Mekonglevel Low Low Low Low Low Rising Rising High High Falling Low Low
Climate and Mekong water level in Luang Prabang, month by month
Month Low – high mm River
Jan (current month) 20 Low
Feb 10 Low
Mar 35 Low
Apr 82 Low
May 142 Low
Jun 179 Rising
Jul 288 Rising
Aug 313 High
Sep 195 High
Oct 71 Falling
Nov 23 Low
Dec 20 Low

Vientiane in January

By day
27°
At night
17°
Rain
11 mm
Rainy days
2
The Mekong
Low
Climate and Mekong water level in Vientiane, month by month
Month J (current month) F M A M J J A S O N D
Airhigh / low
Rainmm
11
14
38
76
254
312
372
409
310
102
22
8
Daysof rain 2261223252728251231
Mekonglevel Low Low Low Low Low Rising Rising High High High Falling Low
Climate and Mekong water level in Vientiane, month by month
Month Low – high mm River
Jan (current month) 11 Low
Feb 14 Low
Mar 38 Low
Apr 76 Low
May 254 Low
Jun 312 Rising
Jul 372 Rising
Aug 409 High
Sep 310 High
Oct 102 High
Nov 22 Falling
Dec 8 Low

Pakse in January

By day
31°
At night
19°
Rain
2 mm
Rainy days
1
The Mekong
Low
Climate and Mekong water level in Pakse, month by month
Month J (current month) F M A M J J A S O N D
Airhigh / low
Rainmm
2
4
25
54
191
315
446
451
343
138
36
6
Daysof rain 1151123272929271751
Mekonglevel Low Low Low Low Low Rising Rising High High High Falling Low
Climate and Mekong water level in Pakse, month by month
Month Low – high mm River
Jan (current month) 2 Low
Feb 4 Low
Mar 25 Low
Apr 54 Low
May 191 Low
Jun 315 Rising
Jul 446 Rising
Aug 451 High
Sep 343 High
Oct 138 High
Nov 36 Falling
Dec 6 Low
Air and rain: Open-Meteo, archive ERA5, 1991-2020 averages (retrieved October 11, 2026). Mekong level: Mekong River Commission, Pakse station, median of 2020-2025, 6.7 m between the lowest and highest months. The current month is outlined.

The Mekong in Laos in January

The Mekong River Commission's dry season runs from November 1 to May 31: the river falls toward its lowest levels in March and April. Since the dams were built upstream, hydropower releases prop up dry-season flows; at Luang Prabang, the river has lost its natural pattern, the MRC notes.

Our slow boat guide →
The Mekong at low water in Luang Prabang, between sandbanks and exposed rocks, at sunset

Photo by Gerd Eichmann on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Things to do in Laos in January

The Mekong split into many channels between forested islands, seen from the air, in the 4,000 Islands

Photo by Shutterstock

Khone Phapheng Falls

150 km south of Pakse, at the end of the road through southern Laos, under dry skies.

Si Phan Don

Planning for Laos in January

Crowds
High season: in 2024, January was the second-busiest month for long-haul arrivals (97,116), after December. Book Luang Prabang ahead.
Packing
A fleece or jacket for northern mornings and evenings; light clothes in the south.
Air quality
Agricultural burning begins. For the 2025-2026 season the government banned burning from January to April; even so, the air quality index reached 152 in Luang Prabang on January 20, 2026.

Sources: climate, Open-Meteo (ERA5 archive, 1991-2020 averages); river levels, Mekong River Commission; visitor numbers, 2024 statistics of the Lao tourism ministry; air quality, Eco-Business; sights, Tourism Laos. Updated October 13, 2026 by Pierre-Marie Coupry.