Dunhuang climate

Name: Dunhuang
Address: CN

Dunhuang is warmest in July, with average highs of 34 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -11 °C. June is the wettest month (8.1 mm) and January the driest (0.7 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Dunhuang averages 36 mm of rain, 144 days above 25 °C and 141 days below freezing.

China · population 186,027 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 34 °C
Coldest month January -11 °C
Driest month January 1 mm
Wettest month June 8 mm
Least cloud October 28 % cloud
Hottest on record July 44 °C
Coldest on record December -23 °C

What to expectDunhuang through the year

Dunhuang has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -1.5 °C in January to 34 °C in July, a swing of 35 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 144 days a year reach 25 °C, 93 of them reach 30 °C, 141 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 44 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 1 mm in January to 8 mm in June. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	-1.5 °C	1 mm	40 %
February	5.1 °C	1 mm	45 %
March	13.6 °C	2 mm	45 %
April	21.8 °C	3 mm	45 %
May	27.4 °C	5 mm	47 %
June	32.2 °C	8 mm	47 %
July	34.5 °C	7 mm	37 %
August	33.1 °C	5 mm	32 %
September	27.2 °C	3 mm	30 %
October	18.1 °C	1 mm	28 %
November	7.8 °C	1 mm	35 %
December	-0.4 °C	1 mm	40 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	-1.5 °C	-11.1 °C	-6.5 °C	9.3 °C	-22.5 °C	0	0	31
February	5.1 °C	-6.6 °C	-0.7 °C	16.5 °C	-18.4 °C	0	0	28
March	13.6 °C	-1.2 °C	6.9 °C	26.8 °C	-12.1 °C	0	0	19
April	21.8 °C	6.0 °C	15.0 °C	35.2 °C	-6.5 °C	8	1	2
May	27.4 °C	12.2 °C	20.9 °C	38.8 °C	1.0 °C	22	10	0
June	32.2 °C	18.1 °C	26.2 °C	41.3 °C	8.1 °C	29	23	0
July	34.5 °C	20.8 °C	28.7 °C	43.6 °C	13.1 °C	30	27	0
August	33.1 °C	18.7 °C	26.9 °C	42.9 °C	8.6 °C	30	25	0
September	27.2 °C	12.2 °C	20.5 °C	37.2 °C	-0.9 °C	22	7	0
October	18.1 °C	4.0 °C	11.4 °C	29.8 °C	-5.5 °C	2	0	4
November	7.8 °C	-3.5 °C	2.0 °C	18.7 °C	-13.6 °C	0	0	26
December	-0.4 °C	-9.3 °C	-5.1 °C	9.5 °C	-22.7 °C	0	0	31

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	1 mm	0	9.6 h/day	40 %	45 %	16 km/h
February	1 mm	0	11 h/day	45 %	34 %	18 km/h
March	2 mm	1	12 h/day	45 %	25 %	21 km/h
April	3 mm	1	13 h/day	45 %	20 %	24 km/h
May	5 mm	1	14 h/day	47 %	20 %	24 km/h
June	8 mm	2	15 h/day	47 %	23 %	23 km/h
July	7 mm	2	15 h/day	37 %	25 %	22 km/h
August	5 mm	1	14 h/day	32 %	26 %	21 km/h
September	3 mm	1	12 h/day	30 %	25 %	19 km/h
October	1 mm	0	11 h/day	28 %	28 %	17 km/h
November	1 mm	0	10.0 h/day	35 %	37 %	17 km/h
December	1 mm	0	9.3 h/day	40 %	45 %	16 km/h

How Dunhuang compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Dunhuang	34 °C	-11 °C	36 mm	144
Hami · China	35 °C	-13 °C	46 mm	141
Jiuquan · China	28 °C	-12 °C	117 mm	79
Zhangye · China	29 °C	-14 °C	166 mm	91
Turpan · China	38 °C	-8.6 °C	53 mm	171

Where Dunhuang ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in Asia year-round	2ndof 50	3.0 mm
The driest places in Asia in November	3rdof 50	1.1 mm
The driest places in Asia in January	8thof 50	0.7 mm
The driest places in Asia in October	11thof 50	0.8 mm
The driest places in the world year-round	19thof 50	3.0 mm
The driest places in the world in October	22ndof 50	0.8 mm

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Dunhuang.

QuestionsCommon questions about Dunhuang’s climate

When is the best time to visit Dunhuang?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. April, May, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and January the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Dunhuang get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 34 °C. About 93 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 44 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -11 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 141 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Dunhuang?

June, averaging 8 mm over 2 days with rain. The driest month is January with 1 mm. The year as a whole averages 36 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Dunhuang rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.