Lijiang climate
Lijiang is warmest in June, with average highs of 23 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -0.3 °C. July is the wettest month (319 mm) and December the driest (11 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Lijiang averages 1,514 mm of rain, 15 days above 25 °C and 36 days below freezing.
China · population 211,151 · 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 June 23 °C
- Coldest month January -0.3 °C
- Driest month December 11 mm
- Wettest month July 319 mm
- Least cloud December 23 % cloud
- Hottest on record June 31 °C
- Coldest on record December -15 °C
What to expectLijiang through the year
Lijiang has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 12 °C in January to 23 °C in June, a swing of 12 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 15 days a year reach 25 °C, 0 of them reach 30 °C, 36 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C, in June.
Rain is strongly seasonal. July averages 319 mm against 11 mm in December — 29 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12.3 °C | 17 mm | 24 % |
| February | 14.2 °C | 18 mm | 28 % |
| March | 17.3 °C | 34 mm | 36 % |
| April | 20.3 °C | 49 mm | 46 % |
| May | 22.3 °C | 120 mm | 60 % |
| June | 22.9 °C | 261 mm | 84 % |
| July | 21.9 °C | 319 mm | 92 % |
| August | 21.5 °C | 274 mm | 88 % |
| September | 20.1 °C | 261 mm | 83 % |
| October | 18.3 °C | 121 mm | 58 % |
| November | 15.4 °C | 29 mm | 35 % |
| December | 13.0 °C | 11 mm | 23 % |
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 | 12.3 °C | -0.3 °C | 5.8 °C | 19.7 °C | -8.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| February | 14.2 °C | 0.6 °C | 7.3 °C | 22.0 °C | -7.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| March | 17.3 °C | 3.0 °C | 10.2 °C | 26.0 °C | -1.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| April | 20.3 °C | 6.6 °C | 13.4 °C | 28.4 °C | 0.0 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 22.3 °C | 10.8 °C | 16.5 °C | 30.2 °C | 5.4 °C | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 22.9 °C | 14.2 °C | 18.1 °C | 30.7 °C | 9.4 °C | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 21.9 °C | 14.6 °C | 17.7 °C | 27.5 °C | 9.4 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 21.5 °C | 14.1 °C | 17.3 °C | 26.8 °C | 10.1 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 20.1 °C | 12.9 °C | 16.0 °C | 25.4 °C | 6.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 18.3 °C | 9.5 °C | 13.7 °C | 23.9 °C | -0.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 15.4 °C | 4.2 °C | 9.8 °C | 21.0 °C | -0.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 13.0 °C | 1.0 °C | 6.9 °C | 18.6 °C | -14.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17 mm | 3 | 11 h/day | 24 % | 61 % | 12 km/h |
| February | 18 mm | 4 | 11 h/day | 28 % | 60 % | 14 km/h |
| March | 34 mm | 7 | 12 h/day | 36 % | 61 % | 14 km/h |
| April | 49 mm | 9 | 13 h/day | 46 % | 62 % | 13 km/h |
| May | 120 mm | 13 | 13 h/day | 60 % | 67 % | 11 km/h |
| June | 261 mm | 21 | 14 h/day | 84 % | 79 % | 8.5 km/h |
| July | 319 mm | 27 | 14 h/day | 92 % | 87 % | 7.1 km/h |
| August | 274 mm | 27 | 13 h/day | 88 % | 88 % | 6.7 km/h |
| September | 261 mm | 25 | 12 h/day | 83 % | 87 % | 7.0 km/h |
| October | 121 mm | 15 | 12 h/day | 58 % | 79 % | 8.0 km/h |
| November | 29 mm | 5 | 11 h/day | 35 % | 70 % | 9.1 km/h |
| December | 11 mm | 3 | 10 h/day | 23 % | 64 % | 9.8 km/h |
How Lijiang 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lijiang | 23 °C | -0.3 °C | 1,514 mm | 15 |
| Shangri-La · China | 18 °C | -8.1 °C | 1,162 mm | 0 |
| Dali · China | 24 °C | 4.6 °C | 1,249 mm | 47 |
| Panzhihua · China | 31 °C | 8.2 °C | 1,632 mm | 215 |
| Lushui · China | 30 °C | 9.5 °C | 2,590 mm | 253 |
| Baoshan · China | 24 °C | 4.3 °C | 1,432 mm | 57 |
| Xichang · China | 26 °C | 2.5 °C | 1,169 mm | 105 |
Where Lijiang ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The coolest places in Asia in August | 12thof 50 | 22 °C |
| The coolest places in Asia in July | 13thof 50 | 22 °C |
| The coolest places in Asia in September | 38thof 50 | 20 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Lijiang.
QuestionsCommon questions about Lijiang’s climate
When is the best time to visit Lijiang?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, June is the warmest month and December the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Lijiang get?
In June, the warmest month, daily highs average 23 °C. About 0 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -0.3 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 36 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Lijiang?
July, averaging 319 mm over 27 days with rain. The driest month is December with 11 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,514 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 Lijiang 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
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.