Shantou climate
Shantou is warmest in July, with average highs of 30 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 12 °C. August is the wettest month (280 mm) and January the driest (30 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Shantou averages 1,507 mm of rain and 200 days above 25 °C.
China · population 3,838,900 · 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 30 °C
- Coldest month January 12 °C
- Driest month January 30 mm
- Wettest month August 280 mm
- Least cloud October 43 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 37 °C
- Coldest on record January 1.6 °C
- Warmest sea August 28 °C
What to expectShantou through the year
Shantou has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 18 °C in January to 30 °C in July, a swing of 13 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 200 days a year reach 25 °C, 58 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C, in July.
Rain is strongly seasonal. August averages 280 mm against 30 mm in January — 9.4 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
The sea off Shantou is warmest in August at 28 °C and coldest in February at 17 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17.9 °C | 30 mm | 52 % |
| February | 18.5 °C | 45 mm | 63 % |
| March | 21.0 °C | 65 mm | 68 % |
| April | 24.4 °C | 109 mm | 71 % |
| May | 27.2 °C | 196 mm | 75 % |
| June | 29.1 °C | 272 mm | 84 % |
| July | 30.2 °C | 218 mm | 72 % |
| August | 30.1 °C | 280 mm | 70 % |
| September | 29.2 °C | 156 mm | 58 % |
| October | 26.9 °C | 46 mm | 43 % |
| November | 23.7 °C | 51 mm | 45 % |
| December | 19.6 °C | 38 mm | 47 % |
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 | 17.9 °C | 11.6 °C | 14.5 °C | 26.1 °C | 1.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 18.5 °C | 12.7 °C | 15.3 °C | 27.7 °C | 4.3 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 21.0 °C | 15.3 °C | 17.8 °C | 30.1 °C | 6.0 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 24.4 °C | 19.1 °C | 21.5 °C | 32.3 °C | 11.0 °C | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| May | 27.2 °C | 22.7 °C | 24.7 °C | 35.9 °C | 15.9 °C | 25 | 3 | 0 |
| June | 29.1 °C | 25.3 °C | 26.9 °C | 34.4 °C | 19.4 °C | 29 | 10 | 0 |
| July | 30.2 °C | 26.0 °C | 27.8 °C | 37.3 °C | 23.0 °C | 31 | 17 | 0 |
| August | 30.1 °C | 25.8 °C | 27.6 °C | 35.4 °C | 23.0 °C | 31 | 17 | 0 |
| September | 29.2 °C | 24.6 °C | 26.6 °C | 34.6 °C | 19.2 °C | 30 | 9 | 0 |
| October | 26.9 °C | 21.4 °C | 23.9 °C | 34.6 °C | 14.2 °C | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| November | 23.7 °C | 17.6 °C | 20.4 °C | 31.5 °C | 9.2 °C | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 19.6 °C | 13.1 °C | 16.2 °C | 28.3 °C | 2.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30 mm | 5 | 11 h/day | 52 % | 75 % | 16 km/h | 17.4 °C |
| February | 45 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 63 % | 78 % | 17 km/h | 17.1 °C |
| March | 65 mm | 9 | 12 h/day | 68 % | 80 % | 17 km/h | 19.1 °C |
| April | 109 mm | 11 | 13 h/day | 71 % | 82 % | 17 km/h | 21.7 °C |
| May | 196 mm | 17 | 13 h/day | 75 % | 85 % | 17 km/h | 24.5 °C |
| June | 272 mm | 23 | 14 h/day | 84 % | 88 % | 18 km/h | 26.6 °C |
| July | 218 mm | 20 | 13 h/day | 72 % | 87 % | 17 km/h | 27.2 °C |
| August | 280 mm | 22 | 13 h/day | 70 % | 87 % | 16 km/h | 27.5 °C |
| September | 156 mm | 14 | 12 h/day | 58 % | 82 % | 16 km/h | 27.4 °C |
| October | 46 mm | 5 | 12 h/day | 43 % | 74 % | 18 km/h | 25.5 °C |
| November | 51 mm | 5 | 11 h/day | 45 % | 74 % | 17 km/h | 22.4 °C |
| December | 38 mm | 4 | 11 h/day | 47 % | 72 % | 17 km/h | 19.4 °C |
How Shantou 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shantou | 30 °C | 12 °C | 1,507 mm | 200 |
| Chaozhou · China | 31 °C | 9.4 °C | 1,699 mm | 225 |
| Jieyang · China | 31 °C | 10 °C | 1,519 mm | 234 |
| Huanggang · China | 30 °C | 11 °C | 1,602 mm | 214 |
| Puning · China | 31 °C | 10 °C | 1,568 mm | 231 |
| Donghai · China | 30 °C | 11 °C | 1,776 mm | 233 |
| Meizhou · China | 32 °C | 8.2 °C | 1,492 mm | 232 |
Where Shantou ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Best beach destinations in Asia in October | 14thof 50 | 96/100 |
| Best beach destinations in the world in October | 37thof 50 | 96/100 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Shantou.
QuestionsCommon questions about Shantou’s climate
When is the best time to visit Shantou?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. March, April, November 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 Shantou get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 30 °C. About 58 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 12 °C in January, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.
Which month is wettest in Shantou?
August, averaging 280 mm over 22 days with rain. The driest month is January with 30 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,507 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 Shantou 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.