Xining climate

Name: Xining
Address: CN

Xining is warmest in July, with average highs of 23 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -13 °C. August is the wettest month (90 mm) and December the driest (2.1 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Xining averages 485 mm of rain, 23 days above 25 °C and 170 days below freezing.

China · population 1,677,177 · 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 23 °C
Coldest month January -13 °C
Driest month December 2 mm
Wettest month August 90 mm
Least cloud December 35 % cloud
Hottest on record July 35 °C
Coldest on record January -26 °C

What to expectXining through the year

Xining has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 0.06 °C in January to 23 °C in July, a swing of 25 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 23 days a year reach 25 °C, 2 of them reach 30 °C, 170 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C, in July.

Rain is strongly seasonal. August averages 90 mm against 2 mm in December — 42 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	0.1 °C	3 mm	42 %
February	3.6 °C	5 mm	50 %
March	8.8 °C	15 mm	55 %
April	14.6 °C	30 mm	57 %
May	18.4 °C	55 mm	65 %
June	21.5 °C	66 mm	65 %
July	23.3 °C	86 mm	58 %
August	22.5 °C	90 mm	58 %
September	18.0 °C	84 mm	61 %
October	12.5 °C	40 mm	52 %
November	6.3 °C	9 mm	35 %
December	1.3 °C	2 mm	35 %

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	0.1 °C	-13.1 °C	-6.8 °C	10.4 °C	-25.6 °C	0	0	31
February	3.6 °C	-8.9 °C	-3.0 °C	16.5 °C	-23.9 °C	0	0	28
March	8.8 °C	-4.0 °C	2.1 °C	23.4 °C	-14.1 °C	0	0	28
April	14.6 °C	1.0 °C	7.8 °C	29.1 °C	-8.6 °C	0	0	11
May	18.4 °C	6.2 °C	12.3 °C	28.5 °C	-3.9 °C	1	0	1
June	21.5 °C	10.7 °C	16.1 °C	29.7 °C	3.3 °C	4	0	0
July	23.3 °C	13.0 °C	18.2 °C	34.6 °C	6.6 °C	10	1	0
August	22.5 °C	12.3 °C	17.3 °C	31.9 °C	4.3 °C	7	1	0
September	18.0 °C	8.0 °C	12.9 °C	27.6 °C	-0.7 °C	1	0	0
October	12.5 °C	1.3 °C	6.7 °C	23.3 °C	-9.5 °C	0	0	11
November	6.3 °C	-5.4 °C	-0.0 °C	15.2 °C	-20.4 °C	0	0	29
December	1.3 °C	-11.3 °C	-5.4 °C	10.6 °C	-24.2 °C	0	0	31

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	3 mm	1	9.9 h/day	42 %	46 %	9.7 km/h
February	5 mm	2	11 h/day	50 %	44 %	12 km/h
March	15 mm	4	12 h/day	55 %	43 %	13 km/h
April	30 mm	6	13 h/day	57 %	43 %	14 km/h
May	55 mm	10	14 h/day	65 %	49 %	13 km/h
June	66 mm	11	15 h/day	65 %	56 %	11 km/h
July	86 mm	12	14 h/day	58 %	62 %	10 km/h
August	90 mm	13	14 h/day	58 %	64 %	10 km/h
September	84 mm	14	12 h/day	61 %	68 %	10.0 km/h
October	40 mm	9	11 h/day	52 %	62 %	9.9 km/h
November	9 mm	2	10 h/day	35 %	50 %	9.2 km/h
December	2 mm	1	9.7 h/day	35 %	44 %	9.1 km/h

How Xining 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
Xining	23 °C	-13 °C	485 mm	23
Nianbo · China	25 °C	-14 °C	523 mm	39
Wuwei · China	28 °C	-12 °C	204 mm	86
Linxia Chengguanzhen · China	25 °C	-12 °C	644 mm	39
Lanzhou · China	29 °C	-8.7 °C	441 mm	98
Jinchang · China	29 °C	-13 °C	181 mm	93
Baiyin · China	28 °C	-12 °C	325 mm	74

Where Xining ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Asia in July	7thof 50	88/100
The coolest places in Asia in September	15thof 50	18 °C
The coolest places in Asia in August	17thof 50	22 °C
The coolest places in Asia in July	20thof 50	23 °C
The coolest places in Asia in June	22ndof 50	22 °C
Places with the best weather in Asia in August	28thof 50	87/100

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Xining’s climate

When is the best time to visit Xining?

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, July is the warmest month and December the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Xining get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 23 °C. About 2 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -13 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 170 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Xining?

August, averaging 90 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is December with 2 mm. The year as a whole averages 485 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 Xining 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.