Zhangye climate

Name: Zhangye
Address: CN

Zhangye is warmest in July, with average highs of 29 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -14 °C. July is the wettest month (40 mm) and February the driest (1.8 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Zhangye averages 166 mm of rain, 91 days above 25 °C and 175 days below freezing.

China · population 507,433 · 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 29 °C
Coldest month January -14 °C
Driest month February 2 mm
Wettest month July 40 mm
Least cloud November 28 % cloud
Hottest on record July 40 °C
Coldest on record December -26 °C

What to expectZhangye through the year

Zhangye has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -0.3 °C in January to 29 °C in July, a swing of 29 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 91 days a year reach 25 °C, 29 of them reach 30 °C, 175 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 2 mm in February to 40 mm in July. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	-0.3 °C	2 mm	35 %
February	4.1 °C	2 mm	41 %
March	10.4 °C	5 mm	46 %
April	17.6 °C	8 mm	49 %
May	22.9 °C	15 mm	53 %
June	27.2 °C	22 mm	55 %
July	28.6 °C	40 mm	48 %
August	27.1 °C	36 mm	45 %
September	22.2 °C	23 mm	44 %
October	15.5 °C	8 mm	34 %
November	7.6 °C	3 mm	28 %
December	1.0 °C	3 mm	31 %

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	-0.3 °C	-13.7 °C	-7.3 °C	15.2 °C	-23.4 °C	0	0	31
February	4.1 °C	-9.4 °C	-2.8 °C	17.6 °C	-21.0 °C	0	0	28
March	10.4 °C	-4.7 °C	2.9 °C	24.9 °C	-16.2 °C	0	0	30
April	17.6 °C	1.2 °C	9.8 °C	31.7 °C	-7.6 °C	2	0	12
May	22.9 °C	7.2 °C	15.5 °C	35.5 °C	-4.4 °C	11	1	1
June	27.2 °C	12.3 °C	20.2 °C	35.5 °C	3.2 °C	22	8	0
July	28.6 °C	14.8 °C	22.0 °C	39.7 °C	7.8 °C	25	12	0
August	27.1 °C	13.6 °C	20.5 °C	38.4 °C	5.1 °C	23	7	0
September	22.2 °C	8.5 °C	15.4 °C	33.5 °C	-2.9 °C	8	1	0
October	15.5 °C	0.7 °C	8.0 °C	27.9 °C	-14.1 °C	0	0	13
November	7.6 °C	-5.7 °C	0.3 °C	23.9 °C	-15.6 °C	0	0	30
December	1.0 °C	-11.3 °C	-5.7 °C	13.4 °C	-25.6 °C	0	0	31

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	2 mm	1	9.7 h/day	35 %	46 %	11 km/h
February	2 mm	1	11 h/day	41 %	39 %	13 km/h
March	5 mm	2	12 h/day	46 %	37 %	14 km/h
April	8 mm	2	13 h/day	49 %	34 %	15 km/h
May	15 mm	4	14 h/day	53 %	36 %	16 km/h
June	22 mm	4	15 h/day	55 %	41 %	15 km/h
July	40 mm	6	15 h/day	48 %	50 %	13 km/h
August	36 mm	6	14 h/day	45 %	53 %	13 km/h
September	23 mm	5	12 h/day	44 %	53 %	12 km/h
October	8 mm	2	11 h/day	34 %	48 %	12 km/h
November	3 mm	1	10 h/day	28 %	43 %	12 km/h
December	3 mm	1	9.5 h/day	31 %	44 %	11 km/h

How Zhangye 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
Zhangye	29 °C	-14 °C	166 mm	91
Jinchang · China	29 °C	-13 °C	181 mm	93
Jiuquan · China	28 °C	-12 °C	117 mm	79
Wuwei · China	28 °C	-12 °C	204 mm	86
Xining · China	23 °C	-13 °C	485 mm	23
Nianbo · China	25 °C	-14 °C	523 mm	39
Baiyin · China	28 °C	-12 °C	325 mm	74

Where Zhangye ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in Asia in August	15th of 50	89/100
Places with the best weather in Asia in July	23rd of 50	85/100
The driest places in Asia in November	27th of 50	2.7 mm
Places with the best weather in Asia in September	31st of 50	95/100
Places with the best weather in Asia in June	42nd of 50	89/100
The driest places in Asia in December	48th of 50	2.6 mm

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

QuestionsCommon questions about Zhangye’s climate

When is the best time to visit Zhangye?

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 February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Zhangye get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 29 °C. About 29 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -14 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 175 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Zhangye?

July, averaging 40 mm over 6 days with rain. The driest month is February with 2 mm. The year as a whole averages 166 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 Zhangye 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
Data point: 38.934°, 100.452° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
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.