Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Qilan China

In Qilan, the summers are long, hot, and mostly clear; the winters are freezing and partly cloudy; and it is dry year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 16°F to 96°F and is rarely below 10°F or above 104°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Qilan for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August.

The hot season lasts for 4.0 months, from May 16 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 83°F. The hottest month of the year in Qilan is July, with an average high of 95°F and low of 70°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 24 to February 22, with an average daily high temperature below 46°F. The coldest month of the year in Qilan is January, with an average low of 17°F and high of 34°F.

In Qilan, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Qilan begins around June 10 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around November 3.

The clearest month of the year in Qilan is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 86% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 3 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around June 10.

The cloudiest month of the year in Qilan is March, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Qilan varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.4 months, from May 9 to September 20, with a greater than 5% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Qilan is August, with an average of 3.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.6 months, from September 20 to May 9. The month with the fewest wet days in Qilan is December, with an average of 0.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Qilan is August, with an average of 3.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 11% on August 11.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Qilan experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 3.8 weeks, from August 5 to August 31, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Qilan is August, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from August 31 to August 5. The month with the least rain in Qilan is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Qilan varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 16 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 5 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 7:10 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 55 minutes later at 10:05 AM on January 5. The earliest sunset is at 7:14 PM on December 7, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 2 minutes later at 10:16 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Qilan during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Qilan, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Qilan experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from March 10 to October 14, with average wind speeds of more than 6.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Qilan is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from October 14 to March 10. The calmest month of the year in Qilan is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Qilan varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 10 months, from February 5 to December 13, with a peak percentage of 41% on June 10. The wind is most often from the west for 1.7 months, from December 13 to February 5, with a peak percentage of 34% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Qilan throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Qilan for general outdoor tourist activities is from early August to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Qilan for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Qilan typically lasts for 7.7 months (234 days), from around March 19 to around November 8, rarely starting before March 2 or after April 6, and rarely ending before October 23 or after November 24.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Qilan should appear around March 30, only rarely appearing before March 23 or after April 6.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from May 1 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Qilan is July, with an average of 7.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 2 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Qilan is December, with an average of 2.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Qilan are 40.567 deg latitude, 79.617 deg longitude, and 3,547 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Qilan contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 259 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,558 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,428 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (8,501 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Qilan is covered by bare soil (91%), within 10 miles by bare soil (50%) and grassland (43%), and within 50 miles by grassland (39%) and bare soil (37%).