Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Puqu China

In Puqu, the wet season is comfortable and mostly cloudy and the dry season is cold and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 22°F to 70°F and is rarely below 17°F or above 74°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Puqu for warm-weather activities is from late June to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from May 18 to September 18, with an average daily high temperature above 65°F. The hottest month of the year in Puqu is July, with an average high of 70°F and low of 52°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from December 2 to March 4, with an average daily high temperature below 50°F. The coldest month of the year in Puqu is January, with an average low of 22°F and high of 45°F.

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

The clearer part of the year in Puqu begins around October 5 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around March 22.

The clearest month of the year in Puqu is November, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 22 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around October 5.

The cloudiest month of the year in Puqu is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 76% 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 Puqu varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.0 months, from May 1 to October 2, with a greater than 21% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Puqu is July, with an average of 12.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.0 months, from October 2 to May 1. The month with the fewest wet days in Puqu is January, with an average of 0.0 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 Puqu is July, with an average of 12.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 42% on July 4.

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. Puqu experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from March 23 to October 23, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Puqu is July, with an average rainfall of 4.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from October 23 to March 23. The month with the least rain in Puqu is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Puqu varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 15 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 2 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:41 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 56 minutes later at 6:38 AM on January 11. The earliest sunset is at 4:43 PM on December 2, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 3 minutes later at 6:46 PM on July 1.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Puqu 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 Puqu, 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 Puqu experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from January 31 to September 2, with average wind speeds of more than 5.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Puqu is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from September 2 to January 31. The calmest month of the year in Puqu is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Puqu is from the south throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Puqu 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 Puqu for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

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 Puqu for hot-weather activities is from mid July to early 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 Puqu typically lasts for 7.3 months (224 days), from around April 1 to around November 11, rarely starting before March 12 or after April 19, and rarely ending before October 24 or after November 28.

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 Puqu should appear around April 28, only rarely appearing before April 16 or after May 10.

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 some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.1 months, from April 14 to June 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Puqu is May, with an average of 6.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from November 11 to February 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Puqu is December, with an average of 4.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Puqu are 29.470 deg latitude, 94.417 deg longitude, and 9,633 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Puqu contains extreme variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 3,602 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 10,166 feet. Within 10 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,768 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (24,229 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Puqu is covered by trees (53%) and grassland (42%), within 10 miles by trees (58%) and grassland (32%), and within 50 miles by trees (55%) and grassland (21%).