Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Lijiang China

In Lijiang, the wet season is hot, muggy, and overcast and the dry season is warm and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 55°F to 93°F and is rarely below 49°F or above 100°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Lijiang for warm-weather activities are from late January to early April and from late October to early December.

The hot season lasts for 3.0 months, from March 21 to June 22, with an average daily high temperature above 89°F. The hottest month of the year in Lijiang is June, with an average high of 89°F and low of 77°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.3 months, from November 20 to February 1, with an average daily high temperature below 77°F. The coldest month of the year in Lijiang is December, with an average low of 56°F and high of 74°F.

In Lijiang, 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 Lijiang begins around October 8 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around May 8.

The clearest month of the year in Lijiang is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 79% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 8 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around October 8.

The cloudiest month of the year in Lijiang is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% 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 Lijiang varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from May 8 to September 29, with a greater than 32% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Lijiang is July, with an average of 17.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from September 29 to May 8. The month with the fewest wet days in Lijiang is December, with an average of 1.6 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 Lijiang is July, with an average of 17.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 60% on August 2.

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. Lijiang experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.5 months, from February 29 to December 13, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Lijiang is July, with an average rainfall of 6.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from December 13 to February 29. The month with the least rain in Lijiang is January, with an average rainfall of 0.4 inches.

The length of the day in Lijiang varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 41 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 13 hours, 35 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:24 AM on June 8, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 32 minutes later at 7:56 AM on January 15. The earliest sunset is at 6:24 PM on November 28, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 38 minutes later at 8:02 PM on July 4.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Lijiang 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.

Lijiang experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 5.3 months, from May 10 to October 18, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 24% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Lijiang is July, with 30.0 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Lijiang is January, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Lijiang experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from January 21 to May 20, with average wind speeds of more than 4.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Lijiang is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.0 months, from May 20 to January 21. The calmest month of the year in Lijiang is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.1 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.7 weeks, from March 23 to April 18, with a peak percentage of 49% on April 9. The wind is most often from the south for 11 months, from April 18 to March 23, with a peak percentage of 64% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Lijiang 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 times of year to visit Lijiang for general outdoor tourist activities are from late January to early April and from late October to early December, with a peak score in the last week of February.

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 Lijiang for hot-weather activities is from mid March to mid May, with a peak score in the second week of April.

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).

Temperatures in Lijiang are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

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.

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 2.7 months, from March 5 to May 26, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Lijiang is April, with an average of 6.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from November 3 to January 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Lijiang is December, with an average of 4.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Lijiang are 23.571 deg latitude, 102.004 deg longitude, and 1,339 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Lijiang contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,736 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,704 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,722 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,980 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Lijiang is covered by cropland (36%), grassland (23%), shrubs (13%), and water (11%), within 10 miles by trees (49%) and grassland (21%), and within 50 miles by trees (57%) and grassland (17%).