Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Hotan Airport China

At Hotan Airport, the summers are long, warm, arid, and mostly clear and the winters are short, freezing, dry, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 18°F to 88°F and is rarely below 11°F or above 96°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 4.6 months, from May 3 to September 22, with an average daily high temperature above 77°F. The hottest month of the year at Hotan Airport is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.7 months, from November 27 to February 18, with an average daily high temperature below 44°F. The coldest month of the year at Hotan Airport is January, with an average low of 19°F and high of 34°F.

At Hotan Airport, 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 at Hotan Airport begins around June 11 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around November 23.

The clearest month of the year at Hotan Airport is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 23 and lasts for 6.6 months, ending around June 11.

The cloudiest month of the year at Hotan Airport is March, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 58% of the time.

Hotan Airport does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 0% to 6%, with an average value of 2%.

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 at Hotan Airport is June, with an average of 1.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 6% on June 10.

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. Hotan Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Hotan Airport. The month with the most rain at Hotan Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The month with the least rain at Hotan Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Hotan Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 37 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 43 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 7:20 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 34 minutes later at 9:54 AM on January 6. The earliest sunset is at 7:23 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 41 minutes later at 10:04 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at Hotan Airport 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 at Hotan Airport, 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 at Hotan Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from March 2 to October 4, with average wind speeds of more than 6.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Hotan Airport is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from October 4 to March 2. The calmest month of the year at Hotan Airport is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Hotan Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.1 months, from May 28 to June 30, with a peak percentage of 31% on June 25. The wind is most often from the east for 11 months, from June 30 to May 28, with a peak percentage of 48% on January 1.

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

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 Hotan Airport for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid 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 at Hotan Airport typically lasts for 8.2 months (253 days), from around March 5 to around November 13, rarely starting before February 14 or after March 26, and rarely ending before October 27 or after November 29.

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 at Hotan Airport should appear around March 25, only rarely appearing before March 16 or after April 5.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from April 26 to August 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Hotan Airport is July, with an average of 7.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 7 to February 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Hotan Airport is December, with an average of 2.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Hotan Airport are 37.039 deg latitude, 79.865 deg longitude, and 4,656 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Hotan Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 279 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,672 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,070 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (13,806 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Hotan Airport is covered by cropland (46%), bare soil (25%), and artificial surfaces (20%), within 10 miles by cropland (42%) and bare soil (33%), and within 50 miles by bare soil (40%) and grassland (40%).