Xining weather by month & the best time to visit
China · alpine / mountain city · continental climate
The best time to visit Xining is May — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 83/100), with June and September close behind. Xining averages about 2,548 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 22°C / 72°F and roughly 61 mm of rain in May.
When is the best time to visit Xining?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Xining is May, then June and September. The dullest month is January (0/100, 3 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Xining?
Xining gets a lot of sun: around 2,548 hours a year. 83 Sunshine Score points separate May (83) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #88 of 254 destinations in China for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,110 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around August, carries about 58% of the annual 504 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 3° / 37°F | -12° / 10°F | 3 mm | 2 |
| February | 0 | 7° / 45°F | -8° / 18°F | 3 mm | 3 |
| March | 31 | 12° / 54°F | -3° / 27°F | 9 mm | 5 |
| April | 75 | 18° / 64°F | 1° / 34°F | 23 mm | 6 |
| May | 83 | 22° / 72°F | 6° / 43°F | 61 mm | 7 |
| June | 79 | 25° / 77°F | 11° / 52°F | 80 mm | 8 |
| July | 76 | 27° / 81°F | 13° / 55°F | 99 mm | 8 |
| August | 74 | 26° / 79°F | 12° / 54°F | 108 mm | 7 |
| September | 79 | 21° / 70°F | 7° / 45°F | 83 mm | 6 |
| October | 52 | 15° / 59°F | 1° / 34°F | 27 mm | 4 |
| November | 8 | 9° / 48°F | -4° / 25°F | 6 mm | 3 |
| December | 0 | 4° / 39°F | -10° / 14°F | 2 mm | 2 |
Nearest destinations
Head-to-head
How Xining compares month by month: Xining vs Lanzhou (Yongdeng) · Xining vs Yinchuan · Xining vs Zhongwei (Shapotou) · Xining vs Jiayuguan · all comparisons
Xining: questions and answers
What kind of destination is Xining?
Xining is a alpine / mountain city in China at 2,173 m elevation with a continental climate.
How many hours of sunshine does Xining get a year?
Xining gets about 2,548 hours of sunshine a year, at its best around May.
When is the best time to visit Xining?
The sunniest time to visit Xining is May, when the Sunshine Score peaks at 83/100 (with June and September close behind). Expect daytime highs around 22°C / 72°F.
What is the least sunny month in Xining?
January is the least sunny month in Xining, scoring 0/100 with about 3 mm of rain.
How strong is the sun in Xining?
The typical midday UV index in Xining peaks around 8 (very high) in June, easing to about 2 (low) in January. Month-by-month midday UV values are in the UV column of the table on this page.
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