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Yinchuan, China climate

BWk Cold desert

Yinchuan has a strongly seasonal cool-temperate climate (Cold desert, Köppen BWk). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 30°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −12°C at night. Precipitation totals about 188 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — August alone averages 42 mm while December barely receives 1 mm.

☀️ Summers

Warm

Highs near 30°C in July.

About 19 days a year above 32 °C

❄️ Winters

Very cold

Lows near −12°C in January.

About 132 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain

Very dry

About 188 mm of rain a year.

Wettest in August

⛅ Sky & trend

Partly cloudy

A roughly even mix of sun and cloud.

+1.0 °C vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Clear vs cloudy days

Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day counts

Yinchuan climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	0	5	12	20	25	29	30	28	24	17	8	1
Avg temp (°C)	−6	−1	5	13	18	23	24	23	17	11	3	−4
Avg low (°C)	−12	−8	−1	5	11	16	18	17	11	4	−3	−10
Precipitation (mm)	1	1	5	8	23	27	41	42	27	9	4	1

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°C)	0	5	12	20	25	29
Avg temp (°C)	−6	−1	5	13	18	23
Avg low (°C)	−12	−8	−1	5	11	16
Precipitation (mm)	1	1	5	8	23	27

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	30	28	24	17	8	1
Avg temp (°C)	24	23	17	11	3	−4
Avg low (°C)	18	17	11	4	−3	−10
Precipitation (mm)	41	42	27	9	4	1

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	2	1	2	3	4	5	7	7	6	3	1	1
Days with high ≥ 32°C (days)	—	—	—	0.2	0.7	5	9	4	0.6	—	—	—
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	29	26	18	3	0.1	—	—	—	—	5	22	29

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	2	1	2	3	4	5
Days with high ≥ 32°C (days)	—	—	—	0.2	0.7	5
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	29	26	18	3	0.1	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	7	7	6	3	1	1
Days with high ≥ 32°C (days)	9	4	0.6	—	—	—
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	—	—	—	5	22	29

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	45	50	54	56	56	58	59	56	55	44	37	40
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	11	8	8	7	8	7	7	8	9	13	15	13
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	13	12	12	12	11	11	11	10	9	11	10	13
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	7	8	11	11	12	12	13	12	12	8	5	5
Relative humidity (%)	54	46	38	33	33	37	45	49	51	48	49	53
Wind speed (m/s)	2.0	2.4	2.9	3.1	3.1	2.7	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.4	2.3

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	45	50	54	56	56	58
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	11	8	8	7	8	7
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	13	12	12	12	11	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	7	8	11	11	12	12
Relative humidity (%)	54	46	38	33	33	37
Wind speed (m/s)	2.0	2.4	2.9	3.1	3.1	2.7

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	59	56	55	44	37	40
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	7	8	9	13	15	13
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	11	10	9	11	10	13
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	13	12	12	8	5	5
Relative humidity (%)	45	49	51	48	49	53
Wind speed (m/s)	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.4	2.3

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 25 years of daily observations at Yinchuan, a weather station, about 6 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →