Weather Forecast

Yunnan has a diverse climate , embracing temperate , tropical and rigid zones in one province. Kunming , the capital city, is marked by a pleasant spring weather which prevails year round while it is also notable for the abrupt change into winter weather caused by rain.

Dali's climate is somewhat similar to that of Kunming . Lijiang has a rather cold climate whereas Xishuangbanna is rather hot for most of the year.

Located in the low latitudes. Yunnan Province receives plenty of sunshine all the year round. The geographical location of Yunnan is very special, with the Eurasian Continent to the southeast, the Qinghai Tibet Plateau to the northwest and a vast ocean to the south. Therefore it has a typical monsoon climate. In winter, it is under the control prevailing humid oceanic monsoon. Apart from these, the complex plateau topography also affects the climate. Thus the climate in Yunnan is a plateau monsoon climate and it varies from place to place. In some areas, the duration of winter is so long that it hardly has any spring ir autumn, needless to say the summer; some areas are hot all the year round like that in summer, but when it rains, it is cold like that in autumn; some other areas are springlike throughout the year, but when it rains, it becomes cold as if winter had come.

In general, as most parts of Yunnan are about 2,000 meters above sea level, the weather is favourable throughout the year, cool in summer and war in winter, which makes Yunnan a favourable resort all the year round. One typical example is Kunming , the provincial capital. As a poem goes, the spring lasts the entire round and the flowers bloom in all seasons. No wonder kunming is known to visitors from home and abroad as the Spring City . At the same time, there are various types of climate in Yunnan . From Xishuangbanna in the south of Yunnan to the Diqing Plateau in the northwest, one can experience the tropical, temperate and frigid climate, which is like travelling from Hainan Island to Changchun , thousands of kilometers in distance. It is very convenient for us to enjoy different scenes since the direct distance from Xishuangbanna to Diqing is no more than 1,000 kilometers.

The main climatic characteristics of Yunnan as follows: First, regional differences and perpendicular changes of climate are distinct. Except Jinsha River Valley and Yuanjiang River Valley, the temperature increases progressively from the north to the south, with an range of 19℃ and the average temperature varies between 5－24℃. Second, annual temperature changes little while daytime temperature changes sharply. The average temperature of the hottest days is between 19－22℃ and the coldest days is between 6－8℃. Annual temperature changes from 10－15℃, and it may be lower in rainy days. The difference between the highest and lowest temperatures within a day may reach 12－20℃, especially in winter and spring, you may feel cool in the morning and hot at noon. Third, Rainfall is abundant in the area but unevenly distributed and occurs mainly in May and October each year.

The best time to travel Yunnan is from April to June when the Spring is in full swing featuring enough sunshine, fresh air.

Table of Average Temperature of Kunming
Average Data  Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average High ( C) 15 17 21 24 25 24 24 24 23 20 17 15
Average Low ( C) 2 4 7 10 14 17 17 16 14  7 3