Xining climate — normals and trends
Xining (China) has a warm-summer humid continental, dry winter climate (Dwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 4.2 °C and it receives 537 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (16.0 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-9.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in August.
Xining averages 187 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 100 rainy days per year.
Xining has warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.24 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 196 to 178 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 34.1 °C (on 30 July 2010) and the coldest -32.6 °C (on 14 December 1975).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
XiningQinghai
- coords
- 36.63°, 101.76°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
4.2°C
Average daily high
11.0°C
Average daily low
-1.8°C
Annual rainfall
537mm
Sunshine / day
9.8h
Mean relative humidity
56%
Average peak wind
10.0km/h
Seasonal range
25.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
187 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
100 d/yr
Annual snowfall
52.1 cm
Average feels-like high
8.5 °C
Average feels-like low
-4.7 °C
Average peak gust
25.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
17.6 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.1 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.39 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
34.1 °C
30 July 2010
Coldest day
-32.6 °C
14 December 1975
Wettest day
58 mm
17 July 1946
Windiest day
35.9 km/h
1 February 1986
Strongest gust
79.6 km/h
14 April 2010
Hottest feels-like
33.9 °C
30 July 2010
Coldest feels-like
-37.4 °C
14 December 1975
Snowiest day
13.0 cm
14 November 1972
Sunniest day
14.1 h
28 June 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.1 °C | +2.0 °C | 10 mm | +7 mm |
| Feb | 3.2 °C | +0.9 °C | 5 mm | -2 mm |
| Mar | 6.4 °C | -1.1 °C | 15 mm | -4 mm |
| Apr | 14.5 °C | +1.6 °C | 21 mm | -15 mm |
| May | 20.1 °C | +3.3 °C | 19 mm | -37 mm |
| Jun | 20.8 °C | +1.3 °C | 58 mm | -11 mm |
| Jul | 24.8 °C | +3.3 °C | 112 mm | +20 mm |
| Aug | 20.9 °C | -0.1 °C | 203 mm | +101 mm |
| Sep | 19.2 °C | +2.7 °C | 63 mm | -31 mm |
| Oct | 11.9 °C | +0.5 °C | 89 mm | +42 mm |
| Nov | 6.6 °C | +2.3 °C | 11 mm | +0 mm |
| Dec | 4.3 °C | +4.7 °C | 3 mm | -0 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Xining?
Xining has a warm-summer humid continental, dry winter climate (Köppen Dwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 4.2 °C and it receives 537 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Xining?
The hottest day measured in Xining between 1940 and 2025 was 30 July 2010, reaching 34.1 °C.
What is the coldest day in Xining?
The coldest day measured in Xining between 1940 and 2025 was 14 December 1975, at -32.6 °C.
Does it snow in Xining?
Yes. Xining gets on average 52.1 cm of snow per year and has around 187 frost days.
Has the climate of Xining warmed?
Yes: Xining warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Xining?
The wettest day measured in Xining between 1940 and 2025 was 17 July 1946, with 58 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Xining?
The windiest day measured in Xining between 1940 and 2025 was 1 February 1986, with winds reaching 35.9 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Xining?
The warmest month in Xining is July (16.0 °C on average); the coldest is January (-9.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Xining?
Xining receives on average 537 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 100 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Xining?
Xining gets on average 9.8 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,577 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Xining?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Xining between 1940 and 2025 was 14 November 1972, with 13.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Xining?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Xining.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Xining?
In Xining, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 33.9 °C on 30 July 2010, and the lowest was -37.4 °C on 14 December 1975.
Compare Xining with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Xining