Climate averages 1991–2020
Dunhuang weather
in October.
A mild, very dry month: the 7th warmest and the 3rd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
October is a mild month in Dunhuang: daytime highs average 18.3°C and nights cool to about 4.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Rain is very rare: less than 1 mm falls in a typical October (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 11 min on an average October day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Laojunmiao (262 km away). In October its highs average 11.2°C, 7.1°C cooler than Dunhuang, with 9.8 mm of rain.
Among the 884 cities listed in China, Dunhuang ranks joint 649th of 884 for the warmest October highs and 1st of 884 for the driest October (rainfall, lowest first). The mean October high of those 884 cities is 20.4°C; Dunhuang is 2.1°C cooler than that mean.
From October to November, average highs fall by 10.4°C to 7.9°C, and monthly rainfall rises from under 1 mm to 1.1 mm.
The annual picture
October in context
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Dunhuang climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -1.3°C-10.5°C | -10.5°C | 0.5 | 0.1 | 9.710 h |
| February | 5.3°C-6.0°C | -6.0°C | 0.6 | 0.3 | 10.611 h |
| March | 13.8°C-0.3°C | -0.3°C | 1.7 | 0.5 | 11.912 h |
| April | 22.0°C6.9°C | 6.9°C | 2.2 | 0.7 | 13.213 h |
| May | 27.6°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 4.7 | 1.0 | 14.414 h |
| June | 32.4°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 8.0 | 1.6 | 15.015 h |
| July | 34.8°C21.1°C | 21.1°C | 6.5 | 1.4 | 14.715 h |
| August | 33.4°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 4.6 | 1.0 | 13.814 h |
| September | 27.4°C13.1°C | 13.1°C | 2.5 | 0.5 | 12.512 h |
| October, selected | 18.3°C4.8°C | 4.8°C | 0.8 | 0.4 | 11.211 h |
| November | 7.9°C-2.8°C | -2.8°C | 1.1 | 0.3 | 10.010 h |
| December | -0.3°C-8.7°C | -8.7°C | 1.3 | 0.4 | 9.49 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
October in nearby cities
- Laojunmiao in OctoberChina · 262 kmHigh 11.2°C · Low 1.2°C · 9.8 mm rain
- Jiayuguan in OctoberChina · 309 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 3.0°C · 6.5 mm rain
- Hami in OctoberChina · 312 kmHigh 17.1°C · Low 4.9°C · 5.1 mm rain
- Jiuquan in OctoberChina · 330 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 2.9°C · 4.9 mm rain
- Zhangye in OctoberChina · 513 kmHigh 15.5°C · Low 1.2°C · 7.2 mm rain
- Turpan in OctoberChina · 552 kmHigh 20.4°C · Low 8.5°C · 5.1 mm rain
- Jinchang in OctoberChina · 672 kmHigh 15.3°C · Low 3.6°C · 11 mm rain
- Qiaotou in OctoberChina · 706 kmHigh 10.8°C · Low -0.9°C · 59 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Dunhuang) is explained once on the Dunhuang year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.