Climate averages 1991–2020
Xining weather
in December.
A cold month with very little precipitation: the 11th warmest and the driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Xining: daytime highs average 1.3°C and nights cool to about -10.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 2.2 mm of precipitation on fewer than one day, which makes December a month with very little precipitation (the driest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 43 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Qiaotou (35 km away). In December its highs average -0.9°C, 2.2°C cooler than Xining, with 3.8 mm of precipitation.
Among the 884 cities listed in China, Xining ranks joint 703rd of 884 for the warmest December highs and joint 27th of 884 for the driest December (precipitation, lowest first). The mean December high of those 884 cities is 7.5°C; Xining is 6.2°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.2°C to 0.1°C, and monthly precipitation rises from 2.2 mm to 3.2 mm.
The annual picture
December 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
Xining climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.1°C-12.3°C | -12.3°C | 3.2 | 1.2 | 10.010 h |
| February | 3.6°C-8.2°C | -8.2°C | 5.0 | 1.9 | 10.811 h |
| March | 8.7°C-3.4°C | -3.4°C | 15 | 4.7 | 11.912 h |
| April | 14.6°C1.3°C | 1.3°C | 30 | 6.6 | 13.113 h |
| May | 18.4°C6.2°C | 6.2°C | 54 | 9.6 | 14.114 h |
| June | 21.5°C10.6°C | 10.6°C | 66 | 11.1 | 14.615 h |
| July | 23.3°C13.1°C | 13.1°C | 81 | 12.4 | 14.414 h |
| August | 22.5°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 85 | 13.6 | 13.614 h |
| September | 18.0°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 87 | 14.6 | 12.412 h |
| October | 12.5°C2.0°C | 2.0°C | 41 | 9.6 | 11.311 h |
| November | 6.3°C-4.7°C | -4.7°C | 9.3 | 2.9 | 10.310 h |
| December, selected | 1.3°C-10.6°C | -10.6°C | 2.2 | 0.8 | 9.710 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
December in nearby cities
- Qiaotou in DecemberChina · 35 kmHigh -0.9°C · Low -16.4°C · 3.8 mm precipitation
- Nianbo in DecemberChina · 61 kmHigh 1.1°C · Low -10.7°C · 3.3 mm precipitation
- Tongren (Qinghai), China in DecemberChina · 126 kmHigh 1.0°C · Low -12.2°C · 6.0 mm precipitation
- Wuwei in DecemberChina · 164 kmHigh 1.3°C · Low -8.9°C · 1.2 mm precipitation
- Linxia Chengguanzhen in DecemberChina · 173 kmHigh 1.8°C · Low -8.7°C · 4.1 mm precipitation
- Lanzhou in DecemberChina · 197 kmHigh 3.4°C · Low -5.7°C · 2.0 mm rain
- Jinchang in DecemberChina · 212 kmHigh 0.7°C · Low -10.2°C · 0.8 mm precipitation
- Baiyin in DecemberChina · 216 kmHigh 0.9°C · Low -8.9°C · 1.6 mm precipitation
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 Xining) is explained once on the Xining year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.