Climate averages 1991–2020
Xining weather
in May.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 4th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Xining: daytime highs average 18.4°C and nights cool to about 6.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 54 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 06 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Qiaotou (35 km away). In May its highs average 16.4°C, 2.0°C cooler than Xining, with 73 mm of rain.
Among the 884 cities listed in China, Xining ranks joint 859th of 884 for the warmest May highs and joint 178th of 884 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 884 cities is 25.2°C; Xining is 6.8°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 3.1°C to 21.5°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 54 mm to 66 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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 | 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
May in nearby cities
- Qiaotou in MayChina · 35 kmHigh 16.4°C · Low 2.3°C · 73 mm rain
- Nianbo in MayChina · 61 kmHigh 19.7°C · Low 8.1°C · 62 mm rain
- Tongren (Qinghai), China in MayChina · 126 kmHigh 15.9°C · Low 3.6°C · 127 mm rain
- Wuwei in MayChina · 164 kmHigh 22.5°C · Low 7.6°C · 17 mm rain
- Linxia Chengguanzhen in MayChina · 173 kmHigh 19.5°C · Low 6.3°C · 64 mm rain
- Lanzhou in MayChina · 197 kmHigh 23.8°C · Low 10.7°C · 44 mm rain
- Jinchang in MayChina · 212 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 9.5°C · 15 mm rain
- Baiyin in MayChina · 216 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 9.3°C · 30 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 Xining) is explained once on the Xining year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.