Climate averages 1991–2020
Zhangye weather
in May.
A warm, very dry month: the 4th warmest and the 8th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Zhangye: daytime highs average 22.9°C and nights cool to about 6.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 13 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes May a very dry month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 17 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Jinchang (159 km away). In May its highs average 23.3°C, about as warm as Zhangye, with 15 mm of rain.
Among the 884 cities listed in China, Zhangye ranks joint 703rd of 884 for the warmest May highs and 11th of 884 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 884 cities is 25.2°C; Zhangye is 2.3°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.2°C to 27.1°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 13 mm to 20 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
Zhangye climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -0.3°C-13.0°C | -13.0°C | 1.6 | 0.7 | 9.810 h |
| February | 4.1°C-8.9°C | -8.9°C | 1.5 | 0.5 | 10.711 h |
| March | 10.3°C-4.4°C | -4.4°C | 5.2 | 1.7 | 11.912 h |
| April | 17.6°C0.9°C | 0.9°C | 7.4 | 2.0 | 13.213 h |
| May, selected | 22.9°C6.7°C | 6.7°C | 13 | 3.5 | 14.314 h |
| June | 27.1°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 20 | 4.1 | 14.815 h |
| July | 28.5°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 39 | 6.6 | 14.615 h |
| August | 27.1°C13.5°C | 13.5°C | 32 | 6.0 | 13.714 h |
| September | 22.2°C8.7°C | 8.7°C | 23 | 4.8 | 12.512 h |
| October | 15.5°C1.2°C | 1.2°C | 7.2 | 2.1 | 11.211 h |
| November | 7.6°C-5.3°C | -5.3°C | 2.4 | 0.9 | 10.110 h |
| December | 1.1°C-10.7°C | -10.7°C | 2.5 | 0.9 | 9.59 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
- Jinchang in MayChina · 159 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 9.5°C · 15 mm rain
- Jiuquan in MayChina · 189 kmHigh 21.7°C · Low 8.5°C · 11 mm rain
- Jiayuguan in MayChina · 210 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 8.8°C · 15 mm rain
- Wuwei in MayChina · 220 kmHigh 22.5°C · Low 7.6°C · 17 mm rain
- Qiaotou in MayChina · 247 kmHigh 16.4°C · Low 2.3°C · 73 mm rain
- Laojunmiao in MayChina · 254 kmHigh 18.3°C · Low 6.2°C · 28 mm rain
- Xining in MayChina · 281 kmHigh 18.4°C · Low 6.2°C · 54 mm rain
- Nianbo in MayChina · 323 kmHigh 19.7°C · Low 8.1°C · 62 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 Zhangye) is explained once on the Zhangye year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.