Chongqing weather in May

In May, Chongqing sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 163 mm of rain across 16.1 wet days and about 13.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in May, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 06 min at the start of May to 13 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Chongqing's 4th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Chongqing's year-round climate.

Daytime high
27°
5th warmest
Overnight low
19°
8th coldest
Rainfall
163 mm
16.1 wet days
Daylight
13 h 30 min
6:06 AM – 7:34 PM
Cloud cover
74%
4th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
4.14 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.5
out of 10

Chongqing is administrative center of Chongqing municipality.

Air quality
Very high
PM2.5 37.2 µg/m³ · 2018
Founded
1929

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 27°C through the month.

A typical May day in Chongqing reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 19°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 21°C and 32°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 2°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12618
22618
32618
42618
52618
62618
72618
82618
92619
102619
112619
122619
132619
142619
152619
162619
172719
182719
192719
202719
212719
222720
232720
242720
252720
262720
272720
282720
292720
302720
312720

How May really feels in Chongqing

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Chongqing weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan11° / 287.610.32.5
Feb13° / 338.810.93.6
Mar18° / 11°7213.211.85.1
Apr23° / 16°1171512.75.7
May27° / 19°16316.113.55.5
Jun29° / 22°17315.713.94.6
Jul33° / 25°16614.613.73.1
Aug33° / 25°14714.213.13.1
Sep28° / 21°11812.412.25.3
Oct22° / 17°10716.311.35.5
Nov17° / 12°7211.610.54.9
Dec12° / 378.910.13.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12971
22971
32971
42872
52872
62773
72773
82773
92773
102575
112575
122575
132575
142575
152575
162575
172575
182575
192575
202674
212575
222674
232674
242773
252674
262674
272674
282575
292575
302575
312674

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Chongqing gets around 163 mm of rain over 16.1 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 52% and peaks near 52% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
152
252
352
452
552
652
752
852
952
1052
1152
1252
1352
1452
1552
1652
1752
1852
1952
2052
2152
2252
2351
2451
2551
2651
2751
2851
2951
3051
3150

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels humid — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the humid band about 42% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 43% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
1727402240
2626402340
3624412440
4523422550
5521432650
6420442750
7419452750
8418462850
9317462950
10316472950
11315482950
12315483050
13214483050
14214493150
15213483160
16112483260
17111483360
18111473570
19110463670
2019453780
2119443880
2218434090
23074141100
24064042110
25063844121
26053645131
27043447151
28043148161
29032949171
30032651191
31022452211

Wind in May

Winds average 6 km/h in May, the windiest month of the year.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 06 min at the start of May to 13 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:17 AM to 5:59 AM, and sunset from 7:25 PM to 7:43 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.16:177:25
213.26:167:25
313.26:157:26
413.26:157:27
513.26:147:27
613.36:137:28
713.36:127:29
813.36:117:29
913.36:117:30
1013.36:107:31
1113.46:097:31
1213.46:087:32
1313.46:087:32
1413.46:077:33
1513.56:067:34
1613.56:067:34
1713.56:057:35
1813.56:047:36
1913.56:047:36
2013.66:037:37
2113.66:037:37
2213.66:027:38
2313.66:027:39
2413.66:017:39
2513.66:017:40
2613.76:017:41
2713.76:007:41
2813.76:007:42
2913.76:007:42
3013.75:597:43
3113.75:597:43

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.14 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.6 kWh/m² to a high of 5.22 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 4.14 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

012345151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.2Bright
24.2Bright
34.2Bright
44.2Bright
54.2Bright
64.2Bright
74.2Bright
84.2Bright
94.2Bright
104.2Bright
114.2Bright
124.2Bright
134.1Bright
144.1Bright
154.1Bright
164.1Bright
174.1Bright
184.1Bright
194.1Bright
204.1Bright
214.1Bright
224.1Bright
234.1Bright
244.1Bright
254.1Bright
264.1Bright
274.1Bright
284.2Bright
294.2Bright
304.2Bright
314.2Bright
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Chongqing

In seasonPeak

In May, Chongqing sits inside its pacific typhoon and rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Chongqing sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Chongqing's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is May a good time to visit Chongqing?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.5
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
5.4
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Chongqing for sightseeing.

What to pack for Chongqing in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Chongqing sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 19°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes. About 16 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothes

UV index in Chongqing in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Chongqing peaks around July 15 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highVery highExtremeVery highModerateJul 15UV 11Jan 10UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb6High
Mar8Very high
Apr6High
May9Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug8Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct7High
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Chongqing in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Chongqing is worst in January — around 49 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.1× the cleanest month (August, 23 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Chongqing's WHO annual average of 37.2 µg/m³.

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorJan 1648 µg/m³Aug 1123 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan49Poor
Feb45Poor
Mar43Poor
Apr37Poor
May35Poor
Jun30Moderate
Jul24Moderate
Aug23Moderate
Sep32Moderate
Oct39Poor
Nov44Poor
Dec46Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Chongqing?

Chongqing sits at 29.6°N, 106.6°E, 289 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Chengdu, 269 km away.

GuiyangFenghuangZhangjiajieXi'anGuilinKunming

Topography around Chongqing

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Chongqing.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Chongqing has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 206 m around an average of 227 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 504 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,549 m.

The land around Chongqing is covered by artificial surfaces (54%) and water (25%) within 3 km, trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (39%) within 16 km, and trees (73%) within 80 km.

3 km
206 m
16 km
504 m
80 km
1,549 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Chengdu 269 km · Leshan 270 km · Guiyang 331 km · Fenghuang 347 km · Zhangjiajie 383 km · Xi'an 568 km · Guilin 602 km · Kunming 630 km

China travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / I
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 47% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$13,862
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
0.5
per 100k, 2020
Road deaths
17.4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 464
Religion
unaffiliated 52%folk religion 22%Buddhist 18%Christian 5%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Chongqing (29.5603°, 106.5577°, elevation 289 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).