Chongqing in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Chongqing sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 98 mm of rain over about 25 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Chongqing's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Chongqing's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
12°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
7°C
Rainfall
98 mm
25 wet days
Avg wind
5 km/h
Travel score
3.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Chongqing in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.

A typical winter day in Chongqing reaches about 12°C and drops to 7°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

10°15°20°25°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Chongqing

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

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

winter 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 the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

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 Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Chongqing gets around 98 mm of rain over 25 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 5 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 12 min in early December to 11 h 18 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.9 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Chongqing

In seasonPeak

In winter, Chongqing overlaps its pacific typhoon 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 winter a good time to visit Chongqing?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

3.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Chongqing.

What to pack for Chongqing in Winter

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

In winter, Chongqing sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 7°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 25 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Chongqing in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. 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 Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter 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
Winter 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.