Dali in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Dali sees average daytime highs around 16°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 60 mm of precipitation over about 12 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 16°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 58% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Dali's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Dali's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 16°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 4°C
- Precipitation
- 60 mm
- 12 wet days
- Avg wind
- 8 km/h
- Travel score
- 6.0
- 2nd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Dali in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 16°C.
A typical winter day in Dali reaches about 16°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
Dali 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15° / 3° | 25 | 4.5 | 10.6 | 5.5 |
| Feb | 17° / 4° | 22 | 4.8 | 11.1 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 20° / 7° | 29 | 6 | 11.8 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 23° / 11° | 37 | 5.9 | 12.6 | 7.5 |
| May | 24° / 14° | 90 | 10.7 | 13.2 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 25° / 17° | 174 | 21.7 | 13.6 | 4.7 |
| Jul | 24° / 17° | 272 | 28.8 | 13.4 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 24° / 17° | 275 | 26.8 | 12.9 | 4.1 |
| Sep | 23° / 15° | 184 | 24.5 | 12.2 | 4.3 |
| Oct | 21° / 13° | 97 | 15.7 | 11.4 | 5.6 |
| Nov | 18° / 7° | 26 | 4.7 | 10.8 | 6.7 |
| Dec | 15° / 4° | 13 | 2.9 | 10.4 | 5.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 58% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Dali gets around 60 mm of rain and snow over 12 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 8 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min in early December to 11 h 24 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Dali
In winter, Dali overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Dali sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.
Dali's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Dali?
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.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Dali for sightseeing.
What to pack for Dali in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Dali sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.
UV index in Dali in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dali peaks around June 20 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 6 (high).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 6 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Level | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | High |
| Feb | 8 | Very high |
| Mar | 11 | Extreme |
| Apr | 10 | Extreme |
| May | 12 | Extreme |
| Jun | 15 | Extreme |
| Jul | 14 | Extreme |
| Aug | 11 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 9 | Very high |
| Nov | 8 | Very high |
| Dec | 6 | High |
Air quality in Dali in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Dali is worst in April — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (June, 13 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Dali's WHO annual average of 17.6 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 19 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 19 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | Moderate |
| Feb | 19 | Moderate |
| Mar | 22 | Moderate |
| Apr | 23 | Moderate |
| May | 18 | Moderate |
| Jun | 13 | Moderate |
| Jul | 13 | Moderate |
| Aug | 14 | Moderate |
| Sep | 16 | Moderate |
| Oct | 17 | Moderate |
| Nov | 19 | Moderate |
| Dec | 19 | Moderate |
Where is Dali?
Dali sits at 25.6°N, 100.2°E, 1,977 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Lijiang, 143 km away.
Topography around Dali
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Dali.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Dali has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 970 m around an average of 2,123 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,663 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,847 m.
The land around Dali is covered by trees (49%) and artificial surfaces (40%) within 3 km, trees (57%) within 16 km, and trees (58%) and grassland (20%) within 80 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
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 Dali (25.5847°, 100.2123°, elevation 1,977 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.