Dunhuang weather in May

In May, Dunhuang sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 5 mm of rain across 1 wet days and about 14.2 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 25°C in the first days to 30°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 49% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 42 min at the start of May to 14 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Dunhuang's 11th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dunhuang's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 27°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 13°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 5 mm; 1 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 12 min; 6:31 AM – 8:44 PM
Cloud cover: 46%; 11th clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 7.36 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.7; out of 10

← April Dunhuang year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 25°C in the first days to 30°C by the end.

A typical May day in Dunhuang reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 14°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 6°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	25	25	25	25	25	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	30	30	30
Avg low (°C)	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	25	11
2	25	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	26	11
7	26	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	27	12
14	27	13
15	27	13
16	27	13
17	27	13
18	27	13
19	28	14
20	28	14
21	28	14
22	28	14
23	28	14
24	29	15
25	29	15
26	29	15
27	29	15
28	29	16
29	30	16
30	30	16
31	30	16

How May really feels in Dunhuang

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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

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.

Dunhuang weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 4th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-1° / -12°	1	0.1	0.3	9.5	0.0
Feb	6° / -7°	1	0.2	0.2	10.4	0.8
Mar	14° / -1°	2	0.5	0.5	11.7	5.0
Apr	22° / 7°	2	0.7	0.1	13	8.2
May	27° / 13°	5	1	0	14.2	7.7
Jun	32° / 19°	8	1.6	0	14.8	5.1
Jul	34° / 21°	7	1.4	0	14.6	3.9
Aug	32° / 19°	5	1	0	13.6	4.9
Sep	27° / 12°	3	0.5	0	12.3	8.1
Oct	19° / 4°	1	0.4	0	10.9	7.7
Nov	9° / -4°	1	0.3	0.3	9.8	2.2
Dec	0° / -10°	1	0.4	0.7	9.2	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 49% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 38%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	61	61	61	61	61	61	61	61	62	62	62	62	62	62	62	63	63	63	63	63	63	63	63	62	62	62	62	62	61	62	62
Cloudier (%)	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	38	38	38	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	38	38	38	38	38	39	38	38

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	61	39
2	61	39
3	61	39
4	61	39
5	61	39
6	61	39
7	61	39
8	61	39
9	62	38
10	62	38
11	62	38
12	62	38
13	62	38
14	62	38
15	62	38
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	63	37
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	62	38
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Dunhuang gets around 5 mm of rain over 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 3% and peaks near 4% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	4
5	4
6	4
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	4
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	2
20	2
21	2
22	2
23	2
24	2
25	2
26	2
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	3

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in May

Winds average 14 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	15	light breeze
2	15	light breeze
3	15	light breeze
4	15	light breeze
5	15	light breeze
6	15	light breeze
7	15	light breeze
8	15	light breeze
9	15	light breeze
10	15	light breeze
11	15	light breeze
12	15	light breeze
13	15	light breeze
14	15	light breeze
15	15	light breeze
16	15	light breeze
17	15	light breeze
18	15	light breeze
19	15	light breeze
20	14	light breeze
21	14	light breeze
22	14	light breeze
23	14	light breeze
24	14	light breeze
25	14	light breeze
26	14	light breeze
27	14	light breeze
28	14	light breeze
29	14	light breeze
30	14	light breeze
31	14	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 42 min at the start of May to 14 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:48 AM to 6:20 AM, and sunset from 8:29 PM to 8:57 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.6
Sunrise (AM)	6:48	6:47	6:45	6:44	6:43	6:42	6:41	6:39	6:38	6:37	6:36	6:35	6:34	6:33	6:32	6:31	6:30	6:29	6:28	6:27	6:27	6:26	6:25	6:24	6:24	6:23	6:22	6:22	6:21	6:21	6:20
Sunset (PM)	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:40	8:41	8:42	8:43	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:47	8:48	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:51	8:52	8:53	8:54	8:55	8:56	8:56	8:57

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.7	6:48	8:29
2	13.7	6:47	8:30
3	13.8	6:45	8:31
4	13.8	6:44	8:32
5	13.8	6:43	8:33
6	13.9	6:42	8:34
7	13.9	6:41	8:35
8	13.9	6:39	8:36
9	14.0	6:38	8:37
10	14.0	6:37	8:38
11	14.1	6:36	8:39
12	14.1	6:35	8:40
13	14.1	6:34	8:41
14	14.2	6:33	8:42
15	14.2	6:32	8:43
16	14.2	6:31	8:44
17	14.2	6:30	8:45
18	14.3	6:29	8:46
19	14.3	6:28	8:47
20	14.3	6:27	8:48
21	14.4	6:27	8:49
22	14.4	6:26	8:50
23	14.4	6:25	8:51
24	14.5	6:24	8:51
25	14.5	6:24	8:52
26	14.5	6:23	8:53
27	14.5	6:22	8:54
28	14.6	6:22	8:55
29	14.6	6:21	8:56
30	14.6	6:21	8:56
31	14.6	6:20	8:57

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 7.36 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.44 kWh/m² to a high of 7.48 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 7.36 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.4	7.4	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	7.1	Intense
2	7.1	Intense
3	7.1	Intense
4	7.1	Intense
5	7.1	Intense
6	7.1	Intense
7	7.2	Intense
8	7.2	Intense
9	7.2	Intense
10	7.2	Intense
11	7.3	Intense
12	7.3	Intense
13	7.3	Intense
14	7.3	Intense
15	7.3	Intense
16	7.4	Intense
17	7.4	Intense
18	7.4	Intense
19	7.5	Intense
20	7.5	Intense
21	7.5	Intense
22	7.5	Intense
23	7.5	Intense
24	7.5	Intense
25	7.5	Intense
26	7.5	Intense
27	7.6	Intense
28	7.6	Intense
29	7.6	Intense
30	7.6	Intense
31	7.6	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Dunhuang

In seasonPeak

In May, Dunhuang sits inside its dust season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Dunhuang sees dust haze year-round, heaviest in May.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Dunhuang?

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

7.7

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

8.1

Beach & pool

2nd-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Dunhuang for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Dunhuang in May

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

In May, Dunhuang sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 13°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Dunhuang in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dunhuang peaks around July 16 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	3	5	7	7	10	11	10	7	5	2	2
Level	Low	Moderate	High	High	High	Very high	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Moderate	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	5	High
Apr	7	High
May	7	High
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	7	Very high
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	2	Moderate
Dec	2	Low

Air quality in Dunhuang 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 Dunhuang is worst in March — around 276 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 2.2× the cleanest month (December, 125 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	179	180	276	222	218	139	136	169	133	167	145	125
Level	Very unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	179	Very unhealthy
Feb	180	Very unhealthy
Mar	276	Very unhealthy
Apr	222	Very unhealthy
May	218	Very unhealthy
Jun	139	Unhealthy
Jul	136	Unhealthy
Aug	169	Very unhealthy
Sep	133	Unhealthy
Oct	167	Very unhealthy
Nov	145	Unhealthy
Dec	125	Unhealthy

Location & terrain

Where is Dunhuang?

Dunhuang sits at 40.2°N, 94.7°E, 1,131 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Jiayuguan, 309 km away.

Topography around Dunhuang

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dunhuang has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 31 m around an average of 1,129 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 582 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,435 m.

The land around Dunhuang is covered by cropland (54%) within 3 km, bare terrain (56%) and cropland (31%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (95%) within 80 km.

3 km

31 m

cropland 54%

16 km

582 m

bare terrain 56%

80 km

3,435 m

bare terrain 95%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← April Dunhuang year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Jiayuguan 309 km · Turpan 552 km · Altai 702 km · Urumqi 711 km · Bogd 792 km · Hovd 806 km · Bayanhongor 829 km · Uliastay 860 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 Dunhuang (40.1667°, 94.6833°, elevation 1,131 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. 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	25	11
2	25	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	26	11
7	26	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	27	12
14	27	13
15	27	13
16	27	13
17	27	13
18	27	13
19	28	14
20	28	14
21	28	14
22	28	14
23	28	14
24	29	15
25	29	15
26	29	15
27	29	15
28	29	16
29	30	16
30	30	16
31	30	16

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	61	39
2	61	39
3	61	39
4	61	39
5	61	39
6	61	39
7	61	39
8	61	39
9	62	38
10	62	38
11	62	38
12	62	38
13	62	38
14	62	38
15	62	38
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	63	37
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	62	38
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	4
5	4
6	4
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	4
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	2
20	2
21	2
22	2
23	2
24	2
25	2
26	2
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	3

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	25	11
2	25	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	26	11
7	26	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	27	12
14	27	13
15	27	13
16	27	13
17	27	13
18	27	13
19	28	14
20	28	14
21	28	14
22	28	14
23	28	14
24	29	15
25	29	15
26	29	15
27	29	15
28	29	16
29	30	16
30	30	16
31	30	16

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	61	39
2	61	39
3	61	39
4	61	39
5	61	39
6	61	39
7	61	39
8	61	39
9	62	38
10	62	38
11	62	38
12	62	38
13	62	38
14	62	38
15	62	38
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	63	37
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	62	38
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	4
5	4
6	4
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	4
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	2
20	2
21	2
22	2
23	2
24	2
25	2
26	2
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	3

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	25	11
2	25	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	26	11
7	26	12
8	26	12
9	26	12
10	26	12
11	26	12
12	26	12
13	27	12
14	27	13
15	27	13
16	27	13
17	27	13
18	27	13
19	28	14
20	28	14
21	28	14
22	28	14
23	28	14
24	29	15
25	29	15
26	29	15
27	29	15
28	29	16
29	30	16
30	30	16
31	30	16

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	61	39
2	61	39
3	61	39
4	61	39
5	61	39
6	61	39
7	61	39
8	61	39
9	62	38
10	62	38
11	62	38
12	62	38
13	62	38
14	62	38
15	62	38
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	63	37
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	62	38
25	62	38
26	62	38
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	4
5	4
6	4
7	4
8	4
9	4
10	4
11	4
12	4
13	3
14	3
15	3
16	3
17	3
18	3
19	2
20	2
21	2
22	2
23	2
24	2
25	2
26	2
27	3
28	3
29	3
30	3
31	3

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100