Dunhuang weather in September

In September, Dunhuang sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 3 mm of rain across 0.5 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 30°C in the first days to 24°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 68% of the time in September, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 54 min at the start of September to 11 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, September is Dunhuang's 2nd-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dunhuang's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 27°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 3 mm; 0.5 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 18 min; 7:28 AM – 7:43 PM
Cloud cover: 30%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 5.69 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.1; out of 10

← August Dunhuang year-round climate October →Best places to visit in September

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

Temperature in September

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 30°C in the first days to 24°C by the end.

A typical September day in Dunhuang reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 12°C overnight — a 15°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 31°C. Set against its neighbours, September runs about 5°C cooler than August and about 8°C warmer than October.

	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
Avg high (°C)	30	30	30	30	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	24	24	24
Avg low (°C)	16	16	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	8	8

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

How September really feels in Dunhuang

Once humidity and wind are folded in, September 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

September 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 September compares with the rest of the year at a glance. September is the 5th-warmest and 5th-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 September

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 68% of the time in September.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of September, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 23%.

	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
Clearer (%)	77	77	75	75	75	75	75	76	75	75	75	75	75	76	77	77	77	78	78	78	79	79	79	80	80	80	80	79	79	79
Cloudier (%)	23	23	25	25	25	25	25	24	25	25	25	25	25	24	23	23	23	22	22	22	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	21	21	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	75	25
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	76	24
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	79	21
24	80	20
25	80	20
26	80	20
27	80	20
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	79	21

Chance of precipitation in September

Any precipitation

Dunhuang gets around 3 mm of rain over 0.5 wet days in September. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 2% and peaks near 2% 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
Rain chance (%)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

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

Humidity in September

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, September 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
Dry (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0

Wind in September

Winds average 12 km/h in September.

Across September, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 13 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
Wind speed (km/h)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
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	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in September

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 54 min at the start of September to 11 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 78 minutes over September. Sunrise moves from 7:13 AM to 7:42 AM, and sunset from 8:09 PM to 7:19 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
Daylight (h)	12.9	12.9	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.5	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.1	12.1	12.0	12.0	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.8	11.7	11.7	11.6
Sunrise (AM)	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:35	7:36	7:37	7:38	7:39	7:40	7:41	7:42
Sunset (PM)	8:09	8:07	8:06	8:04	8:02	8:01	7:59	7:57	7:55	7:54	7:52	7:50	7:49	7:47	7:45	7:43	7:42	7:40	7:38	7:36	7:35	7:33	7:31	7:30	7:28	7:26	7:24	7:23	7:21	7:19

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.9	7:13	8:09
2	12.9	7:14	8:07
3	12.8	7:15	8:06
4	12.8	7:16	8:04
5	12.8	7:17	8:02
6	12.7	7:18	8:01
7	12.7	7:19	7:59
8	12.6	7:20	7:57
9	12.6	7:21	7:55
10	12.5	7:22	7:54
11	12.5	7:23	7:52
12	12.4	7:24	7:50
13	12.4	7:25	7:49
14	12.4	7:26	7:47
15	12.3	7:27	7:45
16	12.3	7:28	7:43
17	12.2	7:29	7:42
18	12.2	7:30	7:40
19	12.1	7:31	7:38
20	12.1	7:32	7:36
21	12.0	7:33	7:35
22	12.0	7:34	7:33
23	11.9	7:35	7:31
24	11.9	7:36	7:30
25	11.9	7:37	7:28
26	11.8	7:38	7:26
27	11.8	7:39	7:24
28	11.7	7:40	7:23
29	11.7	7:41	7:21
30	11.6	7:42	7:19

Solar energy in September

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in September, about 5.69 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 — September's 5.69 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.2	Intense
2	6.2	Intense
3	6.2	Intense
4	6.1	Intense
5	6.1	Intense
6	6.0	Intense
7	6.0	Intense
8	6.0	Bright
9	5.9	Bright
10	5.9	Bright
11	5.9	Bright
12	5.8	Bright
13	5.8	Bright
14	5.8	Bright
15	5.7	Bright
16	5.7	Bright
17	5.7	Bright
18	5.6	Bright
19	5.6	Bright
20	5.5	Bright
21	5.5	Bright
22	5.5	Bright
23	5.4	Bright
24	5.4	Bright
25	5.3	Bright
26	5.3	Bright
27	5.2	Bright
28	5.2	Bright
29	5.1	Bright
30	5.1	Bright

Planning a trip in September

Hazard calendar for Dunhuang

In seasonPeak

In September, 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 September a good time to visit Dunhuang?

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

8.1

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

8.4

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

September 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 September

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

In September, Dunhuang sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 12°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Dunhuang in September

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in September 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 September

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

← August Dunhuang year-round climate October →Best places to visit in September

September 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	30	16
2	30	16
3	30	15
4	30	15
5	29	15
6	29	15
7	29	14
8	29	14
9	28	14
10	28	13
11	28	13
12	28	13
13	28	13
14	27	12
15	27	12
16	27	12
17	27	12
18	27	11
19	27	11
20	26	11
21	26	11
22	26	10
23	26	10
24	25	10
25	25	10
26	25	9
27	25	9
28	24	9
29	24	8
30	24	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	75	25
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	76	24
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	79	21
24	80	20
25	80	20
26	80	20
27	80	20
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	79	21

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	75	25
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	76	24
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	79	21
24	80	20
25	80	20
26	80	20
27	80	20
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	79	21

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	75	25
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	76	24
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	79	21
24	80	20
25	80	20
26	80	20
27	80	20
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	79	21

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0