Guangzhou in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Guangzhou sees average daytime highs around 20°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 133 mm of rain over about 20 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 20°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Guangzhou's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Guangzhou's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 20°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 13°C
- Rainfall
- 133 mm
- 20 wet days
- Avg wind
- 11 km/h
- Travel score
- 6.7
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Guangzhou in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 20°C.
A typical winter day in Guangzhou reaches about 20°C and drops to 13°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Guangzhou
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.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Guangzhou 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 | 19° / 12° | 41 | 6.4 | 10.7 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 20° / 13° | 55 | 8.9 | 11.2 | 6.1 |
| Mar | 23° / 17° | 117 | 14.3 | 11.8 | 5.8 |
| Apr | 27° / 21° | 197 | 16.5 | 12.5 | 5.1 |
| May | 30° / 24° | 290 | 21 | 13.1 | 3.5 |
| Jun | 32° / 26° | 336 | 22.7 | 13.4 | 2.6 |
| Jul | 33° / 27° | 229 | 21.8 | 13.3 | 2.4 |
| Aug | 33° / 27° | 265 | 22.1 | 12.8 | 2.5 |
| Sep | 32° / 25° | 177 | 15.8 | 12.1 | 3.6 |
| Oct | 29° / 22° | 58 | 6.4 | 11.5 | 6.1 |
| Nov | 25° / 18° | 35 | 5.3 | 10.9 | 7.7 |
| Dec | 21° / 13° | 37 | 4.7 | 10.6 | 7.4 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Guangzhou gets around 133 mm of rain over 20 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 11 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 30 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 3.0 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Guangzhou
In winter, Guangzhou overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Guangzhou sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.
Guangzhou's monsoon runs April–September, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Guangzhou?
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 Guangzhou for sightseeing.
What to pack for Guangzhou in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Guangzhou sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: rain gear. About 20 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Guangzhou in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 19°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 67 km away) is warmest in August at about 29°C and coldest in February near 18°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Mar 21 to Dec 17 — about 8.9 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 20 |
| Comfort | Cool | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm | Refreshing | Refreshing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | Cool |
| Feb | 18 | Cool |
| Mar | 20 | Cool |
| Apr | 22 | Refreshing |
| May | 26 | Warm |
| Jun | 28 | Warm |
| Jul | 29 | Tropical |
| Aug | 29 | Tropical |
| Sep | 28 | Tropical |
| Oct | 27 | Warm |
| Nov | 23 | Refreshing |
| Dec | 20 | Refreshing |
UV index in Guangzhou 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 Guangzhou peaks around July 16 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 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 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Level | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | High |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | High |
| Feb | 7 | High |
| Mar | 8 | Very high |
| Apr | 8 | Very high |
| May | 10 | Very high |
| Jun | 10 | Extreme |
| Jul | 12 | Extreme |
| Aug | 10 | Very high |
| Sep | 9 | Very high |
| Oct | 8 | Very high |
| Nov | 7 | High |
| Dec | 6 | High |
Air quality in Guangzhou 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 Guangzhou is worst in January — around 47 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.0× the cleanest month (July, 24 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Guangzhou's WHO annual average of 36.4 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 47 | 45 | 42 | 37 | 31 | 25 | 24 | 29 | 39 | 37 | 42 | 39 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | Poor |
| Feb | 45 | Poor |
| Mar | 42 | Poor |
| Apr | 37 | Poor |
| May | 31 | Moderate |
| Jun | 25 | Moderate |
| Jul | 24 | Moderate |
| Aug | 29 | Moderate |
| Sep | 39 | Poor |
| Oct | 37 | Poor |
| Nov | 42 | Poor |
| Dec | 39 | Poor |
Where is Guangzhou?
Guangzhou sits at 23.1°N, 113.3°E, 15 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Zhuhai, 99 km away.
Topography around Guangzhou
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Guangzhou.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Guangzhou has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 64 m around an average of 12 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 371 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,285 m.
The land around Guangzhou is covered by artificial surfaces (79%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (65%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and trees (49%) and artificial surfaces (26%) 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 Guangzhou (23.1167°, 113.25°, elevation 15 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.