Climate and average weather in Hangzhou
In Hangzhou, the summers are oppressive, sweltering, showery, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Hangzhou typically varies from 2°C to 34°C, and is rarely below -3°C or above 39°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Hangzhou for warm-weather activities are from mid April to mid May and late September to mid November.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 34°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 2°
- Wettest
- Jun
- 303 mm
- Driest
- Oct
- 59 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1457 mm
- 134 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.0–14.0 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 12 m
- 30.3°N
- Clearest
- Dec
- 51% cloud
Hangzhou is capital of Zhejiang Province, China.
- Air quality
- High
- PM2.5 29.5 µg/m³ · 2019
- Density
- 548/km²
- people per km²
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Hangzhou weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late September to mid November.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Hangzhou, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from June 9 to September 17, with daily high temperatures above 28°C. The hottest month of the year in Hangzhou is July, with an average high of 34°C and low of 26°C.
The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from December 3 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 14°C. The coldest month of the year in Hangzhou is January, with an average low of 2°C and high of 9°C.
Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 9 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 27 | 29 | 34 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 12 |
| Avg low (°C) | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 4 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 2 |
| Feb | 11 | 4 |
| Mar | 16 | 8 |
| Apr | 22 | 13 |
| May | 27 | 18 |
| Jun | 29 | 22 |
| Jul | 34 | 26 |
| Aug | 33 | 26 |
| Sep | 29 | 22 |
| Oct | 24 | 16 |
| Nov | 18 | 10 |
| Dec | 12 | 4 |
How hot and cold Hangzhou really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Hangzhou feels like about 43°C (around July 27). About 86 days a year carry some heat stress, and 46 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in July.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -1°C (around January 23), with roughly 30 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 9 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 27 | 32 | 41 | 40 | 31 | 24 | 18 | 11 |
| Air high (°C) | 9 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 27 | 29 | 34 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 12 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 2 |
| Air low (°C) | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 4 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Feb | 11 | 11 | 1 | 4 |
| Mar | 16 | 16 | 6 | 8 |
| Apr | 22 | 22 | 13 | 13 |
| May | 27 | 27 | 18 | 18 |
| Jun | 32 | 29 | 22 | 22 |
| Jul | 41 | 34 | 26 | 26 |
| Aug | 40 | 33 | 26 | 26 |
| Sep | 31 | 29 | 22 | 22 |
| Oct | 24 | 24 | 16 | 16 |
| Nov | 18 | 18 | 9 | 10 |
| Dec | 11 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
Average hourly temperature in Hangzhou
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 34°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 2°C.
Hangzhou weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9° / 2° | 80 | 10.4 | 1.6 | 10.3 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 11° / 4° | 73 | 9.9 | 1 | 10.9 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 16° / 8° | 119 | 13.5 | 0.2 | 11.8 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 22° / 13° | 131 | 12.1 | 0 | 12.7 | 6.0 |
| May | 27° / 18° | 157 | 12.2 | 0 | 13.5 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 29° / 22° | 303 | 16.2 | 0 | 13.9 | 4.5 |
| Jul | 34° / 26° | 173 | 12.9 | 0 | 13.8 | 2.8 |
| Aug | 33° / 26° | 141 | 14.8 | 0 | 13.1 | 3.0 |
| Sep | 29° / 22° | 98 | 10.1 | 0 | 12.2 | 5.6 |
| Oct | 24° / 16° | 59 | 6.3 | 0 | 11.3 | 7.4 |
| Nov | 18° / 10° | 65 | 8.5 | 0 | 10.5 | 5.9 |
| Dec | 12° / 4° | 59 | 7.5 | 0.4 | 10.1 | 3.2 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Hangzhou gets about 1457 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.2 months, from around Feb 16 to Jul 23, peaking in June at about 59% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 21.
June is the wettest month by volume, with 303 mm over about 16 wet days; October is the driest, with 59 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 33 | 36 | 43 | 41 | 40 | 52 | 44 | 46 | 34 | 21 | 28 | 26 |
| Rain days | 10 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 10 |
| Feb | 36 | 10 |
| Mar | 43 | 14 |
| Apr | 41 | 12 |
| May | 40 | 12 |
| Jun | 52 | 16 |
| Jul | 44 | 13 |
| Aug | 46 | 15 |
| Sep | 34 | 10 |
| Oct | 21 | 6 |
| Nov | 28 | 9 |
| Dec | 26 | 8 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Hangzhou collects about 1457 mm of rain across 134 wet days — roughly 121 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 303 mm, while October is the driest at just 59 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 43% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 80 | 73 | 119 | 131 | 157 | 303 | 173 | 141 | 98 | 59 | 65 | 59 |
| Rain days | 10 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
| Snow days | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 80 | 10 | 2 |
| Feb | 73 | 10 | 1 |
| Mar | 119 | 14 | 0 |
| Apr | 131 | 12 | 0 |
| May | 157 | 12 | 0 |
| Jun | 303 | 16 | 0 |
| Jul | 173 | 13 | 0 |
| Aug | 141 | 15 | 0 |
| Sep | 98 | 10 | 0 |
| Oct | 59 | 6 | 0 |
| Nov | 65 | 9 | 0 |
| Dec | 59 | 8 | 0 |
Snow in Hangzhou
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Hangzhou averages about 3 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Dec 24 to Feb 28 — about 2.2 months.
January is snowiest, with roughly 1.4 day of snow and an estimated 9 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 18 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 9 |
| Feb | 1 | 7 |
| Mar | 0 | 1 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 2 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Hangzhou, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around July 21 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around February 14. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 53% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around February 15 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around July 20. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 44 | 40 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 20 | 32 | 44 | 44 | 51 | 51 | 53 |
| Cloudier (%) | 56 | 60 | 68 | 67 | 67 | 80 | 68 | 56 | 56 | 49 | 49 | 47 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 56 |
| Feb | 40 | 60 |
| Mar | 32 | 68 |
| Apr | 33 | 67 |
| May | 33 | 67 |
| Jun | 20 | 80 |
| Jul | 32 | 68 |
| Aug | 44 | 56 |
| Sep | 44 | 56 |
| Oct | 51 | 49 |
| Nov | 51 | 49 |
| Dec | 53 | 47 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 19, brings about 14 hours of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 10 hours — a swing of roughly 4 hours.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.3 | 10.9 | 11.8 | 12.7 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:01 | 6:47 | 6:16 | 5:38 | 5:10 | 5:01 | 5:12 | 5:30 | 5:48 | 6:07 | 6:31 | 6:54 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:16 | 5:41 | 6:02 | 6:22 | 6:41 | 6:58 | 6:58 | 6:37 | 5:59 | 5:22 | 4:58 | 4:57 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10.3 | 7:01 | 5:16 |
| Feb | 10.9 | 6:47 | 5:41 |
| Mar | 11.8 | 6:16 | 6:02 |
| Apr | 12.7 | 5:38 | 6:22 |
| May | 13.5 | 5:10 | 6:41 |
| Jun | 13.9 | 5:01 | 6:58 |
| Jul | 13.8 | 5:12 | 6:58 |
| Aug | 13.1 | 5:30 | 6:37 |
| Sep | 12.2 | 5:48 | 5:59 |
| Oct | 11.3 | 6:07 | 5:22 |
| Nov | 10.5 | 6:31 | 4:58 |
| Dec | 10.1 | 6:54 | 4:57 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Hangzhou averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 14 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.9 months, from around Sep 22 to Feb 16. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).
The greyest month is June, down near 4 sunny days — about 69% fewer than the October peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| Sky | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Mixed |
| Feb | 9 | Mixed |
| Mar | 7 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 6 | Gloomy |
| May | 7 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 4 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 7 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 9 | Mixed |
| Sep | 8 | Mixed |
| Oct | 12 | Mixed |
| Nov | 12 | Mixed |
| Dec | 13 | Mixed |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Hangzhou, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 5.4 months, from around May 3 to October 13. The muggiest month is June, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 97% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 14 to May 2, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 99 | 92 | 58 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 78 | 98 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 29 | 13 | 1 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 22 | 7 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 31 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 62 | 57 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 92 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 58 | 22 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| May | 15 | 20 | 31 | 22 | 11 | 1 |
| Jun | 0 | 3 | 11 | 31 | 35 | 19 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 62 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 34 | 57 |
| Sep | 2 | 8 | 18 | 27 | 30 | 14 |
| Oct | 32 | 29 | 22 | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Nov | 78 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 98 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Wind in Hangzhou is steady company: average speeds sit near 9 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | calm |
| Feb | 9 | calm |
| Mar | 9 | calm |
| Apr | 9 | calm |
| May | 9 | calm |
| Jun | 8 | calm |
| Jul | 9 | calm |
| Aug | 9 | calm |
| Sep | 9 | calm |
| Oct | 9 | calm |
| Nov | 8 | calm |
| Dec | 8 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Hangzhou
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Hangzhou sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.
Hangzhou's rainy season runs May–August, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Hangzhou
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Hangzhou throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early November, Hangzhou is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Hangzhou for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to mid May and again from late September to mid November, with a peak score in the third week of October.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 1.7 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 5.5 | 7.4 | 5.8 | 3.2 |
| Rating | poor | poor | fair | good | good | fair | poor | poor | good | good | good | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.7 | poor |
| Feb | 2.7 | poor |
| Mar | 4.3 | fair |
| Apr | 6.0 | good |
| May | 6.1 | good |
| Jun | 4.5 | fair |
| Jul | 2.8 | poor |
| Aug | 3.0 | poor |
| Sep | 5.5 | good |
| Oct | 7.4 | good |
| Nov | 5.8 | good |
| Dec | 3.2 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Hangzhou for hot-weather activities run from late April to late June and again from mid August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Hangzhou, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 34°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 9°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.
In July, Hangzhou sees daytime highs around 34°C and nights near 26°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Hangzhou
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 45 km away) is warmest in August at about 29°C and coldest in February near 7°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from May 22 to Oct 29 — about 5.3 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 8 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 12 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Refreshing | Warm | Tropical | Warm | Refreshing | Cool | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Bracing |
| Feb | 7 | Bracing |
| Mar | 10 | Bracing |
| Apr | 14 | Bracing |
| May | 19 | Cool |
| Jun | 24 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 27 | Warm |
| Aug | 29 | Tropical |
| Sep | 26 | Warm |
| Oct | 22 | Refreshing |
| Nov | 17 | Cool |
| Dec | 12 | Bracing |
UV index (midday) in Hangzhou by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Hangzhou peaks around July 20 at about 10 (very high) — 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 5 | High |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 7 | Very high |
| May | 8 | Very high |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 10 | Very high |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 10 | Very high |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Hangzhou
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 2.5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.5 | 0 |
| Feb | 5 | 0 |
| Mar | 6 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 7 | 3.5 |
| May | 7.5 | 4 |
| Jun | 7.5 | 4.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 8 | 5 |
| Sep | 7 | 4.5 |
| Oct | 5 | 0 |
| Nov | 4 | 0 |
| Dec | 2.5 | 0 |
Air quality in Hangzhou by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Hangzhou is worst in December — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.2× the cleanest month (August, 18 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Hangzhou's WHO annual average of 29.5 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 39 | 37 | 36 | 32 | 27 | 24 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 33 | 39 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | Poor |
| Feb | 37 | Poor |
| Mar | 36 | Poor |
| Apr | 32 | Moderate |
| May | 27 | Moderate |
| Jun | 24 | Moderate |
| Jul | 19 | Moderate |
| Aug | 18 | Moderate |
| Sep | 23 | Moderate |
| Oct | 27 | Moderate |
| Nov | 33 | Moderate |
| Dec | 39 | Poor |
Growing season
Hangzhou is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about February 19 to December 10 (295 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 73 | 86 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 85 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 73 | 31 |
| Feb | 86 | 18 |
| Mar | 99 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 99 | 0 |
| Dec | 85 | 21 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Hangzhou banks about 3,219 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 53 | 219 | 380 | 469 | 616 | 609 | 455 | 304 | 115 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 53 |
| Apr | 219 |
| May | 380 |
| Jun | 469 |
| Jul | 616 |
| Aug | 609 |
| Sep | 455 |
| Oct | 304 |
| Nov | 115 |
| Dec | 0 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Hangzhou receives about 3.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.4 and 5.6 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Mar 25 to Sep 21. The brightest month is July, averaging about 5.1 kWh/m² (bright).
The dimmest month is January, down near 2.5 kWh/m² — roughly 51% less than the July peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.5 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Mar | 3.6 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4.5 | Bright |
| May | 4.8 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.3 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.3 | Bright |
| Aug | 4.9 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.0 | Moderate |
| Oct | 3.5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2.7 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2.5 | Moderate |
Where is Hangzhou?
Hangzhou sits at 30.3°N, 120.2°E, 12 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Pingyao, 22 km away.
What Hangzhou looks like
Topography around Hangzhou
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Hangzhou.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Hangzhou has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 28 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 415 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,634 m.
The land around Hangzhou is covered by artificial surfaces (77%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (48%) and trees (26%) within 16 km, and trees (51%) and cropland (22%) 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 Hangzhou (30.2936°, 120.1614°, elevation 12 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).