Harbin weather in May

In May, Harbin sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 65 mm of precipitation across 9.3 wet days and about 14.7 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 24°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Harbin's 11th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Harbin's year-round climate.

Daytime high
21°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
65 mm
9.3 wet days
Daylight
14 h 42 min
4:08 AM – 6:51 PM
Cloud cover
62%
11th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
5.74 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.5
out of 10

Harbin is capital of Heilongjiang province, China.

Air quality
Very high
PM2.5 43.2 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
99/km²
people per km²
Founded
1898

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 24°C by the end.

A typical May day in Harbin reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 12°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 28°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 8°C warmer than April and about 5°C cooler than June.

10°20°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1185
2186
3186
4186
5196
6197
7197
8197
9198
10208
11208
12208
13209
14219
15219
16219
172110
182210
192210
202211
212211
222211
232311
242311
252312
262312
272312
282312
292412
302413
312413

How May really feels in Harbin

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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
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.

Harbin weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-13° / -23°41.31.68.90.0
Feb-7° / -18°61.7210.10.0
Mar / -8°153.62.711.60.3
Apr13° / 305.60.613.34.0
May21° / 659.30.114.76.5
Jun26° / 16°9912.2015.46.2
Jul28° / 19°15514.9015.15.7
Aug26° / 17°13813.5013.96.1
Sep21° / 10°678.5012.36.8
Oct12° / 386.50.710.73.7
Nov-0° / -10°183.62.89.30.0
Dec-10° / -20°92.42.98.50.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14456
24456
34456
44456
54456
64456
74357
84357
94357
104357
114357
124357
134357
144357
154357
164357
174258
184357
194258
204258
214258
224258
234258
244357
254258
264258
274357
284357
294357
304357
314357

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Harbin gets around 65 mm of rain and snow over 9.3 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 30% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
125
225
326
426
527
627
728
829
929
1029
1130
1230
1330
1430
1530
1630
1730
1830
1930
2031
2131
2231
2331
2431
2531
2631
2731
2831
2931
3032
3133

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 97% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
110000
210000
310000
410000
510000
610000
710000
810000
99910
109910
119910
129910
139910
149910
159910
169820
179820
189820
199820
209730
219730
229730
239730
249541
259541
269451
279361
289172
299082
308992
3186113

Wind in May

Winds average 15 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.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:29 AM to 3:54 AM, and sunset from 6:32 PM to 7:07 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.14:296:32
214.14:276:33
314.14:266:35
414.24:246:36
514.24:236:37
614.34:216:39
714.34:206:40
814.44:196:41
914.44:176:42
1014.54:166:44
1114.54:146:45
1214.64:136:46
1314.64:126:47
1414.64:116:49
1514.74:096:50
1614.74:086:51
1714.84:076:52
1814.84:066:53
1914.84:056:55
2014.94:046:56
2114.94:036:57
2214.94:026:58
2315.04:016:59
2415.04:007:00
2515.03:597:01
2615.13:587:02
2715.13:577:03
2815.13:567:04
2915.23:567:05
3015.23:557:06
3115.23:547:07

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.74 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.7 kWh/m² to a high of 5.91 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.74 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.5Bright
25.5Bright
35.5Bright
45.5Bright
55.5Bright
65.5Bright
75.5Bright
85.6Bright
95.6Bright
105.6Bright
115.6Bright
125.6Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.7Bright
165.7Bright
175.8Bright
185.8Bright
195.8Bright
205.8Bright
215.9Bright
225.9Bright
235.9Bright
245.9Bright
256.0Bright
266.0Bright
276.0Bright
286.0Bright
296.0Intense
306.0Intense
316.0Intense
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Harbin

In seasonPeak

None of Harbin's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Harbin's rainy season runs June–August, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is May a good time to visit Harbin?

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

6.5
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
3.9
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Harbin for sightseeing.

What to pack for Harbin in May

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

In May, Harbin sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 9 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Harbin in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Harbin peaks around August 16 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighHighModerateLowAug 16UV 7Dec 19UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Harbin 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 Harbin is worst in January — around 62 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.1× the cleanest month (August, 29 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Harbin's WHO annual average of 43.2 µg/m³.

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorJan 2062 µg/m³Aug 1730 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan62Unhealthy
Feb58Unhealthy
Mar58Unhealthy
Apr45Poor
May33Moderate
Jun33Moderate
Jul33Moderate
Aug29Moderate
Sep32Moderate
Oct37Poor
Nov46Poor
Dec51Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Harbin?

Harbin sits at 45.8°N, 126.7°E, 140 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Hainan, 167 km away.

Namyang-nodongjaguNamyangOnsŏngMusan-ŭpChunggangHoeryŏngSamjiyŏn-ŭp

Topography around Harbin

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Harbin has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 45 m around an average of 139 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 95 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 727 m.

The land around Harbin is covered by artificial surfaces (91%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (44%) and cropland (24%) within 16 km, and cropland (76%) within 80 km.

3 km
45 m
16 km
95 m
80 km
727 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
May weather nearby: Hainan 167 km · Namyang-nodongjagu 402 km · Namyang 402 km · Onsŏng 409 km · Musan-ŭp 442 km · Chunggang 442 km · Hoeryŏng 443 km · Samjiyŏn-ŭp 459 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
unaffiliated 52%folk religion 22%Buddhist 18%Christian 5%

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 Harbin (45.75°, 126.65°, elevation 140 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).