Kunming weather in January

In January, Kunming sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 35 mm of precipitation across 5.4 wet days and about 10.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 15°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 30 min at the start of January to 10 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Kunming's 3rd-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kunming's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 1st coldest
Precipitation: 35 mm; 5.4 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 36 min; 8:00 AM – 6:36 PM
Cloud cover: 41%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 3.7 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.1; out of 10

Kunming is capital of Yunnan province, China.

Air quality: High; PM2.5 29.9 µg/m³ · 2018
Density: 183/km²; people per km²

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

← December Kunming year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 15°C through the month.

A typical January day in Kunming reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 18°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 3°C cooler than February.

	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)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15
Avg low (°C)	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

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

Kunming weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	15° / 5°	35	5.4	1	10.6	5.1
Feb	17° / 6°	30	5.3	0.5	11.1	6.5
Mar	21° / 10°	42	6.7	0.3	11.8	7.3
Apr	24° / 13°	69	9.4	0	12.6	7.2
May	24° / 16°	139	15.1	0	13.2	6.2
Jun	24° / 17°	278	23.8	0	13.5	4.4
Jul	24° / 18°	274	26.6	0	13.4	4.1
Aug	24° / 17°	238	24.9	0	12.9	4.4
Sep	22° / 16°	165	20.3	0	12.2	4.8
Oct	20° / 13°	113	16.2	0	11.4	5.4
Nov	17° / 8°	34	6.3	0.1	10.8	6.2
Dec	15° / 5°	24	4.5	0.7	10.5	5.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 30%.

	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 (%)	69	69	69	69	69	70	69	69	69	69	69	70	70	70	70	70	70	71	71	72	72	71	72	72	72	72	71	71	71	71	71
Cloudier (%)	31	31	31	31	31	30	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	28	28	29	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	29	29

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	69	31
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	70	30
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	70	30
13	70	30
14	70	30
15	70	30
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	71	29
19	71	29
20	72	28
21	72	28
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Kunming gets around 35 mm of rain and snow over 5.4 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 17% and peaks near 18% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	15	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18
Snow chance (%)	2	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4

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

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January 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 January

Winds average 12 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 11 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	31
Wind speed (km/h)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	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	11	calm
2	11	calm
3	11	calm
4	11	calm
5	11	calm
6	11	calm
7	11	calm
8	11	calm
9	12	calm
10	12	calm
11	12	calm
12	12	calm
13	12	calm
14	12	light breeze
15	12	light breeze
16	12	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	13	light breeze
25	13	light breeze
26	13	light breeze
27	13	light breeze
28	13	light breeze
29	13	light breeze
30	13	light breeze
31	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min at the start of January to 10 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 18 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:58 AM to 7:58 AM, and sunset from 6:26 PM to 6:47 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)	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8
Sunrise (AM)	7:58	7:59	7:59	7:59	7:59	7:59	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	8:00	7:59	7:59	7:59	7:59	7:58	7:58	7:58
Sunset (PM)	6:26	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:46	6:47	6:47

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.5	7:58	6:26
2	10.5	7:59	6:27
3	10.5	7:59	6:28
4	10.5	7:59	6:28
5	10.5	7:59	6:29
6	10.5	7:59	6:29
7	10.5	8:00	6:30
8	10.5	8:00	6:31
9	10.5	8:00	6:32
10	10.5	8:00	6:32
11	10.5	8:00	6:33
12	10.6	8:00	6:34
13	10.6	8:00	6:34
14	10.6	8:00	6:35
15	10.6	8:00	6:36
16	10.6	8:00	6:36
17	10.6	8:00	6:37
18	10.6	8:00	6:38
19	10.6	8:00	6:39
20	10.7	8:00	6:39
21	10.7	8:00	6:40
22	10.7	8:00	6:41
23	10.7	8:00	6:42
24	10.7	8:00	6:42
25	10.7	7:59	6:43
26	10.7	7:59	6:44
27	10.8	7:59	6:44
28	10.8	7:59	6:45
29	10.8	7:58	6:46
30	10.8	7:58	6:47
31	10.8	7:58	6:47

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.7 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.11 kWh/m² to a high of 6.21 kWh/m² in April across the year — January's 3.7 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	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.4	Moderate
2	3.4	Moderate
3	3.4	Moderate
4	3.4	Moderate
5	3.5	Moderate
6	3.5	Moderate
7	3.5	Moderate
8	3.5	Moderate
9	3.5	Moderate
10	3.6	Moderate
11	3.6	Moderate
12	3.6	Moderate
13	3.6	Moderate
14	3.6	Moderate
15	3.7	Moderate
16	3.7	Moderate
17	3.7	Moderate
18	3.7	Moderate
19	3.8	Moderate
20	3.8	Moderate
21	3.8	Moderate
22	3.8	Moderate
23	3.8	Moderate
24	3.9	Moderate
25	3.9	Moderate
26	3.9	Moderate
27	3.9	Moderate
28	4.0	Moderate
29	4.0	Moderate
30	4.0	Bright
31	4.1	Bright

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Kunming

In seasonPeak

In January, Kunming sits inside its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Kunming sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Kunming's monsoon runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon

Monsoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is January a good time to visit Kunming?

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

5.1

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.1

Beach & pool

12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Kunming for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kunming in January

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

In January, Kunming sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Kunming in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks 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 Kunming peaks around July 12 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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	8	11	11	12	13	13	12	10	9	8	6
Level	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	6	High
Feb	8	Very high
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	11	Extreme
May	12	Extreme
Jun	13	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	10	Extreme
Oct	9	Very high
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	6	High

Air quality in Kunming in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where January falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Kunming is worst in March — around 35 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Kunming's WHO annual average of 29.9 µg/m³.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	29	30	35	34	28	24	26	29	31	31	32	30
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	29	Moderate
Feb	30	Moderate
Mar	35	Moderate
Apr	34	Moderate
May	28	Moderate
Jun	24	Moderate
Jul	26	Moderate
Aug	29	Moderate
Sep	31	Moderate
Oct	31	Moderate
Nov	32	Moderate
Dec	30	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Kunming?

Kunming sits at 25.0°N, 102.7°E, 1,895 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Dali, 259 km away.

Topography around Kunming

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kunming has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 56 m around an average of 1,899 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 665 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,814 m.

The land around Kunming is covered by artificial surfaces (88%) within 3 km, trees (42%) and artificial surfaces (34%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) and cropland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

56 m

artificial surfaces 88%

16 km

665 m

trees 42%

80 km

1,814 m

trees 59%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← December Kunming year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

January weather nearby: Dali 259 km · Lai Châu 303 km · Lào Cai 311 km · Sapa 321 km · Lijiang 322 km · Hà Giang 337 km · Thị Trấn Phố Lu 337 km · Mường Lay 341 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 Kunming (25.0389°, 102.7183°, elevation 1,895 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). 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	14	4
2	14	4
3	14	4
4	14	4
5	14	4
6	14	4
7	14	5
8	14	5
9	14	5
10	14	5
11	14	5
12	14	5
13	14	5
14	14	5
15	14	5
16	15	5
17	15	5
18	15	5
19	15	5
20	15	5
21	15	5
22	15	5
23	15	5
24	15	5
25	15	5
26	15	5
27	15	5
28	15	5
29	15	5
30	15	5
31	15	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	69	31
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	70	30
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	70	30
13	70	30
14	70	30
15	70	30
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	71	29
19	71	29
20	72	28
21	72	28
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	69	31
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	70	30
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	70	30
13	70	30
14	70	30
15	70	30
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	71	29
19	71	29
20	72	28
21	72	28
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	69	31
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	70	30
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	70	30
13	70	30
14	70	30
15	70	30
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	71	29
19	71	29
20	72	28
21	72	28
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	71	29
31	71	29

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

	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