Lijiang in Fall

In fall (September, October and November), Lijiang sees average daytime highs around 18°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 391 mm of rain over about 44 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.

Over the season highs ease from about 21°C in early September to 15°C by late November. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time across fall, and the air most often feels dry.

Fall is Lijiang's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Lijiang's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
18°C
3rd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
8°C
Rainfall
391 mm
44 wet days
Avg wind
5 km/h
Travel score
5.0
2nd-best season
Months
Sep · Oct · Nov

Temperature in Lijiang in Fall

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 21°C in early September to 15°C by late November.

A typical fall day in Lijiang reaches about 18°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is September, the coolest November.

10°20°SepOctNov

How fall really feels in Lijiang

Once humidity and wind are folded in, fall brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 4 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
4
wind chill below the day's low

The story in fall is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Lijiang weather by month

How the three fall months (September, October and November) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan13° / -1°163.31.410.54.4
Feb15° / 173.80.8115.3
Mar17° / 296.50.511.86.4
Apr20° / 459.20.112.66.5
May22° / 11°11513.2013.36.1
Jun23° / 15°24821.6013.74.6
Jul22° / 15°31727.8013.53.7
Aug22° / 14°27727.9012.93.8
Sep20° / 13°24924.5012.24.0
Oct19° / 11314.60.111.45.4
Nov16° / 295.20.210.75.7
Dec13° / -0°102.50.610.34.8

Cloud cover in Fall

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time across fall.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Chance of precipitation in Fall

Any precipitation

Lijiang gets around 391 mm of rain over 44 wet days across fall. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%100%SepOctNov

Humidity in Fall

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Wind in Fall

Winds average 5 km/h across fall.

0246810SepOctNov

Sunrise & sunset in Fall

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 36 min in early September to 10 h 24 min by late November. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMSepOctNov

Solar energy in Fall

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across fall, about 3.9 kWh/m².

012345SepOctNov
Planning a trip in fall

Hazard calendar for Lijiang

In seasonPeak

In fall, Lijiang overlaps its monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Lijiang's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is fall a good time to visit Lijiang?

Our two travel scores rate fall for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.0
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
1.6
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

fall is a reasonable time to visit Lijiang for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lijiang in Fall

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

In fall, Lijiang sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 8°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 44 days see rain.

rain geara warm layer

UV index in Lijiang in Fall

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across fall averages around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lijiang peaks around July 10 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 5 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighVery highExtremeVery highHighJul 10UV 15Dec 23UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan5High
Feb8Very high
Mar11Extreme
Apr10Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun15Extreme
Jul15Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct9Very high
Nov8Very high
Dec5High

Air quality in Lijiang in Fall

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Lijiang is worst in March — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (June, 14 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Lijiang's WHO annual average of 17.7 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMar 2022 µg/m³Jun 1914 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan19Moderate
Feb20Moderate
Mar22Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May17Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep16Moderate
Oct16Moderate
Nov17Moderate
Dec18Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Lijiang?

Lijiang sits at 26.9°N, 100.2°E, 2,397 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Shangri-La, 118 km away.

DanaiPanglongMogaungLaukkai

Topography around Lijiang

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lijiang has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 294 m around an average of 2,400 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,641 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,216 m.

The land around Lijiang is covered by artificial surfaces (62%) within 3 km, trees (65%) within 16 km, and trees (74%) within 80 km.

3 km
294 m
16 km
1,641 m
80 km
4,216 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Fall weather nearby: Shangri-La 118 km · Dali 143 km · Kunming 322 km · Myitkyina 327 km · Danai 353 km · Panglong 363 km · Mogaung 371 km · Laukkai 382 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 Lijiang (26.8688°, 100.2207°, elevation 2,397 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.