Lijiang weather in January

In January, Lijiang sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 16 mm of precipitation across 3.3 wet days and about 10.5 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 18 min at the start of January to 10 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Lijiang's 2nd-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lijiang's year-round climate.

Daytime high
13°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
1st coldest
Precipitation
16 mm
3.3 wet days
Daylight
10 h 30 min
8:14 AM – 6:43 PM
Cloud cover
28%
2nd clearest
Wind
7 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
4.15 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.4
out of 10

Lijiang is prefecture-level city in Yunnan, China.

Air quality
Elevated
PM2.5 17.7 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
10/km²
people per km²

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month.

A typical January day in Lijiang reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to -1°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
113-1
213-1
313-1
413-1
513-1
613-1
713-1
813-1
913-1
1013-1
1112-1
1212-1
1312-1
1412-1
1512-1
1612-1
1712-1
1813-1
1913-1
2013-1
2113-1
2213-1
2313-1
2413-1
2513-1
2613-1
2713-1
2813-1
2913-1
3013-1
3113-1

How January really feels in Lijiang

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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
31
wind chill below the day's low

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

Lijiang weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

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 January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 12%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
19010
28911
38911
48911
58911
68911
78911
88812
98812
108812
118812
128911
138911
148812
158812
168812
178812
188713
198812
208812
218812
228713
238713
248713
258614
268614
278614
288614
298614
308416
318515

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Lijiang gets around 16 mm of rain and snow over 3.3 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 11% and peaks near 12% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
182
282
382
482
592
692
793
8103
9103
10103
11104
12114
13114
14114
15114
16114
17115
18115
19115
20115
21115
22115
23116
24126
25126
26126
27126
28125
29125
30125
31115

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 7 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 min at the start of January to 10 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 24 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:12 AM to 8:11 AM, and sunset from 6:32 PM to 6:54 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.38:126:32
210.38:126:33
310.38:136:34
410.48:136:34
510.48:136:35
610.48:136:36
710.48:136:36
810.48:146:37
910.48:146:38
1010.48:146:38
1110.48:146:39
1210.48:146:40
1310.48:146:41
1410.58:146:41
1510.58:146:42
1610.58:146:43
1710.58:146:44
1810.58:146:44
1910.58:146:45
2010.58:146:46
2110.68:136:47
2210.68:136:47
2310.68:136:48
2410.68:136:49
2510.68:136:50
2610.68:126:50
2710.78:126:51
2810.78:126:52
2910.78:116:53
3010.78:116:54
3110.78:116:54

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 4.15 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.75 kWh/m² to a high of 6.19 kWh/m² in April across the year — January's 4.15 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

012345151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.9Moderate
23.9Moderate
33.9Moderate
44.0Moderate
54.0Moderate
64.0Moderate
74.0Moderate
84.0Bright
94.0Bright
104.0Bright
114.0Bright
124.1Bright
134.1Bright
144.1Bright
154.1Bright
164.1Bright
174.2Bright
184.2Bright
194.2Bright
204.2Bright
214.2Bright
224.3Bright
234.3Bright
244.3Bright
254.3Bright
264.3Bright
274.4Bright
284.4Bright
294.4Bright
304.5Bright
314.5Bright
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Lijiang

In seasonPeak

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

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 January a good time to visit Lijiang?

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

4.4
Sightseeing
9th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Lijiang for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lijiang in January

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

In January, Lijiang sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near -1°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 3 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Lijiang in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January 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 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 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 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
January 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. 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).