Nanjing in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Nanjing sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 144 mm of precipitation over about 22 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Nanjing's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Nanjing's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 9°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 1°C
- Precipitation
- 144 mm
- 22 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.9
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Nanjing in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C.
A typical winter day in Nanjing reaches about 9°C and drops to 1°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Nanjing
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 73 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Nanjing weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7° / 0° | 55 | 8 | 2 | 10.1 | 1.0 |
| Feb | 10° / 2° | 55 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 10.8 | 2.2 |
| Mar | 15° / 6° | 80 | 10 | 0.4 | 11.8 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 21° / 12° | 94 | 9.1 | 0 | 12.8 | 6.4 |
| May | 26° / 17° | 121 | 9.8 | 0 | 13.6 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 29° / 22° | 222 | 11.9 | 0 | 14.1 | 5.2 |
| Jul | 32° / 25° | 210 | 15.1 | 0 | 13.9 | 3.5 |
| Aug | 31° / 25° | 174 | 14.4 | 0 | 13.2 | 3.9 |
| Sep | 27° / 20° | 81 | 8.4 | 0 | 12.2 | 6.4 |
| Oct | 22° / 14° | 54 | 6.3 | 0 | 11.2 | 7.4 |
| Nov | 16° / 8° | 53 | 6.8 | 0.1 | 10.4 | 5.5 |
| Dec | 10° / 2° | 34 | 5.6 | 0.4 | 9.9 | 2.4 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Nanjing gets around 144 mm of rain and snow over 22 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min in early December to 11 h 12 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.8 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Nanjing
In winter, Nanjing overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Nanjing sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.
Nanjing's rainy season runs May–August, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Nanjing?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nanjing.
What to pack for Nanjing in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Nanjing sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 22 days see rain.
UV index in Nanjing in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nanjing peaks around July 21 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 3 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 5 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 9 | Very high |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 3 | Moderate |
Air quality in Nanjing in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Nanjing is worst in January — around 59 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.0× the cleanest month (August, 29 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Nanjing's WHO annual average of 44.7 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 59 | 55 | 53 | 48 | 42 | 36 | 29 | 29 | 35 | 44 | 49 | 58 |
| Level | Unhealthy | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Unhealthy |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | Unhealthy |
| Feb | 55 | Poor |
| Mar | 53 | Poor |
| Apr | 48 | Poor |
| May | 42 | Poor |
| Jun | 36 | Poor |
| Jul | 29 | Moderate |
| Aug | 29 | Moderate |
| Sep | 35 | Poor |
| Oct | 44 | Poor |
| Nov | 49 | Poor |
| Dec | 58 | Unhealthy |
Where is Nanjing?
Nanjing sits at 32.1°N, 118.8°E, 22 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Wuxi, 153 km away.
Topography around Nanjing
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Nanjing.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Nanjing has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 59 m around an average of 15 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 514 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 611 m.
The land around Nanjing is covered by artificial surfaces (66%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (46%) and trees (28%) within 16 km, and cropland (51%) and trees (28%) 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 Nanjing (32.0617°, 118.7778°, elevation 22 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.