Climate and average weather in Shangri-La
In Shangri-La, the summers are mild, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Shangri-La typically varies from -9°C to 17°C, and is rarely below -17°C or above 20°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Shangri-La for warm-weather activities are from mid May to late June and late September to mid October.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 17°
- Coldest
- Jan
- -9°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 248 mm
- Driest
- Dec
- 12 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1188 mm
- 181 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.2–13.8 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 3,283 m
- 27.8°N
- Clearest
- Dec
- 34% cloud
Shangri-La weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid May to late June.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Shangri-La, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 5.0 months, from May 12 to October 11, with daily high temperatures above 13°C. The hottest month of the year in Shangri-La is July, with an average high of 17°C and low of 10°C.
The cool season lasts 2.7 months, from December 18 to March 10, with daily high temperatures below 4°C. The coldest month of the year in Shangri-La is January, with an average low of -9°C and high of 2°C.
Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| Avg low (°C) | -9 | -8 | -4 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 3 | -3 | -6 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | -9 |
| Feb | 2 | -8 |
| Mar | 5 | -4 |
| Apr | 10 | 0 |
| May | 14 | 5 |
| Jun | 17 | 9 |
| Jul | 17 | 10 |
| Aug | 17 | 9 |
| Sep | 15 | 8 |
| Oct | 12 | 3 |
| Nov | 8 | -3 |
| Dec | 5 | -6 |
How hot and cold Shangri-La really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -13°C (around January 21), with roughly 187 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) — 67 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| Air high (°C) | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -13 | -11 | -7 | -2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 2 | -5 | -9 |
| Air low (°C) | -9 | -8 | -4 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 3 | -3 | -6 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 2 | -13 | -9 |
| Feb | 2 | 2 | -11 | -8 |
| Mar | 5 | 5 | -7 | -4 |
| Apr | 9 | 10 | -2 | 0 |
| May | 14 | 14 | 3 | 5 |
| Jun | 17 | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| Jul | 17 | 17 | 10 | 10 |
| Aug | 17 | 17 | 9 | 9 |
| Sep | 15 | 15 | 7 | 8 |
| Oct | 12 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| Nov | 8 | 8 | -5 | -3 |
| Dec | 5 | 5 | -9 | -6 |
Average hourly temperature in Shangri-La
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 17°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -9°C.
Shangri-La weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2° / -9° | 33 | 6.2 | 7.8 | 10.4 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 2° / -8° | 42 | 7.7 | 9.9 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 5° / -4° | 63 | 11.7 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 10° / 0° | 66 | 14.4 | 4.5 | 12.6 | 1.8 |
| May | 14° / 5° | 99 | 17 | 0.9 | 13.4 | 3.3 |
| Jun | 17° / 9° | 147 | 22.4 | 0 | 13.7 | 3.5 |
| Jul | 17° / 10° | 248 | 28.9 | 0 | 13.6 | 2.9 |
| Aug | 17° / 9° | 239 | 28.9 | 0 | 13 | 2.9 |
| Sep | 15° / 8° | 150 | 23 | 0.2 | 12.2 | 3.1 |
| Oct | 12° / 3° | 67 | 12.8 | 1.1 | 11.3 | 3.1 |
| Nov | 8° / -3° | 23 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 10.6 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 5° / -6° | 12 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 10.3 | 0.2 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Shangri-La gets about 1188 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from around Apr 23 to Oct 8, peaking in July at about 95% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Dec 4.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 248 mm over about 29 wet days; December is the driest, with 12 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 19 | 27 | 39 | 48 | 55 | 75 | 93 | 93 | 77 | 42 | 17 | 10 |
| Rain days | 6 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 22 | 29 | 29 | 23 | 13 | 5 | 3 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | 6 |
| Feb | 27 | 8 |
| Mar | 39 | 12 |
| Apr | 48 | 14 |
| May | 55 | 17 |
| Jun | 75 | 22 |
| Jul | 93 | 29 |
| Aug | 93 | 29 |
| Sep | 77 | 23 |
| Oct | 42 | 13 |
| Nov | 17 | 5 |
| Dec | 10 | 3 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Shangri-La collects about 1188 mm of rain across 181 wet days — roughly 99 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 248 mm, while December is the driest at just 12 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 54% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 33 | 42 | 63 | 66 | 99 | 147 | 248 | 239 | 150 | 67 | 23 | 12 |
| Rain days | 6 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 22 | 29 | 29 | 23 | 13 | 5 | 3 |
| Snow days | 8 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 6 | 8 |
| Feb | 42 | 8 | 10 |
| Mar | 63 | 12 | 11 |
| Apr | 66 | 14 | 5 |
| May | 99 | 17 | 1 |
| Jun | 147 | 22 | 0 |
| Jul | 248 | 29 | 0 |
| Aug | 239 | 29 | 0 |
| Sep | 150 | 23 | 0 |
| Oct | 67 | 13 | 1 |
| Nov | 23 | 5 | 3 |
| Dec | 12 | 3 | 3 |
Snow in Shangri-La
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Shangri-La averages about 41 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 5 to May 26 — about 7.7 months.
February is snowiest, with roughly 10 days of snow and an estimated 54 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 222 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 8 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 40 | 54 | 54 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 16 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 40 |
| Feb | 10 | 54 |
| Mar | 11 | 54 |
| Apr | 5 | 26 |
| May | 1 | 9 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 2 |
| Oct | 1 | 8 |
| Nov | 3 | 13 |
| Dec | 3 | 16 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Shangri-La, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around October 14 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around April 16. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 85% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around April 17 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around October 13. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 96% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 70 | 63 | 56 | 43 | 34 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 49 | 79 | 85 |
| Cloudier (%) | 30 | 37 | 44 | 57 | 66 | 87 | 96 | 93 | 84 | 51 | 21 | 15 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 70 | 30 |
| Feb | 63 | 37 |
| Mar | 56 | 44 |
| Apr | 43 | 57 |
| May | 34 | 66 |
| Jun | 13 | 87 |
| Jul | 4 | 96 |
| Aug | 7 | 93 |
| Sep | 16 | 84 |
| Oct | 49 | 51 |
| Nov | 79 | 21 |
| Dec | 85 | 15 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 13 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 10 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 3 h 36 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.4 | 11.0 | 11.8 | 12.6 | 13.4 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 10.6 | 10.3 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 8:18 | 8:05 | 7:37 | 7:02 | 6:36 | 6:29 | 6:39 | 6:55 | 7:11 | 7:26 | 7:49 | 8:10 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:43 | 7:06 | 7:25 | 7:41 | 7:59 | 8:14 | 8:15 | 7:55 | 7:20 | 6:46 | 6:24 | 6:25 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10.4 | 8:18 | 6:43 |
| Feb | 11.0 | 8:05 | 7:06 |
| Mar | 11.8 | 7:37 | 7:25 |
| Apr | 12.6 | 7:02 | 7:41 |
| May | 13.4 | 6:36 | 7:59 |
| Jun | 13.7 | 6:29 | 8:14 |
| Jul | 13.6 | 6:39 | 8:15 |
| Aug | 13.0 | 6:55 | 7:55 |
| Sep | 12.2 | 7:11 | 7:20 |
| Oct | 11.3 | 7:26 | 6:46 |
| Nov | 10.6 | 7:49 | 6:24 |
| Dec | 10.3 | 8:10 | 6:25 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Shangri-La averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 17 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 5.7 months, from around Oct 16 to Apr 8. The sunniest month is December, with roughly 17 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is July, down near 0 sunny days — about 99% fewer than the December peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 14 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 17 |
| Sky | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | Mixed |
| Feb | 9 | Mixed |
| Mar | 8 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 5 | Gloomy |
| May | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 1 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 0 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 0 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 1 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 7 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 14 | Mixed |
| Dec | 17 | Bright |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Shangri-La, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Dry (%) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 100 |
| Feb | 100 |
| Mar | 100 |
| Apr | 100 |
| May | 100 |
| Jun | 100 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 100 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 100 |
| Nov | 100 |
| Dec | 100 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Wind in Shangri-La is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | calm |
| Feb | 6 | calm |
| Mar | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 7 | calm |
| May | 7 | calm |
| Jun | 6 | calm |
| Jul | 5 | calm |
| Aug | 5 | calm |
| Sep | 5 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 6 | calm |
| Dec | 6 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Shangri-La
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Shangri-La's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Shangri-La
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Shangri-La throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid June, Shangri-La is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Shangri-La for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid May to late June and again from late September to late October, with a peak score in the first week of June.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | poor |
| Feb | 0.0 | poor |
| Mar | 0.3 | poor |
| Apr | 1.8 | poor |
| May | 3.3 | poor |
| Jun | 3.5 | fair |
| Jul | 2.9 | poor |
| Aug | 2.9 | poor |
| Sep | 3.1 | poor |
| Oct | 3.1 | poor |
| Nov | 1.7 | poor |
| Dec | 0.2 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Shangri-La rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Shangri-La, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 17°C), the essentials are a warm layer and rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near 2°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.
In July, Shangri-La sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 29 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Shangri-La by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Shangri-La peaks around July 10 at about 16 (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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 5 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Level | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | High |
| Feb | 8 | Very high |
| Mar | 12 | Extreme |
| Apr | 11 | Extreme |
| May | 13 | Extreme |
| Jun | 16 | Extreme |
| Jul | 16 | Extreme |
| Aug | 14 | Extreme |
| Sep | 13 | Extreme |
| Oct | 10 | Very high |
| Nov | 7 | Very high |
| Dec | 5 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Shangri-La
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 5 | 6.5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 3.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 4.5 | 3 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 0 |
| Feb | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 |
| Apr | 8 | 5.5 |
| May | 9 | 7 |
| Jun | 9 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 9.5 | 7.5 |
| Aug | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 7 | 4.5 |
| Nov | 6 | 3 |
| Dec | 4.5 | 0 |
Growing season
The growing season in Shangri-La typically lasts about 199 days, from around April 14 to October 29 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 30 to October 15.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 2 | 4 | 8 | 56 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 82 | 15 | 1 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 30 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 31 |
| Feb | 4 | 28 |
| Mar | 8 | 31 |
| Apr | 56 | 29 |
| May | 98 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 82 | 17 |
| Nov | 15 | 30 |
| Dec | 1 | 31 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Shangri-La banks about 339 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 85 | 104 | 94 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 10 |
| Jun | 85 |
| Jul | 104 |
| Aug | 94 |
| Sep | 46 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Shangri-La receives about 4.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.9 and 6.2 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.5 months, from around Feb 2 to Jun 18. The brightest month is April, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 4.0 kWh/m² — roughly 35% less than the April peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.4 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.2 | Bright |
| Mar | 6.0 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.2 | Intense |
| May | 5.8 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.0 | Bright |
| Jul | 4.4 | Bright |
| Aug | 4.5 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.1 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.2 | Bright |
| Nov | 4.1 | Bright |
| Dec | 4.0 | Moderate |
Where is Shangri-La?
Shangri-La sits at 27.8°N, 99.7°E, 3,283 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Lijiang, 118 km away.
Topography around Shangri-La
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Shangri-La.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Shangri-La has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 384 m around an average of 3,317 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,268 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,874 m.
The land around Shangri-La is covered by grassland (30%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 3 km, trees (69%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and trees (78%) 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 Shangri-La (27.8251°, 99.7078°, elevation 3,283 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).