Shangri-La weather in May

In May, Shangri-La sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 99 mm of precipitation across 17 wet days and about 13.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 16°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 hours at the start of May to 13 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Shangri-La's 8th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Shangri-La's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 99 mm; 17 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 24 min; 6:36 AM – 7:59 PM
Cloud cover: 70%; 8th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 5.79 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.3; out of 10

← April Shangri-La year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical May day in Shangri-La reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 17°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

	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)	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16
Avg low (°C)	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7

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

How May really feels in Shangri-La

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Shangri-La weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

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

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 25% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 65%.

	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 (%)	36	36	36	37	37	37	37	37	36	37	37	37	38	38	38	38	37	35	34	34	33	33	33	32	32	31	31	30	29	28	27
Cloudier (%)	64	64	64	63	63	63	63	63	64	63	63	63	62	62	62	62	63	65	66	66	67	67	67	68	68	69	69	70	71	72	73

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	36	64
2	36	64
3	36	64
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	37	63
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	38	62
17	37	63
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	33	67
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	31	69
27	31	69
28	30	70
29	29	71
30	28	72
31	27	73

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Shangri-La gets around 99 mm of rain and snow over 17 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 55% and peaks near 59% 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 (%)	55	55	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	56	56	56	57	57	58	59
Snow chance (%)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	55	4
2	55	4
3	54	4
4	54	4
5	54	4
6	54	4
7	54	4
8	54	4
9	54	4
10	54	4
11	54	4
12	54	4
13	54	4
14	55	4
15	55	4
16	55	4
17	55	4
18	55	4
19	55	3
20	55	3
21	55	3
22	55	3
23	55	2
24	55	2
25	56	2
26	56	2
27	56	1
28	57	1
29	57	1
30	58	1
31	59	1

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May 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 May

Winds average 7 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 7 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)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 hours at the start of May to 13 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:47 AM to 6:30 AM, and sunset from 7:50 PM to 8:07 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)	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6
Sunrise (AM)	6:47	6:46	6:45	6:44	6:44	6:43	6:42	6:41	6:41	6:40	6:39	6:39	6:38	6:37	6:37	6:36	6:36	6:35	6:35	6:34	6:34	6:33	6:33	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:30	6:30
Sunset (PM)	7:50	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:52	7:53	7:53	7:54	7:54	7:55	7:56	7:56	7:57	7:57	7:58	7:59	7:59	8:00	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:02	8:03	8:03	8:04	8:04	8:05	8:05	8:06	8:07	8:07

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.0	6:47	7:50
2	13.1	6:46	7:50
3	13.1	6:45	7:51
4	13.1	6:44	7:52
5	13.1	6:44	7:52
6	13.2	6:43	7:53
7	13.2	6:42	7:53
8	13.2	6:41	7:54
9	13.2	6:41	7:54
10	13.3	6:40	7:55
11	13.3	6:39	7:56
12	13.3	6:39	7:56
13	13.3	6:38	7:57
14	13.3	6:37	7:57
15	13.4	6:37	7:58
16	13.4	6:36	7:59
17	13.4	6:36	7:59
18	13.4	6:35	8:00
19	13.4	6:35	8:00
20	13.4	6:34	8:01
21	13.5	6:34	8:02
22	13.5	6:33	8:02
23	13.5	6:33	8:03
24	13.5	6:32	8:03
25	13.5	6:32	8:04
26	13.5	6:32	8:04
27	13.6	6:31	8:05
28	13.6	6:31	8:05
29	13.6	6:31	8:06
30	13.6	6:30	8:07
31	13.6	6:30	8:07

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.79 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.96 kWh/m² to a high of 6.19 kWh/m² in April across the year — May's 5.79 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.0	Intense
2	6.0	Intense
3	6.0	Intense
4	6.0	Intense
5	6.0	Bright
6	6.0	Bright
7	6.0	Bright
8	6.0	Bright
9	5.9	Bright
10	5.9	Bright
11	5.9	Bright
12	5.9	Bright
13	5.9	Bright
14	5.9	Bright
15	5.8	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.8	Bright
19	5.8	Bright
20	5.8	Bright
21	5.7	Bright
22	5.7	Bright
23	5.7	Bright
24	5.7	Bright
25	5.7	Bright
26	5.6	Bright
27	5.6	Bright
28	5.6	Bright
29	5.6	Bright
30	5.5	Bright
31	5.5	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Shangri-La

In seasonPeak

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

Shangri-La'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 May a good time to visit Shangri-La?

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

3.3

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Shangri-La.

What to pack for Shangri-La in May

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

In May, Shangri-La sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 5°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer and sun protection. About 17 days see rain.

rain geara warm layersun protection

UV index in Shangri-La in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

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

Location & terrain

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.

3 km

384 m

grassland 30%

16 km

1,268 m

trees 69%

80 km

3,874 m

trees 78%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← April Shangri-La year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Lijiang 118 km · Dali 254 km · Danai 338 km · Myitkyina 356 km · Mogaung 393 km · Hpākān 417 km · Kunming 431 km · Lakang 432 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	36	64
2	36	64
3	36	64
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	37	63
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	38	62
17	37	63
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	33	67
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	31	69
27	31	69
28	30	70
29	29	71
30	28	72
31	27	73

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	55	4
2	55	4
3	54	4
4	54	4
5	54	4
6	54	4
7	54	4
8	54	4
9	54	4
10	54	4
11	54	4
12	54	4
13	54	4
14	55	4
15	55	4
16	55	4
17	55	4
18	55	4
19	55	3
20	55	3
21	55	3
22	55	3
23	55	2
24	55	2
25	56	2
26	56	2
27	56	1
28	57	1
29	57	1
30	58	1
31	59	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	36	64
2	36	64
3	36	64
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	37	63
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	38	62
17	37	63
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	33	67
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	31	69
27	31	69
28	30	70
29	29	71
30	28	72
31	27	73

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	55	4
2	55	4
3	54	4
4	54	4
5	54	4
6	54	4
7	54	4
8	54	4
9	54	4
10	54	4
11	54	4
12	54	4
13	54	4
14	55	4
15	55	4
16	55	4
17	55	4
18	55	4
19	55	3
20	55	3
21	55	3
22	55	3
23	55	2
24	55	2
25	56	2
26	56	2
27	56	1
28	57	1
29	57	1
30	58	1
31	59	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	36	64
2	36	64
3	36	64
4	37	63
5	37	63
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	37	63
9	36	64
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	37	63
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	38	62
17	37	63
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	33	67
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	31	69
27	31	69
28	30	70
29	29	71
30	28	72
31	27	73

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	55	4
2	55	4
3	54	4
4	54	4
5	54	4
6	54	4
7	54	4
8	54	4
9	54	4
10	54	4
11	54	4
12	54	4
13	54	4
14	55	4
15	55	4
16	55	4
17	55	4
18	55	4
19	55	3
20	55	3
21	55	3
22	55	3
23	55	2
24	55	2
25	56	2
26	56	2
27	56	1
28	57	1
29	57	1
30	58	1
31	59	1

	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