Suzhou weather in May

In May, Suzhou sees average daytime highs of 25°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 142 mm of rain across 10.8 wet days and about 13.6 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 23°C in the first days to 26°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time in May, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 12 min at the start of May to 13 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Suzhou's 9th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Suzhou's year-round climate.

Daytime high
25°
5th warmest
Overnight low
18°
8th coldest
Rainfall
142 mm
10.8 wet days
Daylight
13 h 36 min
5:06 AM – 6:41 PM
Cloud cover
66%
9th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
5.18 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.6
out of 10

Suzhou is prefecture-level city in Jiangsu, China, former capital of the kingdom of Wu.

Air quality
Very high
PM2.5 47.5 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
776/km²
people per km²
Founded
~514 BCE

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 23°C in the first days to 26°C by the end.

A typical May day in Suzhou reaches about 25°C in the afternoon and slips back to 18°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 21°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 5°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12316
22316
32316
42317
52417
62417
72417
82417
92417
102417
112418
122418
132418
142518
152518
162518
172519
182519
192519
202519
212519
222619
232619
242619
252620
262620
272620
282620
292620
302620
312620

How May really feels in Suzhou

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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
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.

Suzhou weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 789.11.110.21.0
Feb / 819.40.810.91.9
Mar14° / 11712.50.211.83.7
Apr20° / 13°11910.8012.75.9
May25° / 18°14210.8013.66.6
Jun28° / 22°275140145.3
Jul32° / 27°17113.1013.83.7
Aug31° / 26°16014.3013.13.9
Sep27° / 22°959.6012.26.3
Oct22° / 17°626.6011.27.3
Nov16° / 11°678.3010.45.3
Dec10° / 556.90.4102.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 63%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13862
23763
33763
43763
53862
63862
73763
83763
93763
103763
113763
123664
133763
143763
153763
163664
173862
183862
193862
203763
213862
223862
233763
243862
253862
263862
273763
283862
293763
303664
313664

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Suzhou gets around 142 mm of rain over 10.8 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 35% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
134
234
334
435
535
636
736
837
937
1037
1137
1237
1337
1436
1536
1636
1735
1835
1934
2034
2133
2233
2332
2432
2532
2632
2732
2832
2933
3033
3134

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the humid band about 31% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 29% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
13429221140
23229231140
33029251240
42929251240
52729261350
62529271350
72429281450
82329281550
92229291550
102128291551
112028301651
121928301651
131828311751
141728311851
151628321951
161427322051
171327332161
181226332261
191126332361
201025342461
21924342571
22824342671
23723352771
24622352881
25620352981
26519363191
274183632101
284173633101
293153534111
303143536121
312133437131

Wind in May

Winds average 15 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 12 min at the start of May to 13 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 42 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:19 AM to 4:59 AM, and sunset from 6:31 PM to 6:51 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.25:196:31
213.25:186:32
313.35:176:32
413.35:166:33
513.35:156:34
613.35:146:35
713.45:136:35
813.45:126:36
913.45:116:37
1013.45:116:37
1113.55:106:38
1213.55:096:39
1313.55:086:39
1413.55:086:40
1513.65:076:41
1613.65:066:41
1713.65:066:42
1813.65:056:43
1913.75:046:43
2013.75:046:44
2113.75:036:45
2213.75:036:45
2313.75:026:46
2413.85:026:47
2513.85:016:47
2613.85:016:48
2713.85:006:49
2813.85:006:49
2913.85:006:50
3013.94:596:50
3113.94:596:51

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.18 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.53 kWh/m² to a high of 5.24 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 5.18 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.2Bright
25.2Bright
35.2Bright
45.2Bright
55.2Bright
65.2Bright
75.2Bright
85.2Bright
95.2Bright
105.1Bright
115.1Bright
125.1Bright
135.1Bright
145.2Bright
155.2Bright
165.2Bright
175.2Bright
185.2Bright
195.2Bright
205.2Bright
215.2Bright
225.2Bright
235.2Bright
245.2Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.2Bright
285.2Bright
295.2Bright
305.2Bright
315.2Bright
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Suzhou

In seasonPeak

In May, Suzhou sits inside its pacific typhoon and rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Suzhou sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Suzhou's rainy season runs May–August, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is May a good time to visit Suzhou?

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

6.6
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
5.8
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Suzhou for sightseeing.

What to pack for Suzhou in May

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

In May, Suzhou sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 18°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Suzhou in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Suzhou peaks around September 11 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateSep 11UV 10Dec 19UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May7High
Jun8Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Suzhou in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Suzhou is worst in December — around 67 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.2× the cleanest month (August, 30 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Suzhou's WHO annual average of 47.5 µg/m³.

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyDec 2167 µg/m³Aug 1030 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan65Unhealthy
Feb57Unhealthy
Mar54Poor
Apr50Poor
May42Poor
Jun36Poor
Jul31Moderate
Aug30Moderate
Sep38Poor
Oct45Poor
Nov56Unhealthy
Dec67Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Suzhou?

Suzhou sits at 31.3°N, 120.6°E, 10 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Wuxi, 41 km away.

Qingdao

Topography around Suzhou

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Suzhou has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 21 m around an average of 7 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 329 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 561 m.

The land around Suzhou is covered by artificial surfaces (84%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (50%) and trees (20%) within 16 km, and cropland (33%), artificial surfaces (30%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
21 m
16 km
329 m
80 km
561 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Wuxi 41 km · Shanghai 83 km · Pingyao 117 km · Hangzhou 120 km · Ningbo 183 km · Nanjing 192 km · Tunxi 281 km · Qingdao 530 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 Suzhou (31.3041°, 120.5954°, elevation 10 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).