Urumqi weather in March

In March, Urumqi sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near -4°C, with 25 mm of precipitation across 5.4 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 1°C in the first days to 10°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Urumqi's 7th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Urumqi's year-round climate.

Daytime high
8th warmest
Overnight low
-4°
5th coldest
Precipitation
25 mm
5.4 wet days
Daylight
11 h 36 min
6:30 AM – 6:08 PM
Cloud cover
47%
7th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
4.82 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.9
out of 10

Urumqi is capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.

Air quality
Severe
PM2.5 65.7 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
220/km²
people per km²

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 1°C in the first days to 10°C by the end.

A typical March day in Urumqi reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to -4°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -2°C and 13°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 9°C warmer than February and about 10°C cooler than April.

-20°-10°10°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
10-9
21-9
31-8
41-8
52-8
62-8
72-7
83-7
93-7
103-6
114-6
124-6
134-5
145-5
155-5
165-4
176-4
186-4
197-3
207-3
217-3
228-2
238-2
249-1
259-1
269-1
27100
28100
29110
30111
31111

How March really feels in Urumqi

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March 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
11 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Urumqi weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 8th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-7° / -16°72.32.89.10.0
Feb-3° / -12°1233.710.20.0
Mar / -4°255.44.111.60.9
Apr15° / 497.72.413.25.1
May21° / 10°547.90.614.56.8
Jun26° / 16°407015.27.1
Jul27° / 18°436.5014.96.9
Aug26° / 16°426.6013.87.3
Sep21° / 10°355.70.212.37.4
Oct13° / 345.92.610.84.4
Nov / -6°245.34.99.50.4
Dec-5° / -13°133.23.78.80.0

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 42%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16436
26436
36436
46337
56337
66238
76139
86040
96040
105941
115842
125842
135842
145743
155743
165743
175743
185743
195743
205743
215743
225743
235743
245644
255644
265644
275545
285545
295545
305446
315446

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Urumqi gets around 25 mm of rain and snow over 5.4 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 18% and peaks near 24% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11113
21113
31113
41213
51213
61313
71314
81414
91514
101615
111715
121816
131816
141916
151916
162016
172015
182015
192014
202014
212114
222113
232113
242113
252113
262112
272212
282212
292212
302312
312413

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March 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 March

Winds average 9 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
38calm
48calm
58calm
68calm
78calm
88calm
98calm
108calm
118calm
128calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 54 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:57 AM to 6:03 AM, and sunset from 5:49 PM to 6:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.96:575:49
210.96:555:50
311.06:535:51
411.06:525:53
511.16:505:54
611.16:485:55
711.26:475:57
811.26:455:58
911.36:435:59
1011.36:416:00
1111.46:406:02
1211.46:386:03
1311.56:366:04
1411.56:346:06
1511.66:326:07
1611.66:306:08
1711.76:296:09
1811.76:276:11
1911.86:256:12
2011.86:236:13
2111.96:216:14
2211.96:196:16
2312.06:186:17
2412.06:166:18
2512.16:146:19
2612.16:126:20
2712.26:106:22
2812.26:086:23
2912.36:066:24
3012.36:046:25
3112.46:036:27

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.82 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.03 kWh/m² to a high of 6.56 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 4.82 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.2Bright
24.3Bright
34.3Bright
44.3Bright
54.4Bright
64.4Bright
74.5Bright
84.5Bright
94.5Bright
104.6Bright
114.6Bright
124.7Bright
134.7Bright
144.7Bright
154.8Bright
164.8Bright
174.8Bright
184.9Bright
194.9Bright
205.0Bright
215.0Bright
225.0Bright
235.1Bright
245.1Bright
255.1Bright
265.2Bright
275.2Bright
285.2Bright
295.3Bright
305.3Bright
315.3Bright
Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Urumqi?

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

0.9
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Urumqi.

What to pack for Urumqi in March

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

In March, Urumqi sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near -4°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: sun protection. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatsun protection

UV index in Urumqi in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Urumqi peaks around July 19 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 19UV 9Jan 10UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Urumqi in March

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Urumqi is worst in March — around 77 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Urumqi's WHO annual average of 65.7 µg/m³.

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyMar 1777 µg/m³Sep 2254 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan77Unhealthy
Feb73Unhealthy
Mar77Unhealthy
Apr73Unhealthy
May77Unhealthy
Jun61Unhealthy
Jul53Poor
Aug60Unhealthy
Sep54Poor
Oct55Poor
Nov59Unhealthy
Dec69Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Urumqi?

Urumqi sits at 43.8°N, 87.6°E, 862 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Turpan, 159 km away.

ZaysanMaqanshyKhovdÖlgiiZharkentSarqantAltay

Topography around Urumqi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Urumqi has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 253 m around an average of 881 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,040 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,842 m.

The land around Urumqi is covered by artificial surfaces (79%) within 3 km, grassland (36%), artificial surfaces (32%) and bare terrain (24%) within 16 km, and grassland (43%) and bare terrain (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
253 m
16 km
1,040 m
80 km
4,842 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
March weather nearby: Turpan 159 km · Zaysan 459 km · Maqanshy 548 km · Khovd 562 km · Ölgii 602 km · Zharkent 609 km · Sarqant 634 km · Altay 707 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 Urumqi (43.801°, 87.6005°, elevation 862 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).