Xiamen weather in May

In May, Xiamen sees average daytime highs of 28°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 184 mm of rain across 16.1 wet days and about 13.2 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 26°C in the first days to 28°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in May, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 54 min at the start of May to 13 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Xiamen's 11th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Xiamen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
28°
6th warmest
Overnight low
22°
8th coldest
Rainfall
184 mm
16.1 wet days
Daylight
13 h 12 min
5:28 AM – 6:39 PM
Cloud cover
73%
11th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
4.6 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.3
out of 10

Xiamen is prefecture-level city in Fujian, China.

Air quality
High
PM2.5 25.2 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
2,717/km²
people per km²

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 26°C in the first days to 28°C by the end.

A typical May day in Xiamen reaches about 28°C in the afternoon and slips back to 22°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 24°C and 31°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 2°C cooler than June.

15°20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12620
22620
32620
42720
52720
62721
72721
82721
92721
102721
112721
122721
132721
142721
152822
162822
172822
182822
192822
202822
212822
222822
232822
242822
252823
262823
272823
282823
292823
302923
312923

How May really feels in Xiamen

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.

Xiamen weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 6th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan18° / 10°405.610.76.4
Feb18° / 11°608.711.16.0
Mar20° / 14°8911.711.86.0
Apr24° / 18°10812.812.66.1
May28° / 22°18416.113.25.3
Jun30° / 25°24519.713.53.7
Jul31° / 26°18817.113.43.5
Aug31° / 26°25119.712.93.4
Sep30° / 24°13112.312.24.7
Oct28° / 21°443.811.47.3
Nov24° / 17°494.710.87.9
Dec20° / 12°42510.57.2

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13169
23268
33268
43169
53268
63367
73367
83367
93367
103367
113367
123367
133268
143268
153268
163268
173169
183070
192971
202971
212872
222773
232773
242674
252476
262476
272476
282476
292476
302377
312278

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Xiamen gets around 184 mm of rain over 16.1 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 51% and peaks near 56% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
148
248
348
448
548
648
748
848
948
1048
1148
1248
1348
1448
1549
1649
1750
1850
1951
2052
2153
2254
2354
2455
2555
2655
2755
2855
2955
3056
3156

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the oppressive band about 36% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 77% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
17122231271
27122231281
36112131291
46112131302
55102131322
6592031333
7492030343
8482030344
9481930354
10371930365
11361930365
12361930366
13351830377
14251831377
15241731388
16241731389
17241631399
181315313910
191314304011
201314304012
211313304014
221213294015
231212294016
241212284018
251211283919
260210273921
270210273923
28029263825
29029253827
30028243729
31018233731

Wind in May

Winds average 9 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 54 min at the start of May to 13 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 30 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:38 AM to 5:23 AM, and sunset from 6:32 PM to 6:47 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.95:386:32
212.95:376:32
312.95:366:33
413.05:366:33
513.05:356:34
613.05:346:34
713.05:346:35
813.05:336:35
913.15:326:36
1013.15:326:36
1113.15:316:37
1213.15:316:37
1313.15:306:38
1413.15:296:38
1513.25:296:39
1613.25:286:39
1713.25:286:40
1813.25:276:40
1913.25:276:41
2013.25:276:41
2113.35:266:42
2213.35:266:42
2313.35:256:43
2413.35:256:43
2513.35:256:44
2613.35:256:44
2713.35:246:45
2813.45:246:45
2913.45:246:46
3013.45:236:46
3113.45:236:47

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.6 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.12 kWh/m² to a high of 5.63 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 4.6 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.6Bright
24.6Bright
34.6Bright
44.6Bright
54.6Bright
64.6Bright
74.7Bright
84.7Bright
94.7Bright
104.7Bright
114.7Bright
124.7Bright
134.7Bright
144.7Bright
154.7Bright
164.7Bright
174.7Bright
184.6Bright
194.6Bright
204.6Bright
214.6Bright
224.6Bright
234.6Bright
244.6Bright
254.6Bright
264.6Bright
274.6Bright
284.6Bright
294.6Bright
304.6Bright
314.6Bright
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Xiamen

In seasonPeak

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

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

Xiamen's monsoon runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is May a good time to visit Xiamen?

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

5.3
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
5.7
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Xiamen for sightseeing.

What to pack for Xiamen in May

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

In May, Xiamen sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Xiamen in May

The nearest coast averages about 23°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Apr 20 to Nov 29 — about 7.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan16Cool
Feb15Cool
Mar17Cool
Apr20Cool
May23Refreshing
Jun26Warm
Jul27Warm
Aug28Warm
Sep27Warm
Oct25Warm
Nov22Refreshing
Dec18Cool

UV index in Xiamen in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Xiamen peaks around June 18 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 5 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighVery highExtremeVery highHighJun 18UV 11Dec 21UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan6High
Feb7High
Mar9Very high
Apr8Very high
May10Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep10Extreme
Oct8Very high
Nov6High
Dec5High

Air quality in Xiamen 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 Xiamen is worst in January — around 33 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (July, 16 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Xiamen's WHO annual average of 25.2 µg/m³.

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateJan 2033 µg/m³Jul 1517 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan33Moderate
Feb32Moderate
Mar33Moderate
Apr29Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun18Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct21Moderate
Nov27Moderate
Dec28Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Xiamen?

Xiamen sits at 24.5°N, 118.1°E, 12 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Jincheng, 24 km away.

Topography around Xiamen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Xiamen has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 213 m around an average of 19 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 460 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,439 m.

The land around Xiamen is covered by artificial surfaces (46%), water (31%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, water (46%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km
213 m
16 km
460 m
80 km
1,439 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Jincheng 24 km · Jinhu 35 km · Magong 184 km · Fuzhou 215 km · Erlin 241 km · Budai 244 km · Beigang 247 km · Erlun 249 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 Xiamen (24.4798°, 118.0819°, elevation 12 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). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).