Xiamen in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Xiamen sees average daytime highs around 18°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 142 mm of rain over about 19 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Over the season highs ease from about 21°C in early December to 19°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Xiamen's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Xiamen's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 18°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 11°C
- Rainfall
- 142 mm
- 19 wet days
- Avg wind
- 12 km/h
- Travel score
- 6.5
- 2nd-best season
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Xiamen in Winter
Over the season highs ease from about 21°C in early December to 19°C by late February.
A typical winter day in Xiamen reaches about 18°C and drops to 11°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Xiamen
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
winter 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 the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18° / 10° | 40 | 5.6 | 10.7 | 6.4 |
| Feb | 18° / 11° | 60 | 8.7 | 11.1 | 6.0 |
| Mar | 20° / 14° | 89 | 11.7 | 11.8 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 24° / 18° | 108 | 12.8 | 12.6 | 6.1 |
| May | 28° / 22° | 184 | 16.1 | 13.2 | 5.3 |
| Jun | 30° / 25° | 245 | 19.7 | 13.5 | 3.7 |
| Jul | 31° / 26° | 188 | 17.1 | 13.4 | 3.5 |
| Aug | 31° / 26° | 251 | 19.7 | 12.9 | 3.4 |
| Sep | 30° / 24° | 131 | 12.3 | 12.2 | 4.7 |
| Oct | 28° / 21° | 44 | 3.8 | 11.4 | 7.3 |
| Nov | 24° / 17° | 49 | 4.7 | 10.8 | 7.9 |
| Dec | 20° / 12° | 42 | 5 | 10.5 | 7.2 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Xiamen gets around 142 mm of rain over 19 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 12 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 24 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Xiamen
In winter, Xiamen overlaps its pacific typhoon 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.
Is winter a good time to visit Xiamen?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Xiamen for sightseeing.
What to pack for Xiamen in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Xiamen sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: rain gear. About 19 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Xiamen in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 16°C across winter — 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 16 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 18 |
| Comfort | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Refreshing | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | Cool |
| Feb | 15 | Cool |
| Mar | 17 | Cool |
| Apr | 20 | Cool |
| May | 23 | Refreshing |
| Jun | 26 | Warm |
| Jul | 27 | Warm |
| Aug | 28 | Warm |
| Sep | 27 | Warm |
| Oct | 25 | Warm |
| Nov | 22 | Refreshing |
| Dec | 18 | Cool |
UV index in Xiamen in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Level | High | High | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | High |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | High |
| Feb | 7 | High |
| Mar | 9 | Very high |
| Apr | 8 | Very high |
| May | 10 | Extreme |
| Jun | 12 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 10 | Extreme |
| Sep | 10 | Extreme |
| Oct | 8 | Very high |
| Nov | 6 | High |
| Dec | 5 | High |
Air quality in Xiamen in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 33 | 32 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 27 | 28 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | Moderate |
| Feb | 32 | Moderate |
| Mar | 33 | Moderate |
| Apr | 29 | Moderate |
| May | 24 | Moderate |
| Jun | 18 | Moderate |
| Jul | 16 | Moderate |
| Aug | 19 | Moderate |
| Sep | 22 | Moderate |
| Oct | 21 | Moderate |
| Nov | 27 | Moderate |
| Dec | 28 | Moderate |
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.
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 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.