Climate and average weather in Yinchuan
In Yinchuan, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Yinchuan typically varies from -12°C to 30°C, and is rarely below -17°C or above 34°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Yinchuan for warm-weather activities are from early April to mid June and mid August to mid October.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 30°
- Coldest
- Jan
- -12°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 54 mm
- Driest
- Dec
- 1 mm
- Rain / yr
- 252 mm
- 40 wet days
- Daylight
- 9.3–14.7 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 1,117 m
- 38.5°N
- Clearest
- Nov
- 28% cloud
Yinchuan is prefecture-level city in Ningxia, China.
- Air quality
- Very high
- PM2.5 37.3 µg/m³ · 2018
- Density
- 214/km²
- people per km²
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Yinchuan weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early April to mid June.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Yinchuan, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 4.7 months, from April 30 to September 20, with daily high temperatures above 22°C. The hottest month of the year in Yinchuan is July, with an average high of 30°C and low of 18°C.
The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from November 25 to February 19, with daily high temperatures below 6°C. The coldest month of the year in Yinchuan is January, with an average low of -12°C and high of 1°C.
Days typically run about 12°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 1 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 9 | 2 |
| Avg low (°C) | -12 | -8 | -2 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 5 | -3 | -9 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | -12 |
| Feb | 5 | -8 |
| Mar | 12 | -2 |
| Apr | 19 | 5 |
| May | 25 | 11 |
| Jun | 28 | 16 |
| Jul | 30 | 18 |
| Aug | 28 | 17 |
| Sep | 23 | 12 |
| Oct | 17 | 5 |
| Nov | 9 | -3 |
| Dec | 2 | -9 |
How hot and cold Yinchuan really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -15°C (around January 19), with roughly 158 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) — 78 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 1 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 9 | 2 |
| Air high (°C) | 1 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 9 | 2 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | -15 | -11 | -5 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 3 | -5 | -12 |
| Air low (°C) | -12 | -8 | -2 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 5 | -3 | -9 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 1 | -15 | -12 |
| Feb | 5 | 5 | -11 | -8 |
| Mar | 12 | 12 | -5 | -2 |
| Apr | 19 | 19 | 3 | 5 |
| May | 25 | 25 | 10 | 11 |
| Jun | 28 | 28 | 16 | 16 |
| Jul | 30 | 30 | 18 | 18 |
| Aug | 28 | 28 | 17 | 17 |
| Sep | 23 | 23 | 12 | 12 |
| Oct | 17 | 17 | 3 | 5 |
| Nov | 9 | 9 | -5 | -3 |
| Dec | 2 | 2 | -12 | -9 |
Average hourly temperature in Yinchuan
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 30°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -12°C.
Yinchuan weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1° / -12° | 2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 9.6 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 5° / -8° | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10.5 | 0.5 |
| Mar | 12° / -2° | 10 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 11.7 | 3.9 |
| Apr | 19° / 5° | 13 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 13 | 7.3 |
| May | 25° / 11° | 22 | 3.7 | 0 | 14.1 | 7.9 |
| Jun | 28° / 16° | 32 | 4.5 | 0 | 14.6 | 6.6 |
| Jul | 30° / 18° | 54 | 6.5 | 0 | 14.4 | 5.7 |
| Aug | 28° / 17° | 52 | 7.6 | 0 | 13.5 | 6.6 |
| Sep | 23° / 12° | 42 | 6.5 | 0 | 12.3 | 7.5 |
| Oct | 17° / 5° | 16 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 11 | 6.6 |
| Nov | 9° / -3° | 6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 9.9 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 2° / -9° | 1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 9.4 | 0.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Yinchuan gets about 252 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.4 months, from around May 6 to Oct 17, peaking in August at about 26% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Dec 17.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 54 mm over about 7 wet days; December is the driest, with 1 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 1 |
| Rain days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 1 |
| Feb | 4 | 1 |
| Mar | 7 | 2 |
| Apr | 8 | 2 |
| May | 12 | 4 |
| Jun | 15 | 5 |
| Jul | 21 | 7 |
| Aug | 25 | 8 |
| Sep | 21 | 7 |
| Oct | 11 | 3 |
| Nov | 4 | 1 |
| Dec | 1 | 0 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Yinchuan collects about 252 mm of rain across 40 wet days — roughly 21 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 54 mm, while December is the driest at just 1 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 59% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 52 | 42 | 16 | 6 | 1 |
| Rain days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Snow days | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Feb | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Apr | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| May | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| Jun | 32 | 5 | 0 |
| Jul | 54 | 7 | 0 |
| Aug | 52 | 8 | 0 |
| Sep | 42 | 7 | 0 |
| Oct | 16 | 3 | 0 |
| Nov | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Dec | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Snow in Yinchuan
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Yinchuan averages about 4 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 16 to Mar 14 — about 3.9 months.
February is snowiest, with roughly 1.1 day of snow and an estimated 4 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 13 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 3 |
| Feb | 1 | 4 |
| Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Apr | 0 | 1 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 1 |
| Nov | 1 | 2 |
| Dec | 1 | 2 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Yinchuan, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around October 12 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around February 28. The clearest month is December, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around March 1 and lasts for 7.4 months, ending around October 11. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 47% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 74 | 68 | 61 | 59 | 55 | 53 | 59 | 61 | 58 | 68 | 78 | 78 |
| Cloudier (%) | 26 | 32 | 39 | 41 | 45 | 47 | 41 | 39 | 42 | 32 | 22 | 22 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 74 | 26 |
| Feb | 68 | 32 |
| Mar | 61 | 39 |
| Apr | 59 | 41 |
| May | 55 | 45 |
| Jun | 53 | 47 |
| Jul | 59 | 41 |
| Aug | 61 | 39 |
| Sep | 58 | 42 |
| Oct | 68 | 32 |
| Nov | 78 | 22 |
| Dec | 78 | 22 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 14, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.5 | 11.7 | 13.0 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 8:16 | 7:54 | 7:14 | 6:25 | 5:49 | 5:35 | 5:47 | 6:14 | 6:42 | 7:11 | 7:44 | 8:11 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:52 | 6:25 | 6:55 | 7:25 | 7:54 | 8:15 | 8:14 | 7:44 | 6:57 | 6:09 | 5:36 | 5:31 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.6 | 8:16 | 5:52 |
| Feb | 10.5 | 7:54 | 6:25 |
| Mar | 11.7 | 7:14 | 6:55 |
| Apr | 13.0 | 6:25 | 7:25 |
| May | 14.1 | 5:49 | 7:54 |
| Jun | 14.6 | 5:35 | 8:15 |
| Jul | 14.4 | 5:47 | 8:14 |
| Aug | 13.5 | 6:14 | 7:44 |
| Sep | 12.3 | 6:42 | 6:57 |
| Oct | 11.0 | 7:11 | 6:09 |
| Nov | 9.9 | 7:44 | 5:36 |
| Dec | 9.4 | 8:11 | 5:31 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Yinchuan averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 11 and 21 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around Oct 11 to Mar 2. The sunniest month is November, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is June, down near 11 sunny days — about 45% fewer than the November peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 19 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 21 |
| Sky | Bright | Bright | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | Bright |
| Feb | 15 | Bright |
| Mar | 15 | Mixed |
| Apr | 13 | Mixed |
| May | 13 | Mixed |
| Jun | 11 | Mixed |
| Jul | 13 | Mixed |
| Aug | 14 | Mixed |
| Sep | 14 | Mixed |
| Oct | 17 | Bright |
| Nov | 20 | Bright |
| Dec | 21 | Bright |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Yinchuan, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 2.5 months, from around June 23 to September 7. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 26% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 8 to June 22, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 84 | 38 | 45 | 87 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 35 | 33 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 84 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| Jul | 38 | 35 | 22 | 4 |
| Aug | 45 | 33 | 18 | 5 |
| Sep | 87 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Yinchuan is typically calm, near 6 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Mar 1 to Aug 26. The windiest month is April, averaging about 8 km/h (calm).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 27 to Feb 28, with January the calmest month at about 5 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | calm |
| Feb | 6 | calm |
| Mar | 7 | calm |
| Apr | 8 | calm |
| May | 8 | calm |
| Jun | 7 | calm |
| Jul | 7 | calm |
| Aug | 7 | calm |
| Sep | 6 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 6 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Yinchuan
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Yinchuan sees seasonal dust haze (March–August), heaviest in May.
Best time to visit Yinchuan
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Yinchuan throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early June, Yinchuan is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Yinchuan for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to mid June and again from mid August to mid October, with a peak score in the first week of May.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 6.6 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 2.4 | 0.0 |
| Rating | poor | poor | fair | good | ideal | good | good | good | good | good | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | poor |
| Feb | 0.5 | poor |
| Mar | 3.9 | fair |
| Apr | 7.2 | good |
| May | 7.9 | ideal |
| Jun | 6.6 | good |
| Jul | 5.7 | good |
| Aug | 6.6 | good |
| Sep | 7.5 | good |
| Oct | 6.5 | good |
| Nov | 2.4 | poor |
| Dec | 0.0 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Yinchuan for hot-weather activities is from early May to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of June.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Yinchuan, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 30°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 1°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.
In July, Yinchuan sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 18°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 7 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Yinchuan by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Yinchuan peaks around July 16 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 7 | High |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 10 | Extreme |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Average hourly UV index in Yinchuan
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 | 7 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5.5 | 6 | 5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 5 | 0 |
| Apr | 7 | 3 |
| May | 8 | 5 |
| Jun | 8.5 | 5.5 |
| Jul | 8.5 | 6 |
| Aug | 8 | 5 |
| Sep | 7 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 4.5 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Air quality in Yinchuan by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Yinchuan is worst in May — around 55 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.0× the cleanest month (September, 28 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Yinchuan's WHO annual average of 37.3 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 30 | 34 | 49 | 54 | 55 | 40 | 31 | 28 | 28 | 33 | 36 | 29 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | Moderate |
| Feb | 34 | Moderate |
| Mar | 49 | Poor |
| Apr | 54 | Poor |
| May | 55 | Poor |
| Jun | 40 | Poor |
| Jul | 31 | Moderate |
| Aug | 28 | Moderate |
| Sep | 28 | Moderate |
| Oct | 33 | Moderate |
| Nov | 36 | Poor |
| Dec | 29 | Moderate |
Growing season
The growing season in Yinchuan typically lasts about 224 days, from around March 24 to November 2 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 16 to October 17.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 0 | 2 | 33 | 87 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 87 | 21 | 0 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 31 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 30 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 31 |
| Feb | 2 | 28 |
| Mar | 33 | 31 |
| Apr | 87 | 15 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 87 | 13 |
| Nov | 21 | 30 |
| Dec | 0 | 31 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Yinchuan banks about 1,763 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 238 | 361 | 434 | 387 | 230 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 67 |
| May | 238 |
| Jun | 361 |
| Jul | 434 |
| Aug | 387 |
| Sep | 230 |
| Oct | 46 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Yinchuan receives about 4.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.6 and 6.9 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 9 to Sep 12. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.7 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 2.6 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 5.7 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
| Level | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4.0 | Bright |
| Mar | 5.1 | Bright |
| Apr | 6.0 | Intense |
| May | 6.6 | Intense |
| Jun | 6.8 | Intense |
| Jul | 6.4 | Intense |
| Aug | 5.7 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.7 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.0 | Bright |
| Nov | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2.6 | Moderate |
Where is Yinchuan?
Yinchuan sits at 38.5°N, 106.3°E, 1,117 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Xi'an, 525 km away.
Topography around Yinchuan
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Yinchuan.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Yinchuan has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 33 m around an average of 1,112 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 44 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,421 m.
The land around Yinchuan is covered by artificial surfaces (83%) within 3 km, cropland (35%) and artificial surfaces (32%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (39%), grassland (31%) and cropland (22%) 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 Yinchuan (38.4681°, 106.2731°, elevation 1,117 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).