Yinchuan weather in January

In January, Yinchuan sees average daytime highs of 1°C and overnight lows near -12°C, with 2 mm of precipitation across 0.5 wet days and about 9.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 1°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 24 min at the start of January to 10 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Yinchuan's 3rd-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Yinchuan's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-12°
1st coldest
Precipitation
2 mm
0.5 wet days
Daylight
9 h 36 min
8:16 AM – 5:52 PM
Cloud cover
34%
3rd clearest
Wind
5 km/h
12th windiest
Solar energy
3.04 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

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.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 1°C through the month.

A typical January day in Yinchuan reaches about 1°C in the afternoon and slips back to -12°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -5°C and 6°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 4°C cooler than February.

-20°-10°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
11-11
21-11
31-11
41-11
51-11
61-11
71-12
81-12
90-12
100-12
110-12
120-12
130-12
140-12
150-12
160-12
170-12
180-12
191-12
201-12
211-12
221-12
231-12
241-12
251-12
261-12
271-12
282-12
292-12
302-11
312-11

How January really feels in Yinchuan

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

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

Yinchuan weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -12°20.50.89.60.0
Feb / -8°31110.50.5
Mar12° / -2°102.20.511.73.9
Apr19° / 132.30.2137.3
May25° / 11°223.7014.17.9
Jun28° / 16°324.5014.66.6
Jul30° / 18°546.5014.45.7
Aug28° / 17°527.6013.56.6
Sep23° / 12°426.5012.37.5
Oct17° / 163.30.2116.6
Nov / -3°61.30.59.92.4
Dec / -9°10.40.69.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 26%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
17723
27723
37723
47624
57624
67624
77525
87426
97426
107327
117327
127327
137327
147327
157327
167327
177327
187327
197327
207327
217327
227327
237228
247228
257228
267327
277228
287228
297228
307228
317129

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Yinchuan gets around 2 mm of rain and snow over 0.5 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 2% and peaks near 2% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
123
223
323
423
523
623
723
823
923
1023
1123
1223
1323
1423
1522
1622
1722
1822
1922
2022
2122
2222
2322
2412
2512
2612
2712
2812
2912
3012
3112

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January 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 January

Winds average 5 km/h in January, the calmest month.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 24 min at the start of January to 10 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:17 AM to 8:08 AM, and sunset from 5:39 PM to 6:08 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.48:175:39
29.48:175:40
39.48:185:40
49.48:185:41
59.48:185:42
69.48:185:43
79.48:185:44
89.48:185:44
99.58:185:45
109.58:185:46
119.58:175:47
129.58:175:48
139.58:175:49
149.68:175:50
159.68:175:51
169.68:165:52
179.68:165:53
189.68:165:54
199.78:155:55
209.78:155:56
219.78:155:57
229.78:145:58
239.88:145:59
249.88:136:00
259.88:126:01
269.88:126:03
279.98:116:04
289.98:116:05
299.98:106:06
3010.08:096:07
3110.08:086:08

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 3.04 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.61 kWh/m² to a high of 6.75 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 3.04 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.7Moderate
22.7Moderate
32.7Moderate
42.8Moderate
52.8Moderate
62.8Moderate
72.8Moderate
82.8Moderate
92.9Moderate
102.9Moderate
112.9Moderate
122.9Moderate
133.0Moderate
143.0Moderate
153.0Moderate
163.0Moderate
173.1Moderate
183.1Moderate
193.1Moderate
203.1Moderate
213.2Moderate
223.2Moderate
233.3Moderate
243.3Moderate
253.3Moderate
263.3Moderate
273.4Moderate
283.4Moderate
293.4Moderate
303.5Moderate
313.5Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Yinchuan

In seasonPeak

None of Yinchuan's seasonal hazards are active in January. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Yinchuan sees seasonal dust haze (March–August), heaviest in May.

Dust
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Yinchuan?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Yinchuan.

What to pack for Yinchuan in January

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

In January, Yinchuan sees daytime highs around 1°C and nights near -12°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Yinchuan in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highModerateLowJul 16UV 10Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May9Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Yinchuan in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateModerateMay 1055 µg/m³Sep 1028 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan30Moderate
Feb34Moderate
Mar49Poor
Apr54Poor
May55Poor
Jun40Poor
Jul31Moderate
Aug28Moderate
Sep28Moderate
Oct33Moderate
Nov36Poor
Dec29Moderate
Location & terrain

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.

Xi'anDalandzadgadDatongLuoyangJiayuguanSongyangHovdBogd

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.

3 km
33 m
16 km
44 m
80 km
2,421 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Xi'an 525 km · Dalandzadgad 588 km · Datong 630 km · Luoyang 693 km · Jiayuguan 705 km · Songyang 751 km · Hovd 761 km · Bogd 769 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 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).