Climate and average weather in Sado

In Sado, the summers are muggy, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, breezy, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: early May to late July

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Sado typically varies from 2°C to 29°C, and is rarely below -1°C or above 33°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Sado for warm-weather activities are from early May to late July and late August to late October.

Hottest
Aug
29°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Jul
205 mm
Driest
Apr
91 mm
Rain / yr
1530 mm
176 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
27 m
38.0°N
Clearest
Oct
60% cloud

Sado 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 May to late July.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Sado, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from June 19 to September 25, with daily high temperatures above 23°C. The hottest month of the year in Sado is August, with an average high of 29°C and low of 24°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from December 5 to March 25, with daily high temperatures below 10°C. The coldest month of the year in Sado is January, with an average low of 2°C and high of 6°C.

Days typically run about 4°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan62
Feb62
Mar94
Apr148
May1913
Jun2318
Jul2722
Aug2924
Sep2521
Oct2015
Nov149
Dec85

How hot and cold Sado really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

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 hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Sado feels like about 32°C (around August 5). About 15 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°C (around January 29), with roughly 83 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan66-22
Feb66-22
Mar9914
Apr141468
May19191313
Jun23231818
Jul28272222
Aug31292424
Sep25252121
Oct19201515
Nov141489
Dec8815

Average hourly temperature in Sado

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 August afternoons, near 29°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Sado weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 12920.910.59.70.2
Feb / 9117.28.410.50.3
Mar / 10116.63.611.71.5
Apr14° / 9112.10.2133.8
May19° / 13°93110145.9
Jun23° / 18°12610014.66.5
Jul27° / 22°20514.6014.45.6
Aug29° / 24°14511.5013.55.4
Sep25° / 21°14112.2012.36.2
Oct20° / 15°12912.20115.9
Nov14° / 12916.10.19.93.4
Dec / 15121.55.69.41.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Sado gets about 1530 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from around Nov 9 to Mar 29, peaking in December at about 71% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 3.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 205 mm over about 15 wet days; April is the driest, with 91 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 17 · 71%Jun 3 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan6721
Feb6217
Mar5317
Apr4112
May3511
Jun3510
Jul4615
Aug3812
Sep4112
Oct3912
Nov5316
Dec6922

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Sado collects about 1530 mm of rain across 176 wet days — roughly 128 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 205 mm, while April is the driest at just 91 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec129911019193126205145141129129151
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1292111
Feb91178
Mar101174
Apr91120
May93110
Jun126100
Jul205150
Aug145120
Sep141120
Oct129120
Nov129160
Dec151226

Snow in Sado

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.

Sado averages about 28 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 23 to Apr 7 — about 4.5 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 10 days of snow and an estimated 42 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 111 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonJan 31
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1142
Feb834
Mar412
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec622

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Sado, 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 July 25 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around November 21. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 22 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around March 19. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 73% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 30 · 51%Jan 22 · 27%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2773
Feb2971
Mar3763
Apr4654
May4555
Jun3565
Jul3367
Aug4654
Sep4258
Oct4852
Nov4258
Dec3070

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

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 9, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.77:074:45
Feb10.56:455:17
Mar11.76:055:47
Apr13.05:176:16
May14.04:416:44
Jun14.64:287:06
Jul14.44:407:04
Aug13.55:066:35
Sep12.35:345:48
Oct11.06:025:02
Nov9.96:354:29
Dec9.47:024:24

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Sado averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 10 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 2.8 months, from around Mar 24 to Jun 16. The sunniest month is April, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is February, down near 2 sunny days — about 81% fewer than the April peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedApr 2810 daysFeb 21 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan2Gloomy
Feb2Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr9Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun7Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep8Gloomy
Oct9Mixed
Nov6Gloomy
Dec3Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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 Sado, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around June 7 to October 5. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 6 to June 6, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 9 · 100%Aug 1 · 0%miserablecomfortableoppressivehumidmuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar10000000
Apr9820000
May73234000
Jun1530341830
Jul021336453
Aug026275411
Sep11172527181
Oct652111300
Nov9640000
Dec10000000

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 Sado is typically light breeze, near 15 km/h, and varies a lot with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.5 months, from around Oct 25 to Apr 9. The windiest month is December, averaging about 20 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 10 to Oct 24, with July the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyDec 31 · 21 km/hJul 29 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan20breezy
Feb19light breeze
Mar17light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May12calm
Jun10calm
Jul10calm
Aug10calm
Sep12calm
Oct14light breeze
Nov17light breeze
Dec20light breeze

Hazard calendar for Sado

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

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

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

Best time to visit Sado

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sado throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late July, Sado 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 Sado for general outdoor tourist activities run from early May to early August and again from late August to late October, with a peak score in the first week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 5 · 6.8

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).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.2poor
Feb0.4poor
Mar1.5poor
Apr3.8fair
May5.9good
Jun6.5good
Jul5.6good
Aug5.4fair
Sep6.2good
Oct5.8good
Nov3.4poor
Dec1.2poor

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 Sado for hot-weather activities is from mid July to late September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 6 · 6.9

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 Sado, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

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 August (highs near 29°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 6°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Sado sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Sado

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 26°C and coldest in March near 10°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 24 to Oct 29 — about 4.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan12Bracing
Feb10Bracing
Mar10Bracing
Apr11Bracing
May14Bracing
Jun19Cool
Jul23Refreshing
Aug26Warm
Sep25Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov18Cool
Dec15Cool

UV index (midday) in Sado by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Sado peaks around August 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 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 highModerateAug 14UV 9Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Sado

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 August the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar3.50
Apr6.51.5
May7.54
Jun84.5
Jul85
Aug85
Sep74
Oct50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Sado by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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 Sado is worst in April — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (September, 9 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodApr 1120 µg/m³Sep 159 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan12Good
Feb15Moderate
Mar20Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May18Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul11Good
Aug9Good
Sep9Good
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec11Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Sado is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 1 to January 7 (313 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 190%Jan 790%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan8725
Feb8326
Mar950
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec960

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

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. Sado banks about 2,158 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,5002,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr38
May189
Jun314
Jul447
Aug508
Sep386
Oct225
Nov51
Dec0

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.

Sado receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.8 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 13 to Sep 18. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.8 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.8 kWh/m² — roughly 69% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 16.2 kWhDec 121.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.1Moderate
Feb3.0Moderate
Mar4.2Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May5.9Bright
Jun5.9Bright
Jul5.3Bright
Aug5.4Bright
Sep4.2Bright
Oct3.3Moderate
Nov2.2Moderate
Dec1.8Dim

Where is Sado?

Sado sits at 38.0°N, 138.4°E, 27 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Ryōtsu-minato, 9.0 km away.

Topography around Sado

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sado has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 227 m around an average of 40 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,155 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,125 m.

The land around Sado is covered by cropland (52%) and trees (38%) within 3 km, trees (59%) and water (30%) within 16 km, and water (78%) within 80 km.

3 km
227 m
16 km
1,155 m
80 km
1,125 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Ryōtsu-minato 9.0 km · Maki 55 km · Yoshida-kasugachō 60 km · Niigata 61 km · Tsubame 64 km · Shirone 65 km · Kameda-honchō 68 km · Sanjō 69 km

Japan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
100 V · 50 / 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$35,951
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 446
Religion
Shintoism 49%Buddhism 46%other 4%Christianity 1%

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 Sado (38.025°, 138.3593°, elevation 27 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).