The climate of Nanjing (or Nanking), the capital of the Jiangsu Province and an ancient Chinese capital, is temperate, with cold winters, and hot, muggy and rainy summers. Nanjing is located in eastern China, 205 km (130 mi) away from the sea, and it's crossed by the Yangtze (or Blue River).
Here are the average temperatures.

Rainfall amounts to 1,100 millimeters (43 inches) per year; there is no real dry season, however, autumn and winter are the least rainy seasons, while summer, when the rains occur mainly in the form of showers or thunderstorms, is the rainiest season. Here is the average rainfall.

The winter, from December to February, is quite cold: the average January temperature is 3.5 °C (38 °F). There may be very cold periods, with temperatures around freezing even during the day, and with some chance of snow. In January 1977 the temperature dropped to -13 °C (8.5 °F), and in January 2016 to -10 °C (14 °F). In other periods instead the temperatures become mild (around 15 °C or 59 °F). At night, fog can form.

The spring, from March to May, is initially mild, and becomes gradually warmer. In May there are already some hot, summer-like days. Spring is a more unstable season than autumn.

The summer, from June to September, is hot and muggy. The heat island effect of the big city and the humidity make the heat annoying, especially in July and August. June is a wet and cloudy month. The periods of good weather can be sweltering, especially in July and August, with highs around 37/38 °C (99/100 °F) or more, and tropical nights. In August 2013, 40 °C (104 °F) were recorded, and in July 2017 41 °C (106 °F).

The autumn, in October and November, is initially mild, and gradually becomes cooler, and then quite cold at night by November. Rainfall is moderate. In autumn in the hill called Qixiá shan you can admire the maples showing fall color.



Nanjing is not a very sunny city; however, the relatively sunniest period is from April to August, with the exception of June, which, as we mentioned, is the summer month when the sky is more often cloudy.

From time to time, from June to early November, typhoons, the tropical cyclones of Southeast Asia, can affect this area, though less so than in southern China.

When to go

The best times to visit Nanjing are spring and autumn, from April to mid-May, and from the end of September to the beginning of November; it must be said that spring is rainier, while in autumn the arrival of a typhoon can not be excluded.