Climate - Wuhan (China)

The climate of Wuhan is temperate, with relatively cold winters and hot, muggy, and rainy summers. Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei Province and is located in southeastern China, at the confluence of the Han and Yangtze rivers, at a fairly low latitude (at the 30th parallel), but also in a large continental area and 630 kilometers (390 miles) away from the sea, so the summer heat is intense and annoying, while in winter, cold air can stagnate on the ground. Wuhan is a city with a millennia-old history, but today, it is a metropolis, polluted as often happens in large Chinese cities.
Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation is quite abundant and amounts to 1,315 millimeters (52 inches) per year; we can notice a minimum between autumn and early winter, and a clear maximum between spring and summer, with more than 200 mm (8 in) per month in June and July. Here is the average rainfall.

Winter, from December to February, is quite cold: the average January temperature is 4.5 °C (42 °F). Being a little further to the north, and not protected by mountains, the city is a little colder than Nanchang. Sometimes, there may be cold periods during which the temperature remains around freezing even during the day, and even snow can fall. Nocturnal frosts are quite frequent, but generally not intense. However, in January 1977, the temperature dropped to as low as -18 °C (-1 °F). At other periods, the temperature becomes mild, around 15 °C (59 °F). Sunny days are a bit more frequent in December, then they become rarer. At night, fog can form.

Spring, from March to May, is initially mild, and then becomes gradually warmer and rainier. In May, there's already a good number of hot and summery days, at least as regards to the temperature.

Summer, from June to September, is decidedly hot and muggy. Due to both the distance from the sea and the humidity, the heat is uncomfortable, especially in July and August. June and July are the rainiest months of the year. On sunny periods, it can be very hot, especially in July and August, with peaks around 36/38 °C (97/100 °F) and tropical nights. In summer, Wuhan is traditionally considered as one of the "three furnaces" of China, along with Chongqing and Nanjing.

Autumn, in October and November, is initially mild, then it gradually becomes cooler, and quite cold at night by November. Rainfall is moderate.



The amount of sunshine in Wuhan is not very good; however, it is quite good in July and August, while it is scarcer from January to March. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Every so often, from June to October, typhoons, the tropical cyclones of Southeast Asia, which most easily affect the coastal areas, can penetrate the mainland, even though they arrive decidedly weakened in this area because of the distance from the sea.

Wuhan is located about 300 km (185 miles) east of the Three Gorges Dam, which has been built upstream on the Blue River (Yangtze) and completed in 2006.

Best Time

It is not easy to find the best time to visit Wuhan. Since the spring is very rainy, you can choose the autumn, especially from late September to early November, which is generally a mild or pleasantly warm period; it must be said that the arrival of the remains of a typhoon can not be excluded.
Those who can stand the heat can also choose the summer; August is preferable to July because it is less rainy.