Climate of Shangri-la
Located at point where Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan all meet, Shangri-la County has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate. The four seasons are not markedly different, but the temperature here changes much between day and night. On a sunny day, the temperature can reach up to 30°C, but when the sun is down it can feel like winter.
During the spring months (March-May) the snow melts, but the temperature is still cold, between 5-20°C.
Summer (June-August) is the season with the highest temperature of about 15-30 °C and also the most rainfall. Summer is cool, with a July 24-hour average temperature of 13.5 °C, and feature frequent rain; more than 70% of the annual precipitation is delivered from June to September. The annual mean is 5.85 °C.
Autumn (September-October) is the harvest season and boasts the most beautiful scenery of the year with temperature of about 5-30 °C.
Winter (November-February) sometimes records snowfall and regular sees temperature go below freezing with a high range up to about 20 °C. Due to the high elevation, winters are chilly but sunny, with a January 24-hour average temperature of 3.2 °C.
Climate Data Table for Shangri-la
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Avg. (°C) |
9.4 |
12.0 |
15.9 |
19.0 |
21.1 |
21.2 |
22.6 |
22.1 |
19.7 |
16.8 |
12.8 |
9.7 |
Rainfall (mm) |
63 |
45 |
123 |
278 |
956 |
1825 |
2102 |
1770 |
1535 |
782 |
196 |
63 |