Climate of Chongqing

Chongqing is located in the transition area between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Middle-lower Yangtze Plain. It is part of the humid sub-tropical monsoon climate belt. The annual average temperature is 18 C (64 F) to 20 C (68 F) with a low temperature of 4 C (39 F) in winter and a high temperature of 40 C (104 F) in summer. Chongqing weather is famous for the hot summers and the city is known as one of 'the three furnace cities' in China. The other two are Nanjing and Wuhan. Bring light clothing such as T-shirts, shorts and sandals if you come in summer. Also, remember to bring your umbrella, sunglasses, and suntan lotion to avoid the heat of the 'burning furnace'. Chongqing receives abundant rainfall, averaging about 1000 to 1400 millimeters (39 to 55 inches) annually. It has plenty of evening rain all year round but it's best to visit the city during spring, autumn and winter.

Wind-force in Chongqing is usually low. The annual average wind speed is 1.1 meters per second, and rate of still wind is 36.6%. In summer, there are often thunderstorms with strong wind, and the speed of such wind can be more than 10 meters per second, the extreme highest being 27 meters per second. Fog is another prominent feature of Chongqing. There are 68.3 days in a year on the average, and, therefore, the city is also known as "foggy Chongqing". In 1995, there were 205 foggy days in the year.

Climatic features of Chongqing can be summarized like this: Spring comes early, but tempreture is changeable; summer is very hot and often dry; autumn is cool but often wet; and winter is mild, foggy and without snow.