Yangtze River Weather

Yangtze River Weather – Brief Introduction

Yangtze River Weather mainly is influenced by the climate of this area. The Yangtze River is situated in the subtropics with latitude between 24°30′ and 35°45′N and longitude between 90°33′ and 112°25′E, featuring strong wind and humid weather. The average temperature is 30 °C (90F) in July and 10 °C (50F) in January. In summer, dramatic thunderstorms and heavy rains often happen to make the water level high between July and September, while winter is short and cold. That means, spring and autumn are the best seasons for taking a Yangtze Cruise, when the weather is cool and comfortable.

Yangtze River Weather – Climate

Atmospheric Temperature: The Atmospheric temperature in the Yangtze River is formed by the sun radiation energy, the atmospheric circulation, the Tibetan Plateau and the Northern Pacific terrain and in different areas of the terrain condition. The year's average temperature in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is higher than the Upper Yangtze River, and the Southern Yangtze River is higher than Northern, which tends to East west High-low and North South high-low distribution trend. Yangtze River's origin temperature is the lowest in the world. It has formed the enclosed high-low temperature center, Sichuan basin, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Jinsha river valley, etc, due to the difference of terrain and the trend above. The hottest month is July and the coldest month is January in Yangtze River, April and October are the middle months of weather changing.

Average annual temperature distribution feature of the lowest: It's usually between 20 – 24 ℃ in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River which is 4-5 ℃ higher than average annual temperature. Sichuan basin's average temperature is around 20℃ in a year which is stable in the world, 2-3 ℃ higher than average temperature. But it's about 6-8 ℃ higher than average temperature in Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Jinsha River and the origin of Yangtze River.

Average annual temperature distribution feature of the highest: It's 12-14 ℃ in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River as well as Sichuan Plateau. 8 ℃ and 12-16 ℃ respectively shows in Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. -2 ℃ and 8℃ respectively shows in west east of Jinsha River. And it's about 10 ℃ in the Yangtze River's origin.

Precipitation: It's 1067mm average annual precipitation in Yangtze River and not evenly distributed as well as the heavy rains, which because of the vast region, varied terrain and the typical monsoon climate. The precipitation in winter (Dec.-Jan.) is the least of a year but increases gradually in spring (Mar. - May). In June and July, the precipitation is more than 200 mm in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. In August, the main rain area goes on to the upper reaches. The precipitation in autumn (Sep. – Nov.) reduces gradually.

Yangtze River Weather – Two Kinds of Typical weather

There are two kinds typical weather in Yangtze River, plum rains and summer drought. From the middle of June to early July, the continuous wet weather in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River will last about a month due to the Jianghuai (Yangtze River and Huai River) quasi-stationary front, which called plum rains. After that, the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River will be controlled by the subtropical high to go into summer drought with less rain.

Yangtze River Weather – Best Weather for taking Yangtze Cruise

The weather in spring and autumn is the best for taking a Yangtze River cruise. To be more specific, the weather in April, May, September and October are cool and comfortable. These four months are also called high seasons which has much higher price for taking a Yangtze Cruise. Anyway, winter might also be considered a good season despite the cold weather. But the price for taking a Yangtze Cruise is lower, only half of that in the high season. What's more, sceneries at the Three Gorges (the most impressive section of the Yangtze River) are more breathtaking because of the much lower water level in winter.

Yangtze River Weather in Major Cities along the Yangtze River

Chongqing: Known as one of the "three furnaces" in China, together with Wuhan and Nanjing. It is also called a foggy city.

Shanghai: The weather in Shanghai is mild and moist all year round. Spring and autumn are the best time for traveling.

Wuhan: It's one of China's "three furnaces", which means the weather is really hot in summer as well as in Chongqing.

Yichang: The best time to visit Yichang is also spring and autumn because of the hot and humid weather there.