China · 31.23°N 121.47°E · 30-year monthly averages, judged against the Warm preset (highs 19–28 °C66–82 °F, dry or showers)
The best time to visit Shanghai is April to May and October, with highs of 19–24 °C66–75 °F and nights of 11–16 °C52–61 °F, and rainfall of 48–96 mm1.9–3.8 in a month.
The monsoon season is June to September, with 128–160 mm5.0–6.3 in a month and a peak in June (160 mm6.3 in). July is the hottest month (highs of 32 °C90 °F) and January the coldest (8 °C46 °F).
The figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at 31.23, 121.47. This is a climate guide, not a forecast.
Pick the weather you like. Every month is then judged against it: temperature above the month names, rain below.
Good time to go for a Warm holiday: April to May and October.
Open Shanghai on the interactive map ↗ the same verdicts for any place on Earth, in any month
Reading the chart. Gold means good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour shows the reason it does not. The temperature bar can be too cold or too hot; the rain bar can be too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar means that half fits but the other half does not. A gold month name means both halves fit.
What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the month's average daily high (the afternoon), judged against the preset's band (highs 19–28 °C66–82 °F for Warm). Rain is judged by each month's class within Shanghai's own year, not by raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and at least 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month that the preset does not allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season: 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate where the wettest month has at least three times the rain of the driest. Every monsoon month is also a rainy-season month; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.
| Month | Rain | High | Low | Season | Warm verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 401.6 | 846 | 134 | dry | too cold |
| February | 562.2 | 948 | 236 | dry | too cold |
| March | 642.5 | 1355 | 643 | showers | too cold |
| April | 803.1 | 1966 | 1152 | showers | good |
| May | 963.8 | 2475 | 1661 | showers | good |
| June | 1606.3 | 2781 | 2169 | monsoon | monsoon |
| July | 1365.4 | 3289 | 2577 | monsoon | too hot |
| August | 1285.0 | 3188 | 2577 | monsoon | too hot |
| September | 1285.0 | 2781 | 2169 | monsoon | monsoon |
| October | 481.9 | 2373 | 1559 | dry | good |
| November | 481.9 | 1763 | 948 | dry | too cold |
| December | 401.6 | 1152 | 337 | dry | too cold |
| Looking for | Rule | Months that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | highs 19–28 °C66–82 °F, dry or showers | April to May and October |
| Tropical | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon | |
| Beach | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, dry or showers | |
| Cool | highs 3–19 °C37–66 °F, any rain except monsoon | November to March |
| Snow | highs below 3 °C37 °F, any rain |
Yes. The monsoon season is June to September, with 128–160 mm5.0–6.3 in a month and a peak in June (160 mm6.3 in). Outside the rainy season, October to February is dry.
July is the hottest month (highs of 32 °C90 °F) and January the coldest (8 °C46 °F). Annual rainfall is about 1,024 mm40 in.
The nearest destinations that fit the Warm preset in the months when Shanghai does not:
The interactive map colours the whole world by how well it fits the weather you like, in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.