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Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, sits on a plateau in southwestern China at around 1,900 metres above sea level, beside Lake Dian and ringed by mountains, at approximately 25.04°N, 102.72°E. Its altitude tempers its low, subtropical latitude to give a mild, spring-like highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — famously equable year-round — earning it the nickname the 'City of Eternal Spring'.
Summer, from June to August, is mild and pleasant rather than hot, with the warmest months seeing average highs of only around 24–25°C, kept comfortable by the plateau altitude. It is the rainy season, when the southwest monsoon brings frequent afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms, greening the plateau, along with more cloud and higher humidity, though temperatures stay agreeable.
Winter, from December to February, is mild, dry and remarkably sunny, with January the coolest month — average highs around 15–16°C but chilly nights that can drop close to freezing on the clearest nights. Days are bright, warm in the sun and dry, and this sunny, dry winter is one of the pleasantest anywhere in China, a favourite refuge from the cold north.
Kunming receives around 1,000–1,100 mm of rain a year, strongly concentrated in the summer wet season from May to October — when most of the year's rain falls as afternoon storms — while the winter and spring are dry and exceptionally sunny. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Kunming's plateau altitude gives it the mild, equable, spring-like weather for which it is famous — never truly hot, never truly cold — the reason it is known as the 'City of Eternal Spring'. The year divides simply into a green, rainy summer and a dry, brilliantly sunny winter, with the large day-to-night temperature swing typical of the elevated Yunnan plateau.
To follow any single measurement in Kunming more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.