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Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, sits on the lower Yangtze River in eastern China, on a plain partly ringed by hills at approximately 32.06°N, 118.80°E. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) under the East Asian monsoon — with hot, muggy summers and cool, damp winters — and is one of China's 'Three Furnaces' for its notoriously sweltering summer heat.
Summer, from June to August, is hot and muggy, with July the warmest month — average highs around 32–33°C and peaks that can reach 40°C — made worse by high humidity and by surrounding hills that hinder heat dissipation, giving Nanjing its 'Furnace' reputation. Early summer brings the plum rains, a spell of mild but persistent, damp rain from mid-June to late July, and late summer can bring the occasional typhoon.
Winter, from December to February, is cool to cold and damp, with January the coolest month — average highs around 8°C and lows near 0°C, dipping below freezing on the coldest nights with frost and occasional snow. The dampness and lack of widespread indoor heating south of the Yangtze can make the raw cold feel sharper than the temperatures suggest.
Nanjing receives around 1,050–1,100 mm of rain a year, falling on around 115 days, concentrated in the summer with the plum-rain season the wettest spell, while winter is the driest season though damp; rain falls year-round. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Nanjing's sweltering summers place it among China's 'Three Furnaces' alongside Chongqing and Wuhan, its heat intensified by high humidity and by the hills that ring the city and trap warm air. The plum rains of early summer — a monsoon-driven spell of persistent damp weather — are the other defining feature, historically linked to the devastating Yangtze floods that have periodically struck the region.
To follow any single measurement in Nanjing 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.