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Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, sits at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han rivers in central China, on a low-lying plain dotted with lakes at approximately 30.60°N, 114.31°E. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) under the East Asian monsoon — with hot, muggy summers and cold, damp winters — and is the most famous of China's 'Three Furnaces' for its brutal summer heat.
Summer, from June to August, is intensely hot and humid, with July and August the warmest months — average highs around 33–34°C and heatwaves that can exceed 39–40°C. The low-lying, lake-strewn basin traps hot, moist air with little wind, so nights stay warm and the humidity makes the heat feel brutal, cementing Wuhan's reputation as a 'Furnace'. Early summer brings the plum rains, sometimes causing serious Yangtze flooding.
Winter, from December to February, is cold and damp, with January the coolest month — average highs around 8°C and lows near 1–2°C, dipping below freezing on the coldest nights with frost and occasional snow. The persistent damp and cloud, combined with limited indoor heating south of the Yangtze, make the raw cold feel sharper than the temperatures suggest.
Wuhan receives around 1,250–1,300 mm of rain a year, concentrated in spring and early summer, with the plum-rain season of June and July the wettest and capable of causing major Yangtze flooding, while autumn and winter are drier. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Wuhan is the best-known of China's 'Three Furnaces', its summer heat made brutal by high humidity and by the low-lying, lake-filled basin that traps warm, moist air. Its riverside setting at the meeting of the Yangtze and Han rivers leaves it historically vulnerable to catastrophic flooding during the plum rains and summer monsoon, as in the disastrous floods of 1931 and 1954.
To follow any single measurement in Wuhan 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.