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Taipei sits in a basin in the north of Taiwan, ringed by mountains near the northern tip of the island, just south of the Tropic of Cancer at approximately 25.03°N, 121.57°E. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — hot, humid summers and mild, damp winters — shaped by the East Asian monsoon and the surrounding sea, with the enclosing basin trapping heat and humidity and making the city one of the muggier places in the region.
Summer, from June to September, is hot, humid and rainy, with July and August the hottest months — average highs around 33–34°C — and the mountain-ringed basin trapping heat so that the city often feels even hotter and stickier than the coast, with sultry nights. This is typhoon season, when Pacific storms can bring torrential rain, flooding and destructive wind; the steep terrain around the city can wring out enormous rainfall totals from a single storm.
Winter, from December to February, is mild but damp and cloudy, with January and February the coolest — average highs around 19°C and lows near 13–14°C, so genuine cold is rare and frost essentially unknown in the city. The northeast monsoon brings frequent drizzle and grey, overcast skies to northern Taiwan through the winter, making Taipei noticeably cooler and wetter than the sunny south of the island.
Taipei is very wet, receiving on the order of 2,400–2,500 mm of rain a year, and — unusually — rain falls in every season: the northeast monsoon keeps the north damp through winter, while summer brings the plum rains (meiyu) of May and June and the torrential downpours of typhoon season. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Two features define Taipei's weather: typhoons, which strike Taiwan among the most frequently of any place on Earth between roughly July and October, and the plum-rain (meiyu) season of May and June, a spell of prolonged, sometimes heavy rain as seasonal fronts stall over the island. The city's mountain-ringed basin traps heat and moisture, intensifying the summer mugginess, while keeping the winters damp and grey under the northeast monsoon.
To follow any single measurement in Taipei 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.