Kaohsiung climate
Kaohsiung (Taiwan) has a tropical savanna (dry winter) climate (Köppen Aw). The average temperature over the year is 26 °C79 °F, and about 1,764 mm69 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Kaohsiung climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2576 | 1966 | 2271 | 331.3 |
| Feb | 2679 | 2067 | 2373 | 271.1 |
| Mar | 2882 | 2170 | 2476 | 371.4 |
| Apr | 3086 | 2374 | 2780 | 552.2 |
| May | 3188 | 2678 | 2883 | 1827.2 |
| Jun | 3187 | 2780 | 2984 | 30312 |
| Jul | 3188 | 2781 | 2984 | 28711 |
| Aug | 3187 | 2781 | 2984 | 43617 |
| Sep | 3087 | 2680 | 2883 | 2409.5 |
| Oct | 3085 | 2576 | 2781 | 763.0 |
| Nov | 2883 | 2373 | 2678 | 532.1 |
| Dec | 2678 | 2068 | 2373 | 341.4 |
| Year | 3188 | 1966 | 2679 | 1,76469 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 72% | 57% | 3.5 | 10:53 |
| Feb | 72% | 55% | 4.1 | 11:22 |
| Mar | 70% | 60% | 4.5 | 11:58 |
| Apr | 71% | 62% | 4.9 | 12:39 |
| May | 75% | 66% | 5.3 | 13:13 |
| Jun | 83% | 67% | 5.5 | 13:31 |
| Jul | 82% | 64% | 5.7 | 13:23 |
| Aug | 84% | 70% | 5.0 | 12:54 |
| Sep | 81% | 64% | 4.9 | 12:15 |
| Oct | 76% | 55% | 4.5 | 11:35 |
| Nov | 75% | 56% | 3.8 | 11:01 |
| Dec | 73% | 58% | 3.3 | 10:45 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Kaohsiung is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 31 °C88 °F and a low of 27 °C81 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 25 °C76 °F and lows 19 °C66 °F. Seasonal differences are small — just 7.3 °C13.1 °F between the warmest and the coolest month.
It is wet, with about 1,764 mm69 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is June–August, which brings 58% of the annual total. The wettest month is August (436 mm17 in), the driest is February (27 mm1.1 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 70% in March to 84% in August. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 55%) are typical of February. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 11 km/h (7 mph) in October to 13 km/h (8 mph) in July. Daylight lasts from about 10.8 hours in December to 13.5 hours in June.
Best time to visit Kaohsiung
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are November–April: average highs of 25 °C76 °F to 30 °C86 °F with 27 mm1.1 in to 55 mm2.2 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is August, which is hot, with average highs of 31 °C87 °F, very wet (436 mm17 in) and humid (84% relative humidity).
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
Kaohsiung weather by month
- January25 °C76 °F / 19 °C66 °F
- February26 °C79 °F / 20 °C67 °F
- March28 °C82 °F / 21 °C70 °F
- April30 °C86 °F / 23 °C74 °F
- May31 °C88 °F / 26 °C78 °F
- June31 °C87 °F / 27 °C80 °F
- July31 °C88 °F / 27 °C81 °F
- August31 °C87 °F / 27 °C81 °F
- September30 °C87 °F / 26 °C80 °F
- October30 °C85 °F / 25 °C76 °F
- November28 °C83 °F / 23 °C73 °F
- December26 °C78 °F / 20 °C68 °F
What to pack for Kaohsiung
- Wetter months (May–September) — highs 3087 to 31 °C88 °F, lows 2678 to 27 °C81 °F, about 290 mm11 in of precipitation a month. Pack very light, breathable clothing, a sun hat and plenty of water and a good rain jacket or umbrella and quick-drying shoes.
- Drier months (October–April) — highs 2576 to 30 °C86 °F, lows 1966 to 25 °C76 °F, about 45 mm1.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
How Kaohsiung compares
Compared with Taichung, about 174 km to the north, Kaohsiung is on average 2 °C3.6 °F warmer and receives a similar amount of precipitation. The difference is largest in January (3.7 °C6.6 °F warmer).
Of the 12 places in Taiwan covered by World Climates, Kaohsiung is the warmest by annual mean temperature and the 9th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Taiwan climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Fort Lauderdale (United States, Aw), Miami (United States, Aw) and Basuo (China, Aw).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Fengshan (pop. 356,463). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Kaohsiung, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Tainan 43 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,892 mm74 in
- Yongkang 46 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,892 mm74 in
- Taitung 87 km · 26 °C78 °F · 1,824 mm72 in
- Chiayi City 97 km · 25 °C78 °F · 1,902 mm75 in
- Yuanlin 151 km · 25 °C76 °F · 1,738 mm68 in
- Taichung 174 km · 24 °C76 °F · 1,738 mm68 in
- Toufen 238 km · 24 °C75 °F · 1,677 mm66 in
- Hsinchu 252 km · 23 °C73 °F · 1,916 mm75 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Kaohsiung?
July is the warmest month in Kaohsiung, with an average high of 31 °C (88 °F) and an average low of 27 °C (81 °F).
What is the coldest month in Kaohsiung?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 25 °C (76 °F) and an average low of 19 °C (66 °F).
When does it rain the most in Kaohsiung?
August is the wettest month with about 436 mm (17.2 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 27 mm (1.1 in).
What is the best time to visit Kaohsiung?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are November–April.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 208 m, while Kaohsiung lies at about 9 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +1.3 °C2.3 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.