Saitama climate
Saitama (Japan) has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). The average temperature over the year is 15 °C59 °F, and about 1,449 mm57 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Saitama climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 745 | −228 | 337 | 532.1 |
| Feb | 948 | −130 | 439 | 481.9 |
| Mar | 1356 | 235 | 745 | 893.5 |
| Apr | 1967 | 744 | 1355 | 1074.2 |
| May | 2476 | 1355 | 1965 | 1265.0 |
| Jun | 2781 | 1864 | 2272 | 1586.2 |
| Jul | 3188 | 2271 | 2680 | 1807.1 |
| Aug | 3289 | 2373 | 2781 | 1596.3 |
| Sep | 2882 | 1966 | 2374 | 2017.9 |
| Oct | 2271 | 1254 | 1763 | 1957.7 |
| Nov | 1661 | 642 | 1152 | 773.0 |
| Dec | 1050 | 033 | 542 | 552.2 |
| Year | 3289 | −228 | 1559 | 1,44957 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 76% | 48% | 2.8 | 9:58 |
| Feb | 76% | 57% | 3.3 | 10:50 |
| Mar | 74% | 61% | 4.1 | 11:52 |
| Apr | 75% | 64% | 4.8 | 13:04 |
| May | 76% | 70% | 5.1 | 14:03 |
| Jun | 80% | 81% | 4.6 | 14:35 |
| Jul | 82% | 76% | 4.8 | 14:22 |
| Aug | 81% | 65% | 5.0 | 13:30 |
| Sep | 82% | 71% | 3.9 | 12:21 |
| Oct | 82% | 68% | 3.1 | 11:12 |
| Nov | 80% | 57% | 2.6 | 10:13 |
| Dec | 78% | 47% | 2.5 | 9:44 |
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 Saitama is like
The warmest month is August, with an average high of 32 °C89 °F and a low of 23 °C73 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 7 °C45 °F and lows −2 °C28 °F. Seasons are strongly marked: the warmest month is on average 24.6 °C44.4 °F warmer than the coldest.
It is wet, with about 1,449 mm57 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is August–October, which brings 38% of the annual total. The wettest month is September (201 mm7.9 in), the driest is February (48 mm1.9 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 74% in March to 82% in September. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 47%) are typical of December. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 6 km/h (4 mph) in November to 9 km/h (5 mph) in April. Daylight lasts from about 9.7 hours in December to 14.6 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in January and February, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in February, about 11 cm).
Best time to visit Saitama
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are April and May and November: average highs of 16 °C61 °F to 24 °C76 °F with 77 mm3.0 in to 126 mm5.0 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of 7 °C45 °F.
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.
What to pack for Saitama
- Winter (December–February) — highs 745 to 10 °C50 °F, lows −228 to 0 °C33 °F, about 52 mm2.1 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 1356 to 24 °C76 °F, lows 235 to 13 °C55 °F, about 107 mm4.2 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket, an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2781 to 32 °C89 °F, lows 1864 to 23 °C73 °F, about 166 mm6.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 1661 to 28 °C82 °F, lows 642 to 19 °C66 °F, about 158 mm6.2 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
How Saitama compares
Compared with Tokyo, about 25 km to the south, Saitama is on average 0.7 °C1.2 °F cooler and receives 14% less precipitation (1,449 mm57 in vs 1,694 mm67 in). The difference is largest in January (2 °C3.6 °F cooler).
Of the 111 places in Japan covered by World Climates, Saitama is the 63rd warmest by annual mean temperature and the 88th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Japan climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Ulsan (South Korea, Cfa), Pohang (South Korea, Cfa) and Virginia Beach (United States, Cfa).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Kawagoe (pop. 354,571), Tokorozawa (pop. 344,194), Ageo (pop. 226,940), Niiza (pop. 166,017), Sayama (pop. 160,843), Higashimurayama (pop. 151,815), Iruma (pop. 147,166), Asaka (pop. 141,083), Shimotoda (pop. 140,899), Ōme (pop. 133,535), Higashikurume (pop. 117,020) and Fujimino (pop. 113,597) and 2 more places. Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Saitama, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Kawaguchi 12 km · 15 °C59 °F · 1,519 mm60 in
- Tokyo 25 km · 16 °C60 °F · 1,694 mm67 in
- Koga 31 km · 15 °C59 °F · 1,519 mm60 in
- Abiko 33 km · 15 °C59 °F · 1,519 mm60 in
- Kumagaya 35 km · 15 °C59 °F · 1,449 mm57 in
- Tsukuba 46 km · 15 °C59 °F · 1,519 mm60 in
- Yokohama 53 km · 15 °C60 °F · 1,636 mm64 in
- Chiba 54 km · 16 °C60 °F · 1,694 mm67 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Saitama?
August is the warmest month in Saitama, with an average high of 32 °C (89 °F) and an average low of 23 °C (73 °F).
What is the coldest month in Saitama?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 7 °C (45 °F) and an average low of -2 °C (28 °F).
When does it rain the most in Saitama?
September is the wettest month with about 201 mm (7.9 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 48 mm (1.9 in).
What is the best time to visit Saitama?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are April and May and November.
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 264 m, while Saitama lies at about 16 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +1.6 °C2.9 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.