Sanya climate
Sanya (Hainan, China) has a tropical savanna (dry winter) climate (Köppen Aw). The average temperature over the year is 26 °C78 °F, and about 1,931 mm76 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Sanya climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2678 | 1661 | 2170 | 210.8 |
| Feb | 2882 | 1763 | 2373 | 150.6 |
| Mar | 3086 | 2068 | 2577 | 361.4 |
| Apr | 3290 | 2373 | 2882 | 813.2 |
| May | 3290 | 2577 | 2984 | 1455.7 |
| Jun | 3188 | 2679 | 2984 | 1917.5 |
| Jul | 3188 | 2679 | 2883 | 26610 |
| Aug | 3187 | 2678 | 2883 | 28711 |
| Sep | 3188 | 2577 | 2882 | 32913 |
| Oct | 2985 | 2373 | 2679 | 40816 |
| Nov | 2882 | 2069 | 2475 | 1104.3 |
| Dec | 2678 | 1763 | 2170 | 411.6 |
| Year | 3290 | 1661 | 2678 | 1,93176 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 81% | 63% | 3.6 | 11:09 |
| Feb | 79% | 59% | 4.2 | 11:31 |
| Mar | 78% | 59% | 4.6 | 11:00 |
| Apr | 78% | 59% | 5.4 | 12:32 |
| May | 82% | 67% | 5.8 | 12:59 |
| Jun | 86% | 79% | 5.3 | 13:13 |
| Jul | 88% | 75% | 5.3 | 13:07 |
| Aug | 88% | 77% | 5.0 | 12:44 |
| Sep | 87% | 75% | 4.7 | 12:13 |
| Oct | 87% | 63% | 4.4 | 11:42 |
| Nov | 86% | 60% | 3.9 | 11:15 |
| Dec | 83% | 63% | 3.4 | 11:02 |
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 Sanya is like
The warmest month is May, with an average high of 32 °C90 °F and a low of 25 °C77 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 26 °C78 °F and lows 16 °C61 °F. Seasonal differences are small — just 7.9 °C14.3 °F between the warmest and the coolest month.
It is wet, with about 1,931 mm76 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is August–October, which brings 53% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: February. The wettest month is October (408 mm16 in), the driest is February (15 mm0.6 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 78% in April to 88% in August. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 59%) are typical of February. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 3 km/h (2 mph) in May to 4 km/h (2 mph) in November. Daylight lasts from about 11.0 hours in December to 13.2 hours in June.
Best time to visit Sanya
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are December–February: average highs of 26 °C78 °F to 28 °C82 °F with 15 mm0.6 in to 41 mm1.6 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is October, which is very wet (408 mm16 in) and humid (87% 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.
What to pack for Sanya
- Wetter months (June–October) — highs 2985 to 31 °C88 °F, lows 2373 to 26 °C79 °F, about 296 mm12 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 (November–May) — highs 2678 to 32 °C90 °F, lows 1661 to 25 °C77 °F, about 64 mm2.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
How Sanya compares
Compared with Haikou, about 217 km to the northeast, Sanya is on average 1.1 °C2 °F warmer and receives a similar amount of precipitation. The difference is largest in March (2.7 °C4.8 °F warmer).
Of the 547 places in China covered by World Climates, Sanya is the warmest by annual mean temperature and the 7th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the China climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Ba Đồn (Vietnam, Aw), Kỳ Anh (Vietnam, Aw) and Veracruz (Mexico, Aw).
Nearby places
- Wuzhishan 59 km · 24 °C75 °F · 2,012 mm79 in
- Wanning 110 km · 25 °C78 °F · 1,843 mm73 in
- Basuo 130 km · 26 °C78 °F · 1,729 mm68 in
- Nada 141 km · 24 °C76 °F · 1,915 mm75 in
- Qionghai 149 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,843 mm73 in
- Wenchang 198 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,910 mm75 in
- Xiuying 211 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,781 mm70 in
- Haikou 217 km · 25 °C77 °F · 1,842 mm73 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Sanya?
May is the warmest month in Sanya, with an average high of 32 °C (90 °F) and an average low of 25 °C (77 °F).
What is the coldest month in Sanya?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 26 °C (78 °F) and an average low of 16 °C (61 °F).
When does it rain the most in Sanya?
October is the wettest month with about 408 mm (16.1 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 15 mm (0.6 in).
What is the best time to visit Sanya?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are December–February.
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 265 m, while Sanya lies at about 1 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +1.7 °C3.1 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.