Shantou climate
Shantou (Guangdong, China) has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). The average temperature over the year is 23 °C73 °F, and about 1,478 mm58 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Shantou climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1965 | 1253 | 1559 | 512.0 |
| Feb | 2068 | 1355 | 1661 | 431.7 |
| Mar | 2271 | 1560 | 1966 | 903.5 |
| Apr | 2577 | 1966 | 2272 | 1335.2 |
| May | 2882 | 2373 | 2578 | 2038.0 |
| Jun | 2984 | 2678 | 2781 | 26811 |
| Jul | 3086 | 2679 | 2883 | 1887.4 |
| Aug | 3086 | 2679 | 2883 | 2309.1 |
| Sep | 2985 | 2577 | 2781 | 1365.3 |
| Oct | 2781 | 2171 | 2476 | 371.4 |
| Nov | 2476 | 1864 | 2170 | 552.2 |
| Dec | 2068 | 1356 | 1762 | 451.8 |
| Year | 3086 | 1253 | 2373 | 1,47858 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 77% | 61% | 3.2 | 10:51 |
| Feb | 79% | 71% | 3.2 | 11:21 |
| Mar | 80% | 74% | 3.5 | 11:58 |
| Apr | 82% | 76% | 3.9 | 12:40 |
| May | 85% | 79% | 4.3 | 13:15 |
| Jun | 88% | 79% | 4.5 | 13:34 |
| Jul | 88% | 69% | 5.4 | 13:26 |
| Aug | 87% | 67% | 5.1 | 12:56 |
| Sep | 84% | 63% | 4.8 | 12:15 |
| Oct | 78% | 50% | 4.4 | 11:34 |
| Nov | 78% | 56% | 3.6 | 10:59 |
| Dec | 75% | 54% | 3.2 | 10:42 |
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 Shantou is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 30 °C86 °F and a low of 26 °C79 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 19 °C65 °F and lows 12 °C53 °F. There is a clear seasonal cycle, with 13.1 °C23.5 °F between the average temperature of the warmest and the coolest month.
It is wet, with about 1,478 mm58 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is June–August, which brings 46% of the annual total. The wettest month is June (268 mm11 in), the driest is October (37 mm1.4 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 75% in December to 88% in June. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 50%) are typical of October. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 9 km/h (6 mph) in August to 15 km/h (9 mph) in December. Daylight lasts from about 10.7 hours in December to 13.6 hours in June.
Best time to visit Shantou
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are October–March: average highs of 19 °C65 °F to 27 °C81 °F with 37 mm1.4 in to 90 mm3.5 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is June, which is very wet (268 mm11 in) and humid (88% 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.
Shantou weather by month
- January19 °C65 °F / 12 °C53 °F
- February20 °C68 °F / 13 °C55 °F
- March22 °C71 °F / 15 °C60 °F
- April25 °C77 °F / 19 °C66 °F
- May28 °C82 °F / 23 °C73 °F
- June29 °C84 °F / 26 °C78 °F
- July30 °C86 °F / 26 °C79 °F
- August30 °C86 °F / 26 °C79 °F
- September29 °C85 °F / 25 °C77 °F
- October27 °C81 °F / 21 °C71 °F
- November24 °C76 °F / 18 °C64 °F
- December20 °C68 °F / 13 °C56 °F
What to pack for Shantou
- Wetter months (April–September) — highs 2577 to 30 °C86 °F, lows 1966 to 26 °C79 °F, about 193 mm7.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Drier months (October–March) — highs 1965 to 27 °C81 °F, lows 1253 to 21 °C71 °F, about 53 mm2.1 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
How Shantou compares
Compared with Xiamen, about 190 km to the northeast, Shantou is on average 0.8 °C1.4 °F warmer and receives 5% more precipitation (1,478 mm58 in vs 1,402 mm55 in). The difference is largest in February (1.6 °C2.9 °F warmer).
Of the 547 places in China covered by World Climates, Shantou is the 44th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 109th 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: Tampa (United States, Cfa), Tin Shui Wai (Hong Kong, Cwa) and Orlando (United States, Cfa).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Chaozhou (pop. 1,750,945), Huanggang (pop. 225,956), Anbu (pop. 162,964) and Chenghua (pop. 152,453). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Shantou, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Haimen 19 km · 23 °C73 °F · 1,272 mm50 in
- Puning 52 km · 23 °C73 °F · 1,633 mm64 in
- Huicheng 53 km · 23 °C73 °F · 1,502 mm59 in
- Jiazi 81 km · 23 °C73 °F · 1,502 mm59 in
- Hepo 87 km · 22 °C72 °F · 1,738 mm68 in
- Shuizhai 113 km · 22 °C71 °F · 1,641 mm65 in
- Meizhou 118 km · 22 °C72 °F · 1,582 mm62 in
- Xingning 131 km · 22 °C71 °F · 1,641 mm65 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Shantou?
July is the warmest month in Shantou, with an average high of 30 °C (86 °F) and an average low of 26 °C (79 °F).
What is the coldest month in Shantou?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 19 °C (65 °F) and an average low of 12 °C (53 °F).
When does it rain the most in Shantou?
June is the wettest month with about 268 mm (10.5 in) of precipitation; October is the driest with about 37 mm (1.4 in).
What is the best time to visit Shantou?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are October–March.
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 58 m, while Shantou lies at about 3 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +0.4 °C0.6 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.