Best time to visit Shanghai

October is the best month in Shanghai, scoring 86 out of 100, with August the weakest at 44. The 42-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. Only 3 months come close to the top, which makes the timing narrow.

July is the warmest month at 31.9 °C and January the coolest at 8.3 °C — a 23.6 °C spread across the year. Around 65 days a year top 30 °C, concentrated in July and the months either side. 30 nights a year dip below freezing.

There is a real wet season here. June to August carry the rain — up to 17 wet days in a month — while January, October and December drop as low as 7. That 10-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Shanghai, and it moves further than the temperature does.

The sea is comfortable for swimming in June to October — 27.5 °C at its warmest against 8.5 °C at its coldest. The water peaks a month or two after the air does, so the best swimming falls later in the year than the best weather. Daylight runs from 10.1 hours in winter to 14.2 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

The three strongest months are October, April, May. The one to think twice about is August. Each month below has its own page with rainfall reliability, extremes, daylight, sea temperature and crowd levels.

Shanghai month by month