Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Kaohsiung City is from February, March, December. — consistent weather climate
⛈Hot & rainy
| Score | 90 | 95 | 91 | 84 | 53 | 35 | 33 | 37 | 43 | 62 | 90 | 93 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Pleasant | Pleasant | Pleasant | Pleasant | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Pleasant | Pleasant |
| Temperature | 16–23°C | 17–24°C | 19–26°C | 22–28°C | 25–30°C | 26–31°C | 26–31°C | 26–30°C | 25–30°C | 24–29°C | 21–27°C | 18–25°C |
| Feels like | 15–24°C | 16–25°C | 20–28°C | 25–32°C | 29–35°C | 31–37°C | 32–38°C | 31–37°C | 30–36°C | 28–34°C | 24–31°C | 18–26°C |
| Precipitation | 42mm 6 days | 16mm 4 days | 30mm 6 days | 72mm 8 days | 208mm 18 days | 282mm 23 days | 326mm 25 days | 476mm 30 days | 231mm 20 days | 175mm 14 days | 46mm 5 days | 28mm 4 days |
| Sunshine | 8.7h ☀︎ 80% | 9.6h ☀︎ 84% | 10.3h ☀︎ 85% | 10.7h ☀︎ 85% | 9.3h ☀︎ 71% | 7.9h ☀︎ 59% | 9.0h ☀︎ 67% | 7.2h ☀︎ 56% | 9.8h ☀︎ 80% | 9.6h ☀︎ 82% | 9.4h ☀︎ 85% | 8.6h ☀︎ 80% |
| Wind | N · 18 km/h | NW · 19 km/h | NW · 19 km/h | W · 18 km/h | W · 16 km/h | S · 16 km/h | SW · 17 km/h | SW · 16 km/h | W · 16 km/h | NW · 15 km/h | NW · 15 km/h | N · 18 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 74% | 72% | 73% | 75% | 80% | 83% | 82% | 85% | 83% | 82% | 79% | 74% |
| Day length | 10.9h | 11.4h | 12.0h | 12.7h | 13.2h | 13.5h | 13.4h | 12.9h | 12.3h | 11.6h | 11.1h | 10.8h |
Held around the Lunar New Year period along the Love River and Kaohsiung Harbor, this festival lights up the waterfront…
Running through October and into November, this festival screens independent and international films at venues across th…
Most travelers flood into Kaohsiung during autumn's sweltering tail end, but the southern port city actually peaks in deep winter and early spring, when crisp dry air and gentle sunshine replace the tropical swamp.
Sprawling from the salty industrial berths of Kaohsiung Harbor all the way inland toward the rugged foothills of the Yushan Range, southern Taiwan's maritime capital is a place of massive physical scale. For much of the year, that scale is smothered by tropical moisture and crushing heat that makes the harbor asphalt bake and turns outdoor strolls into an endurance test. The curious paradox of Kaohsiung's calendar is that visitor numbers surge to their absolute peak in the sodden, muggy months of autumn, completely ignoring the quiet, sun-drenched perfection of late winter.
Between January and March, Kaohsiung settles into an astonishingly gentle rhythm that northern Taiwan can only envy. While Taipei shivers under gray drizzle, the southern coast enjoys day after day of clear blue skies and dry, crisp breezes blowing off the Taiwan Strait. Afternoon highs hover comfortably in the mid-twenties, and humidity drops to its lowest levels of the entire year.
February is the undisputed pinnacle of the calendar. The city is warm without being oppressive, rainfall drops to a negligible whisper, and the waterfront feels vibrant rather than suffocating. During the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival, when illuminated floats line the banks of the Love River and fireworks burst over Kaohsiung Harbor, evenings are cool enough to wear light sleeves without breaking a sweat.
March carries that momentum forward, adding an extra hour of daily sunshine while remaining dry and breezy. You can spend an entire afternoon wandering the open-air plazas of the Pier-2 Art Center or hiking the shaded trails of Shoushan without retreating indoors to escape the sun. It is the easiest, most forgiving window for walking every corner of the city, yet visitor tallies remain remarkably subdued.
By April, the tropical sun begins to bare its teeth. Daytime highs push toward thirty degrees, but the real shift is in the air moisture, which thickens noticeably as the prevailing winds turn. It remains largely dry through the beginning of the month, making early April a decent time for lingering around the pagodas of Lotus Pond before the midday glare sets in.
May marks the arrival of the plum rains and a sharp plunge in comfort. Showers become frequent and abrupt, rolling across the harbor with heavy sheets of water that saturate the streets within minutes. The apparent temperature vaults into the mid-thirties, creating a thick, greenhouse-like atmosphere that clings to your skin the moment you step outside air-conditioned spaces.
Crowds begin to build in May despite the declining weather. If you find yourself in the city during this transition, outdoor plans require early morning starts; by two in the afternoon, sudden squalls and stifling humidity reliably push everyone indoors.
Midsummer in Kaohsiung is raw, relentless tropical weather. From June through August, apparent temperatures routinely hover around 37 degrees, and the southern maritime basin acts as a sponge for heavy monsoon troughs and Pacific typhoons. Rain does not drift in polite showers here; it falls in furious, plan-canceling torrents that overwhelm storm drains and flood harbor embankments.
August takes the brunt of this deluge, absorbing more rain than any other period of the year. The downpours arrive with staggering intensity, turning Shoushan muddy and leaving the urban waterfront slick and wind-whipped. Between storms, the sun burns through broken cloud cover with intense ferocity, rapidly evaporating standing puddles into thick steam.
Visiting during this quarter means accepting an indoor itinerary punctuated by harbor views through rain-streaked windows. Walking long urban stretches is unfeasible for most of the daylight hours, though the port itself takes on a dramatic, moody energy when colossal cargo ships navigate the slate-gray channel under stormy skies.
September and October represent the most puzzling period on Kaohsiung's calendar. Visitor volumes spike toward the highest levels of the year—October is the single most crowded month in the city—yet the actual climate remains uncomfortably sodden and hot. Apparent temperatures linger well into the mid-thirties, and late-season typhoons frequently lash the southern coastline.
October brings the beginning of the Kaohsiung Film Festival, drawing cinephiles into screening rooms across town, but anyone expecting crisp autumnal air outside will be disappointed. The atmosphere remains dense and sweaty, with regular torrential downpours that cut into evening plans. You will wait in long lines for street stalls while wiping condensation off your forehead.
Why travelers concentrate so heavily in these two months remains a mystery of habit over reality. While northern latitudes may be enjoying crisp fall foliage, Kaohsiung is still very much in the grip of a humid tropical tail-end, packed with people paying top-tier rates for second-tier weather.
November finally delivers the relief that autumn promised but failed to provide. The monsoon rains collapse down to brief, occasional showers, the skies clear, and the heavy maritime blanket finally lifts. Daytime temperatures hover comfortably in the mid-twenties, while night brings a genuinely cool harbor breeze that tempts people back onto night market promenades.
December seals the improvement, offering near-perfect conditions for outdoor exploration. With rain almost entirely absent and comfortable, temperate afternoons, the waterfront along Love River and the docks of Kaohsiung Harbor regain their relaxed, breezy charm. It is a time when the city lives outdoors again, without the suffocating heat of summer or the rain-swept chaos of autumn.