Geography and Climate
Panzhihua is a treasure of natural resources, but remained a wasteland until 1960. It was founded on a remote headwater of the Yangtze River in 1966 as a steel production center. It grew rapidly as it remained relatively prosperous while the rest of the country was undergoing the Cultural Revolution. The city is home to the Panzhihua Iron and Steel (Group) Co, called "Pangang 攀钢", the leading steel company in southwest China. There remains a remnant population of the ancient cycad forests which were once home to the giant panda.
The area has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with short, mild (almost warm), very dry winters, and long, hot, and humid summers. Highs drop to 21 °C (70 °F) in December and January, quickly rebounding during the dry springs, and peak in May and June, unlike much of the rest of the province. Much of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September.
| Climate data for Panzhihua (1988−2007) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
24.8 (76.6) |
28.6 (83.5) |
31.7 (89.1) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.2 (90) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.6 (87.1) |
28.1 (82.6) |
26.2 (79.2) |
23.4 (74.1) |
21.0 (69.8) |
27.6 (81.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) |
9.9 (49.8) |
14.2 (57.6) |
17.7 (63.9) |
19.8 (67.6) |
21.4 (70.5) |
21.3 (70.3) |
20.8 (69.4) |
18.9 (66) |
16.2 (61.2) |
11.3 (52.3) |
7.2 (45) |
15.5 (59.9) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 5.5 (0.217) |
3.7 (0.146) |
8.2 (0.323) |
14.0 (0.551) |
57.9 (2.28) |
144.0 (5.669) |
221.1 (8.705) |
188.2 (7.409) |
139.2 (5.48) |
57.7 (2.272) |
16.9 (0.665) |
1.9 (0.075) |
858.3 (33.792) |
| Source: 中央气象台 | |||||||||||||
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