To deeply investigate the meteorological elements and freeze–thaw characteristics of seasonal frozen soils around lakes, and provide scientific guidance for practical activities such as infrastructure construction and agricultural production in lake perimeter, this study systematically analyzed the dynamic variation processes of air and soil temperature/humidity under different lake-distance conditions. The research was based on key data including air temperature, air humidity, soil temperature, and soil moisture obtained from fixed-point monitoring of meteorology and seasonal frozen soils around Xingkai Lake during 2022–2023. The main findings are as follows: The fluctuation range of air temperature in the near-lake area was significantly lower than that in the far-lake area. The freezing indices of the near-lake and far-lake areas were − 1046.60 °C and − 1232.59 °C, respectively. Over the past 13 years, the air temperature in this region showed an upward trend, with a warming range of 1.72–3.41 °C. The daily variation range of air humidity in the far-lake area was larger than that in the near-lake area. Affected by the climate regulation effect of the lake, the variation amplitude of air humidity in spring, summer, and autumn was significantly higher than that in winter. Both the near-lake and far-lake areas reached their maximum frozen depth in February 2022. Specifically, the maximum frozen depth in the near-lake area ranged from 60 to 80 cm, while that in the far-lake area ranged from 120 to 140 cm. Additionally, both the maximum frozen depth and freezing duration in the near-lake area were shorter than those in the far-lake area. In the near-lake area, soil moisture at depths within 100 cm was significantly influenced by seasonal changes, while that below 140 cm was basically unaffected by seasonal factors. In the far-lake area, soil moisture exhibited obvious periodic fluctuation characteristics driven by seasonal changes. The research results possess important theoretical and practical values for fields such as infrastructure construction planning, regional climate change research, and agricultural production layout optimization around lakes. They not only fill the research gap in meteorology and seasonal frozen soils in this region but also provide key basic data support for predicting climate evolution trends and dynamic soil temperature/humidity in the area.