Sri Lanka · Month guide

Sri Lanka in May

Around 32 °C with 199 mm of rain and 5.9 hours of sun a day.

May is a mixed month for Sri Lanka — worth planning around specific regions. Around 32 °C with 199 mm of rain and 5.9 hours of sun a day. Use the regional grid below to find where this month works best — national averages hide the swings between coast, highlands, and inland.

Plan a trip in May ← Sri Lanka year-round

Acceptable

Sri Lanka · May

What the weather usually does

Sri Lanka · typical month

Day / night
25 – 32 °C
Year range 22 – 32 °C
Rainfall
200 mm
Year range 70 – 374 mm
Sunshine
5.9 hr / day
Year range 4.5 – 7.8 hr / day

What’s open · May

Things to do in Sri Lanka in May

May closes 1 thing below; the rest run as normal.

Closed
Blue whales off Mirissa
Sri Lanka runs two monsoons on opposite coasts, so its whale watching moves round the island rather than stopping
Sources: nomadicboys.com, journalofsrilanka.com
At its best
Whale watching off Trincomalee
the east-coast season runs May to September, with blue whales off Trincomalee from about March to July
Sources: journalofsrilanka.com, wwhandbook.iwc.int

Opening seasons are checked by hand against the operators and parks themselves, not derived from the climate figures on this page. Last reviewed 2026-08-28. Dates move — confirm before you book.

25 regions · current month

Sri Lanka, taken apart

Safety · 4 governments

What the governments say about Sri Lanka

Combined advisory · most-cautious-wins

Exercise increased caution

Highest level across 4 governments · Advisory last changed 2026-09-27

See breakdown by country

AU

Level 2Exercise increased caution

Exercise increased caution

Changed 2026-08-06Checked 2026-10-25www.smartraveller.gov.au

DE

Level 1Exercise normal precautions

Exercise normal precautions

Changed 2026-08-06Checked 2026-10-25www.auswaertiges-amt.de

NL

Level 2Exercise increased caution

Exercise increased caution

Changed 2026-08-06Checked 2026-10-25www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl

US

Level 2Exercise increased caution

Exercise increased caution

Changed 2026-09-27Checked 2026-10-25travel.state.gov

Climate at a glance · 10-year ERA5

A decade of weather, in one page

Temperature°C

— daytime high— overnight low▬ typical range

View data table

Month	Average daytime high (°C)	Average overnight low (°C)	Typical low	Typical high
January	28.8	21.9	19.5	30.4
February	30.0	22.3	20.2	31.6
March	31.5	23.2	21.7	33.4
April	32.3	24.4	23.2	33.9
May	31.5	25.2	24.0	33.6
June	31.6	25.4	24.4	32.9
July	31.7	25.2	24.4	33.3
August	31.5	24.9	24.1	33.5
September	31.2	24.6	23.4	33.0
October	30.3	23.9	23.0	32.5
November	29.2	23.2	21.9	30.9
December	28.7	22.6	21.0	30.3

Rainfallmm

View data table

Month	Rainfall (mm)
January	127
February	70
March	82
April	133
May	200
June	84
July	90
August	101
September	121
October	267
November	374
December	186

Sunshinehr / day

View data table

Month	Sunshine hours (hr / day)
January	6.2
February	7.4
March	7.8
April	7.4
May	5.9
June	6.4
July	6.2
August	6.3
September	6.3
October	5.5
November	4.5
December	5.4

Windkm/h

— average▬ typical range

View data table

Month	Average wind speed (km/h)	Typical low	Typical high
January	9.8	6.3	12.4
February	9.8	6.2	13.6
March	7.6	5.2	10.9
April	7.0	4.8	11.7
May	12.1	4.8	20.3
June	15.8	11.7	19.0
July	15.0	9.3	20.3
August	14.6	9.4	19.4
September	13.8	7.1	17.8
October	9.2	4.5	16.1
November	7.6	4.5	11.9
December	9.0	5.2	12.3