Climate averages 1991–2020
Darwin weather
in May.
A hot, very dry month: the 6th warmest and the 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a hot month in Darwin: daytime highs average 31.5°C and nights cool to about 22.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 14 mm of rain on roughly 2 days, which makes May a very dry month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 33 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dili (721 km away). In May its highs average 30.0°C, 1.6°C cooler than Darwin, with 74 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Darwin ranks 1st of 32 for the warmest May highs and 1st of 32 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 32 cities is 19.5°C; Darwin is 12.1°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.2°C to 30.4°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 14 mm to 1.8 mm.
The annual picture
May in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Darwin climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30.4°C25.6°C | 25.6°C | 438 | 27.7 | 12.813 h |
| February | 30.2°C25.4°C | 25.4°C | 379 | 25.8 | 12.513 h |
| March | 30.9°C25.0°C | 25.0°C | 300 | 24.2 | 12.212 h |
| April | 31.8°C24.3°C | 24.3°C | 100 | 10.0 | 11.812 h |
| May, selected | 31.5°C22.7°C | 22.7°C | 14 | 2.4 | 11.512 h |
| June | 30.4°C20.5°C | 20.5°C | 1.8 | 0.3 | 11.411 h |
| July | 30.4°C19.7°C | 19.7°C | 0.9 | 0.2 | 11.511 h |
| August | 31.3°C20.1°C | 20.1°C | 1.7 | 0.5 | 11.712 h |
| September | 33.1°C22.9°C | 22.9°C | 16 | 3.7 | 12.012 h |
| October | 33.8°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 76 | 11.1 | 12.412 h |
| November | 33.1°C25.8°C | 25.8°C | 180 | 20.7 | 12.713 h |
| December | 31.6°C25.9°C | 25.9°C | 323 | 24.9 | 12.813 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
May in nearby cities
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Darwin) is explained once on the Darwin year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.