Climate averages 1991–2020
Colombo weather
in January.
A hot, moderately wet month: the 4th warmest and the driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a hot month in Colombo: daytime highs average 30.4°C and nights cool to about 22.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 53 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the driest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 46 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (11 km away). In January its highs average 29.9°C, about as warm as Colombo, with 60 mm of rain.
Among the 12 cities listed in Sri Lanka, Colombo ranks 1st of 12 for the warmest January highs and 2nd of 12 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 12 cities is 28.2°C; Colombo is 2.2°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 1.1°C to 31.5°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 53 mm to 55 mm.
The annual picture
January 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
Colombo climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 30.4°C22.9°C | 22.9°C | 53 | 7.8 | 11.812 h |
| February | 31.5°C23.4°C | 23.4°C | 55 | 7.8 | 11.912 h |
| March | 31.6°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 75 | 14.9 | 12.112 h |
| April | 30.8°C25.0°C | 25.0°C | 167 | 24.8 | 12.312 h |
| May | 29.5°C25.4°C | 25.4°C | 279 | 28.9 | 12.412 h |
| June | 28.8°C25.1°C | 25.1°C | 242 | 26.7 | 12.513 h |
| July | 28.5°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 183 | 24.4 | 12.512 h |
| August | 28.4°C24.6°C | 24.6°C | 168 | 23.6 | 12.312 h |
| September | 28.5°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 223 | 24.5 | 12.212 h |
| October | 28.8°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 327 | 26.0 | 12.012 h |
| November | 29.0°C23.6°C | 23.6°C | 307 | 23.7 | 11.812 h |
| December | 29.2°C23.2°C | 23.2°C | 164 | 15.6 | 11.712 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
January in nearby cities
- Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in JanuarySri Lanka · 11 kmHigh 29.9°C · Low 23.1°C · 60 mm rain
- Negombo in JanuarySri Lanka · 30 kmHigh 30.2°C · Low 23.2°C · 38 mm rain
- Kandy in JanuarySri Lanka · 95 kmHigh 25.7°C · Low 19.1°C · 110 mm rain
- Galle in JanuarySri Lanka · 107 kmHigh 28.3°C · Low 23.6°C · 64 mm rain
- Matara in JanuarySri Lanka · 133 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 23.4°C · 97 mm rain
- Ambalantota in JanuarySri Lanka · 158 kmHigh 29.6°C · Low 23.2°C · 56 mm rain
- Batticaloa in JanuarySri Lanka · 221 kmHigh 27.1°C · Low 23.2°C · 170 mm rain
- Kalmunai in JanuarySri Lanka · 225 kmHigh 27.0°C · Low 24.0°C · 186 mm rain
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 Colombo) is explained once on the Colombo year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.