Climate averages 1991–2020
Jaffna weather
in May.
A hot, moderately wet month: the 2nd warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a hot month in Jaffna: daytime highs average 31.2°C and nights cool to about 28.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 2nd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 58 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 34 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Point Pedro (30 km away). In May its highs average 31.8°C, 0.6°C warmer than Jaffna, with 40 mm of rain.
Among the 12 cities listed in Sri Lanka, Jaffna ranks 5th of 12 for the warmest May highs and 4th of 12 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 12 cities is 30.6°C; Jaffna is 0.6°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.6°C to 30.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 58 mm to 27 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
Jaffna climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.8°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 62 | 6.7 | 11.612 h |
| February | 28.1°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 26 | 4.3 | 11.812 h |
| March | 30.2°C25.9°C | 25.9°C | 22 | 3.3 | 12.112 h |
| April | 31.4°C27.3°C | 27.3°C | 45 | 7.5 | 12.312 h |
| May, selected | 31.2°C28.1°C | 28.1°C | 58 | 7.6 | 12.613 h |
| June | 30.7°C27.9°C | 27.9°C | 27 | 5.6 | 12.713 h |
| July | 30.5°C27.5°C | 27.5°C | 33 | 9.0 | 12.613 h |
| August | 30.3°C27.1°C | 27.1°C | 48 | 10.4 | 12.412 h |
| September | 30.1°C26.9°C | 26.9°C | 67 | 12.1 | 12.212 h |
| October | 29.0°C26.0°C | 26.0°C | 208 | 20.9 | 11.912 h |
| November | 27.6°C25.1°C | 25.1°C | 313 | 22.1 | 11.712 h |
| December | 26.8°C24.7°C | 24.7°C | 199 | 16.3 | 11.612 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
- Point Pedro in MaySri Lanka · 30 kmHigh 31.8°C · Low 27.8°C · 40 mm rain
- Pattukkottai in MayIndia · 113 kmHigh 36.2°C · Low 27.2°C · 62 mm rain
- Nagapattinam in MayIndia · 123 kmHigh 33.0°C · Low 28.2°C · 44 mm rain
- Kāraikāl in MayIndia · 140 kmHigh 33.0°C · Low 28.2°C · 41 mm rain
- Kāraikkudi in MayIndia · 143 kmHigh 36.8°C · Low 26.7°C · 68 mm rain
- Pudukkottai in MayIndia · 152 kmHigh 37.2°C · Low 26.8°C · 61 mm rain
- Paramagudi in MayIndia · 156 kmHigh 36.7°C · Low 26.9°C · 72 mm rain
- Thanjavur in MayIndia · 156 kmHigh 37.8°C · Low 27.4°C · 60 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 Jaffna) is explained once on the Jaffna year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.