Climate averages 1991–2020
Matara weather
in May.
A hot, very wet month: the 5th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a hot month in Matara: daytime highs average 29.0°C and nights cool to about 25.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 224 mm of rain on roughly 28 days, which makes May a very wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 23 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Galle (38 km away). In May its highs average 28.6°C, about as warm as Matara, with 279 mm of rain.
Among the 12 cities listed in Sri Lanka, Matara ranks 10th of 12 for the warmest May highs and 8th of 12 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 12 cities is 30.6°C; Matara is 1.6°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 0.5°C to 28.5°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 224 mm to 187 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
Matara climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.1°C23.4°C | 23.4°C | 97 | 14.4 | 11.812 h |
| February | 30.0°C23.8°C | 23.8°C | 79 | 12.6 | 11.912 h |
| March | 30.5°C24.6°C | 24.6°C | 99 | 18.1 | 12.112 h |
| April | 29.9°C25.2°C | 25.2°C | 182 | 25.5 | 12.212 h |
| May, selected | 29.0°C25.4°C | 25.4°C | 224 | 28.3 | 12.412 h |
| June | 28.5°C25.1°C | 25.1°C | 187 | 26.8 | 12.512 h |
| July | 28.3°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 159 | 26.7 | 12.412 h |
| August | 28.2°C24.7°C | 24.7°C | 159 | 26.7 | 12.312 h |
| September | 28.2°C24.6°C | 24.6°C | 196 | 26.2 | 12.212 h |
| October | 28.4°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 250 | 26.5 | 12.012 h |
| November | 28.5°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 296 | 25.3 | 11.912 h |
| December | 28.6°C23.7°C | 23.7°C | 199 | 21.2 | 11.812 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
- Galle in MaySri Lanka · 38 kmHigh 28.6°C · Low 25.5°C · 279 mm rain
- Ambalantota in MaySri Lanka · 57 kmHigh 31.0°C · Low 25.9°C · 101 mm rain
- Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in MaySri Lanka · 123 kmHigh 29.2°C · Low 25.4°C · 293 mm rain
- Colombo in MaySri Lanka · 133 kmHigh 29.5°C · Low 25.4°C · 279 mm rain
- Kandy in MaySri Lanka · 150 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 22.0°C · 125 mm rain
- Negombo in MaySri Lanka · 160 kmHigh 29.6°C · Low 25.7°C · 255 mm rain
- Kalmunai in MaySri Lanka · 217 kmHigh 32.3°C · Low 26.6°C · 59 mm rain
- Batticaloa in MaySri Lanka · 234 kmHigh 33.4°C · Low 26.2°C · 50 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 Matara) is explained once on the Matara year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.