Thimphu weather in May

In May, Thimphu sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 236 mm of rain across 28.8 wet days and about 13.3 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 hours at the start of May to 13 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Thimphu's 8th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Thimphu's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 17°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 236 mm; 28.8 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 24 min; 5:17 AM – 6:38 PM
Cloud cover: 70%; 8th clearest
Wind: 3 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 5.24 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.3; out of 10

Thimphu is capital of Bhutan.

Air quality: Moderate; PM10 42 µg/m³ · 2015
Density: 3,655/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1955

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Thimphu year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical May day in Thimphu reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 20°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 1°C cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	16	6
2	16	6
3	16	6
4	17	6
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	8
14	17	8
15	17	8
16	17	8
17	18	8
18	18	8
19	18	9
20	18	9
21	18	9
22	18	9
23	18	9
24	18	9
25	18	9
26	18	9
27	18	10
28	18	10
29	18	10
30	18	10
31	18	10

How May really feels in Thimphu

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Thimphu weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	7° / -3°	66	17.2	16.4	10.5	0.8
Feb	8° / -2°	94	21	16.2	11	1.1
Mar	11° / 1°	152	27	10.5	11.8	1.8
Apr	15° / 4°	160	26.1	1	12.6	2.8
May	17° / 8°	236	28.8	0	13.3	3.3
Jun	19° / 12°	378	29.2	0	13.7	3.2
Jul	19° / 13°	484	30.2	0	13.6	3.1
Aug	19° / 13°	350	28.8	0	13	3.3
Sep	18° / 11°	255	26.2	0	12.2	3.5
Oct	16° / 6°	139	22.8	0.1	11.3	3.5
Nov	12° / 1°	72	18.2	2.4	10.6	2.7
Dec	9° / -2°	59	17	9.8	10.3	1.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 22% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 73%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	30	30	30	31	31	31	31	32	31	31	32	32	31	30	30	29	28	28	26	26	24	23	23	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20
Cloudier (%)	70	70	70	69	69	69	69	68	69	69	68	68	69	70	70	71	72	72	74	74	76	77	77	79	79	79	79	80	80	80	80

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	30	70
4	31	69
5	31	69
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	32	68
9	31	69
10	31	69
11	32	68
12	32	68
13	31	69
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	29	71
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	26	74
20	26	74
21	24	76
22	23	77
23	23	77
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	20	80

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Thimphu gets around 236 mm of rain over 28.8 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 93% and peaks near 96% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	91	91	91	92	92	92	93	93	94	94	94	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	90
5	90
6	90
7	90
8	90
9	90
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	92
14	92
15	92
16	93
17	93
18	94
19	94
20	94
21	95
22	95
23	95
24	96
25	96
26	96
27	96
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 98% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	98	98	98	97	97	97	96	96	95	94
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	4	4	5	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	96	4
30	95	5
31	94	6

Wind in May

Winds average 3 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 3 km/h on the calmest days to 3 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	3	calm
2	3	calm
3	3	calm
4	3	calm
5	3	calm
6	3	calm
7	3	calm
8	3	calm
9	3	calm
10	3	calm
11	3	calm
12	3	calm
13	3	calm
14	3	calm
15	3	calm
16	3	calm
17	3	calm
18	3	calm
19	3	calm
20	3	calm
21	3	calm
22	3	calm
23	3	calm
24	3	calm
25	3	calm
26	3	calm
27	3	calm
28	3	calm
29	3	calm
30	3	calm
31	3	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 hours at the start of May to 13 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:28 AM to 5:11 AM, and sunset from 6:30 PM to 6:47 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.1	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6
Sunrise (AM)	5:28	5:27	5:26	5:25	5:24	5:24	5:23	5:22	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:19	5:19	5:18	5:18	5:17	5:17	5:16	5:15	5:15	5:15	5:14	5:14	5:13	5:13	5:13	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:11	5:11
Sunset (PM)	6:30	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35	6:36	6:37	6:37	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:47

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.0	5:28	6:30
2	13.1	5:27	6:30
3	13.1	5:26	6:31
4	13.1	5:25	6:31
5	13.1	5:24	6:32
6	13.1	5:24	6:32
7	13.2	5:23	6:33
8	13.2	5:22	6:34
9	13.2	5:22	6:34
10	13.2	5:21	6:35
11	13.3	5:20	6:35
12	13.3	5:19	6:36
13	13.3	5:19	6:37
14	13.3	5:18	6:37
15	13.3	5:18	6:38
16	13.4	5:17	6:38
17	13.4	5:17	6:39
18	13.4	5:16	6:39
19	13.4	5:15	6:40
20	13.4	5:15	6:41
21	13.4	5:15	6:41
22	13.5	5:14	6:42
23	13.5	5:14	6:42
24	13.5	5:13	6:43
25	13.5	5:13	6:43
26	13.5	5:13	6:44
27	13.5	5:12	6:44
28	13.6	5:12	6:45
29	13.6	5:12	6:46
30	13.6	5:11	6:46
31	13.6	5:11	6:47

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.24 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3 kWh/m² to a high of 5.43 kWh/m² in April across the year — May's 5.24 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.4	Bright
2	5.4	Bright
3	5.4	Bright
4	5.4	Bright
5	5.4	Bright
6	5.4	Bright
7	5.4	Bright
8	5.4	Bright
9	5.4	Bright
10	5.4	Bright
11	5.4	Bright
12	5.4	Bright
13	5.3	Bright
14	5.3	Bright
15	5.3	Bright
16	5.3	Bright
17	5.3	Bright
18	5.2	Bright
19	5.2	Bright
20	5.2	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.1	Bright
23	5.1	Bright
24	5.1	Bright
25	5.1	Bright
26	5.1	Bright
27	5.0	Bright
28	5.0	Bright
29	5.0	Bright
30	5.0	Bright
31	5.0	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Thimphu

In seasonPeak

In May, Thimphu sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Thimphu's rainy season runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Thimphu?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

3.3

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Thimphu.

What to pack for Thimphu in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Thimphu sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 8°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 29 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Thimphu in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Thimphu peaks around July 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 5 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	6	8	11	12	14	15	15	14	13	10	7	5
Level	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	6	High
Feb	8	Very high
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	12	Extreme
May	14	Extreme
Jun	15	Extreme
Jul	15	Extreme
Aug	14	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	10	Very high
Nov	7	High
Dec	5	High

Air quality in Thimphu in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Thimphu is worst in February — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.4× the cleanest month (September, 4 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	7	16	15	15	10	6	4	4	4	4	5	6
Level	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	7	Good
Feb	16	Moderate
Mar	15	Moderate
Apr	15	Moderate
May	10	Good
Jun	6	Good
Jul	4	Good
Aug	4	Good
Sep	4	Good
Oct	4	Good
Nov	5	Good
Dec	6	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Thimphu?

Thimphu sits at 27.5°N, 89.6°E, 2,320 m above sea level, in Bhutan. The nearest listed city is Paro, 23 km away.

Topography around Thimphu

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Thimphu.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Thimphu has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,129 m around an average of 2,631 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,897 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,127 m.

The land around Thimphu is covered by trees (55%) and grassland (28%) within 3 km, trees (85%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

1,129 m

trees 55%

16 km

2,897 m

trees 85%

80 km

7,127 m

trees 65%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icemoss and lichen

← April Thimphu year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Paro 23 km · Punakha 27 km · Tsirang 69 km · Phuentsholing 73 km · Trongsa 85 km · Jakar 110 km · Darjeeling 144 km · Mongar 159 km

Bhutan travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type C / D / F / G / M; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 23% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $4,493; 2025
Happiness: 5.1 / 10; World Happiness, 2018
Safe drinking water: 66%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 2.5; per 100k, 2020
Road deaths: 16.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 473
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Thimphu (27.4661°, 89.6419°, elevation 2,320 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	16	6
2	16	6
3	16	6
4	17	6
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	8
14	17	8
15	17	8
16	17	8
17	18	8
18	18	8
19	18	9
20	18	9
21	18	9
22	18	9
23	18	9
24	18	9
25	18	9
26	18	9
27	18	10
28	18	10
29	18	10
30	18	10
31	18	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	30	70
4	31	69
5	31	69
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	32	68
9	31	69
10	31	69
11	32	68
12	32	68
13	31	69
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	29	71
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	26	74
20	26	74
21	24	76
22	23	77
23	23	77
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	20	80

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	90
5	90
6	90
7	90
8	90
9	90
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	92
14	92
15	92
16	93
17	93
18	94
19	94
20	94
21	95
22	95
23	95
24	96
25	96
26	96
27	96
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	96	4
30	95	5
31	94	6

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	16	6
2	16	6
3	16	6
4	17	6
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	8
14	17	8
15	17	8
16	17	8
17	18	8
18	18	8
19	18	9
20	18	9
21	18	9
22	18	9
23	18	9
24	18	9
25	18	9
26	18	9
27	18	10
28	18	10
29	18	10
30	18	10
31	18	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	30	70
4	31	69
5	31	69
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	32	68
9	31	69
10	31	69
11	32	68
12	32	68
13	31	69
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	29	71
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	26	74
20	26	74
21	24	76
22	23	77
23	23	77
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	20	80

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	90
5	90
6	90
7	90
8	90
9	90
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	92
14	92
15	92
16	93
17	93
18	94
19	94
20	94
21	95
22	95
23	95
24	96
25	96
26	96
27	96
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	96	4
30	95	5
31	94	6

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	16	6
2	16	6
3	16	6
4	17	6
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	8
14	17	8
15	17	8
16	17	8
17	18	8
18	18	8
19	18	9
20	18	9
21	18	9
22	18	9
23	18	9
24	18	9
25	18	9
26	18	9
27	18	10
28	18	10
29	18	10
30	18	10
31	18	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	30	70
4	31	69
5	31	69
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	32	68
9	31	69
10	31	69
11	32	68
12	32	68
13	31	69
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	29	71
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	26	74
20	26	74
21	24	76
22	23	77
23	23	77
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	20	80

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	90
5	90
6	90
7	90
8	90
9	90
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	92
14	92
15	92
16	93
17	93
18	94
19	94
20	94
21	95
22	95
23	95
24	96
25	96
26	96
27	96
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	96	4
30	95	5
31	94	6