Arba Minch weather in May

In May, Arba Minch sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 448 mm of rain across 28.9 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in May, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 12 min at the start of May to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Arba Minch's 10th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Arba Minch's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 24°; 7th warmest
Overnight low: 16°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 448 mm; 28.9 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 18 min; 6:18 AM – 6:34 PM
Cloud cover: 80%; 10th clearest
Wind: 4 km/h; 5th windiest
Solar energy: 4.83 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.9; out of 10

Arba Minch is city in Ethiopia.

Density: 6,091/km²; people per km²

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

← April Arba Minch 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month.

A typical May day in Arba Minch reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 25°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 1°C cooler than April and about 1°C warmer 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)	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23
Avg low (°C)	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

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

Arba Minch weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 7th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	25° / 16°	80	7	11.7	7.4
Feb	26° / 16°	73	6.7	11.8	7.0
Mar	26° / 17°	201	14.9	12	5.9
Apr	25° / 16°	451	25.7	12.1	4.2
May	24° / 16°	448	28.9	12.3	3.9
Jun	22° / 16°	166	23.5	12.3	4.4
Jul	21° / 15°	126	23.4	12.3	4.4
Aug	22° / 16°	129	21.6	12.2	4.7
Sep	23° / 16°	198	22.8	12	4.7
Oct	24° / 15°	479	28.5	11.9	4.0
Nov	24° / 15°	277	18.3	11.7	5.5
Dec	25° / 15°	116	9.7	11.7	7.1

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 89%.

	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 (%)	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	5	5	6	7	8	8	9	9	11	12	12	13	13	15	16	16	17	18	19	19	20	21	22
Cloudier (%)	95	95	95	95	95	96	96	96	95	95	94	93	92	92	91	91	89	88	88	87	87	85	84	84	83	82	81	81	80	79	78

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	5	95
2	5	95
3	5	95
4	5	95
5	5	95
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	6	94
12	7	93
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	11	89
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	13	87
21	13	87
22	15	85
23	16	84
24	16	84
25	17	83
26	18	82
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	20	80
30	21	79
31	22	78

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Arba Minch gets around 448 mm of rain over 28.9 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 98% on the wettest days. The odds ease 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 (%)	96	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98	97	97	96	95	95	94	93	93	92	91	90	90	89	88	87	87	86	86	85	85	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	96
2	97
3	97
4	97
5	98
6	98
7	98
8	98
9	98
10	98
11	97
12	97
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	94
17	93
18	93
19	92
20	91
21	90
22	90
23	89
24	88
25	87
26	87
27	86
28	86
29	85
30	85
31	84

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the humid band about 62% 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 (%)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3
Comfortable (%)	20	19	19	18	18	18	19	20	21	22	24	26	28	31	33	35	38	40	43	45	47	49	52	54	56	56	58	59	61	61	63
Humid (%)	79	80	81	82	82	82	81	80	79	78	76	74	72	69	67	65	62	60	56	54	52	50	47	45	43	42	40	39	37	36	34

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	1	20	79
2	1	19	80
3	0	19	81
4	0	18	82
5	0	18	82
6	0	18	82
7	0	19	81
8	0	20	80
9	0	21	79
10	0	22	78
11	0	24	76
12	0	26	74
13	0	28	72
14	0	31	69
15	0	33	67
16	0	35	65
17	0	38	62
18	0	40	60
19	1	43	56
20	1	45	54
21	1	47	52
22	1	49	50
23	1	52	47
24	1	54	45
25	1	56	43
26	2	56	42
27	2	58	40
28	2	59	39
29	2	61	37
30	3	61	36
31	3	63	34

Wind in May

Winds average 4 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 4 km/h on the calmest days to 4 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)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
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	4	calm
2	4	calm
3	4	calm
4	4	calm
5	4	calm
6	4	calm
7	4	calm
8	4	calm
9	4	calm
10	4	calm
11	4	calm
12	4	calm
13	4	calm
14	4	calm
15	4	calm
16	4	calm
17	4	calm
18	4	calm
19	4	calm
20	4	calm
21	4	calm
22	4	calm
23	4	calm
24	4	calm
25	4	calm
26	4	calm
27	4	calm
28	4	calm
29	4	calm
30	4	calm
31	4	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 12 min at the start of May to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:21 AM to 6:18 AM, and sunset from 6:33 PM to 6:37 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)	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3
Sunrise (AM)	6:21	6:20	6:20	6:20	6:20	6:19	6:19	6:19	6:19	6:19	6:19	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:18	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:18
Sunset (PM)	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35	6:35	6:35	6:35	6:35	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:36	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:37

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.2	6:21	6:33
2	12.2	6:20	6:33
3	12.2	6:20	6:33
4	12.2	6:20	6:33
5	12.2	6:20	6:33
6	12.2	6:19	6:33
7	12.2	6:19	6:33
8	12.2	6:19	6:34
9	12.2	6:19	6:34
10	12.2	6:19	6:34
11	12.3	6:19	6:34
12	12.3	6:18	6:34
13	12.3	6:18	6:34
14	12.3	6:18	6:34
15	12.3	6:18	6:34
16	12.3	6:18	6:34
17	12.3	6:18	6:34
18	12.3	6:18	6:35
19	12.3	6:18	6:35
20	12.3	6:18	6:35
21	12.3	6:17	6:35
22	12.3	6:17	6:35
23	12.3	6:17	6:35
24	12.3	6:17	6:35
25	12.3	6:17	6:36
26	12.3	6:17	6:36
27	12.3	6:17	6:36
28	12.3	6:17	6:36
29	12.3	6:17	6:36
30	12.3	6:17	6:37
31	12.3	6:18	6:37

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.83 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.94 kWh/m² to a high of 6.03 kWh/m² in February across the year — May's 4.83 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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)	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7
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	4.9	Bright
2	4.9	Bright
3	4.8	Bright
4	4.8	Bright
5	4.8	Bright
6	4.8	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.8	Bright
11	4.8	Bright
12	4.8	Bright
13	4.8	Bright
14	4.8	Bright
15	4.8	Bright
16	4.8	Bright
17	4.8	Bright
18	4.8	Bright
19	4.8	Bright
20	4.8	Bright
21	4.8	Bright
22	4.8	Bright
23	4.8	Bright
24	4.8	Bright
25	4.8	Bright
26	4.8	Bright
27	4.8	Bright
28	4.8	Bright
29	4.8	Bright
30	4.8	Bright
31	4.7	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Arba Minch?

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

3.9

Sightseeing

12th-best month of the year

3.1

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Arba Minch.

What to pack for Arba Minch in May

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

In May, Arba Minch sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 29 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

UV index in Arba Minch in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Arba Minch peaks around March 16 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near November 21 at about 11 (extreme).

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)	13	15	15	14	13	11	12	14	13	13	11	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	13	Extreme
Feb	15	Extreme
Mar	15	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	13	Extreme
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	14	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	13	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	11	Extreme

Air quality in Arba Minch 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 Arba Minch is worst in December — around 37 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	36	35	29	24	24	32	30	25	25	25	32	37
Level	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	36	Poor
Feb	35	Moderate
Mar	29	Moderate
Apr	24	Moderate
May	24	Moderate
Jun	32	Moderate
Jul	30	Moderate
Aug	25	Moderate
Sep	25	Moderate
Oct	25	Moderate
Nov	32	Moderate
Dec	37	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Arba Minch?

Arba Minch sits at 6.0°N, 37.5°E, 1,269 m above sea level, in Ethiopia. The nearest listed city is Ch’ench’a, 24 km away.

Topography around Arba Minch

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Arba Minch has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 430 m around an average of 1,303 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,669 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,890 m.

The land around Arba Minch is covered by shrubs (28%), artificial surfaces (24%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, shrubs (39%), water (22%) and trees (20%) within 16 km, and shrubs (46%) within 80 km.

3 km

430 m

shrubs 28%

16 km

1,669 m

shrubs 39%

80 km

2,890 m

shrubs 46%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Ch’ench’a 24 km · Gīdolē 47 km · Kele 54 km · Yirga Ch’efē 73 km · Gasuba 76 km · Tebela 79 km · Felege Neway 79 km · Wenago 85 km

Ethiopia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 3; Reconsider Travel
Power plugs: Type C / E / F / L; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 37% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $933; 2025
Happiness: 4.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 14%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 8.5; per 100k, 2012
Road deaths: 28.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 499
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 Arba Minch (6.0333°, 37.55°, elevation 1,269 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	24	16
2	24	16
3	24	16
4	24	16
5	24	16
6	24	16
7	24	16
8	24	16
9	24	16
10	24	16
11	24	16
12	24	16
13	24	16
14	24	16
15	24	16
16	24	16
17	23	16
18	23	16
19	23	16
20	23	16
21	23	16
22	23	16
23	23	16
24	23	16
25	23	16
26	23	16
27	23	16
28	23	16
29	23	16
30	23	16
31	23	16

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	5	95
2	5	95
3	5	95
4	5	95
5	5	95
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	6	94
12	7	93
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	11	89
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	13	87
21	13	87
22	15	85
23	16	84
24	16	84
25	17	83
26	18	82
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	20	80
30	21	79
31	22	78

	Rain chance (%)
1	96
2	97
3	97
4	97
5	98
6	98
7	98
8	98
9	98
10	98
11	97
12	97
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	94
17	93
18	93
19	92
20	91
21	90
22	90
23	89
24	88
25	87
26	87
27	86
28	86
29	85
30	85
31	84

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	1	20	79
2	1	19	80
3	0	19	81
4	0	18	82
5	0	18	82
6	0	18	82
7	0	19	81
8	0	20	80
9	0	21	79
10	0	22	78
11	0	24	76
12	0	26	74
13	0	28	72
14	0	31	69
15	0	33	67
16	0	35	65
17	0	38	62
18	0	40	60
19	1	43	56
20	1	45	54
21	1	47	52
22	1	49	50
23	1	52	47
24	1	54	45
25	1	56	43
26	2	56	42
27	2	58	40
28	2	59	39
29	2	61	37
30	3	61	36
31	3	63	34

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	5	95
2	5	95
3	5	95
4	5	95
5	5	95
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	6	94
12	7	93
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	11	89
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	13	87
21	13	87
22	15	85
23	16	84
24	16	84
25	17	83
26	18	82
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	20	80
30	21	79
31	22	78

	Rain chance (%)
1	96
2	97
3	97
4	97
5	98
6	98
7	98
8	98
9	98
10	98
11	97
12	97
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	94
17	93
18	93
19	92
20	91
21	90
22	90
23	89
24	88
25	87
26	87
27	86
28	86
29	85
30	85
31	84

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	1	20	79
2	1	19	80
3	0	19	81
4	0	18	82
5	0	18	82
6	0	18	82
7	0	19	81
8	0	20	80
9	0	21	79
10	0	22	78
11	0	24	76
12	0	26	74
13	0	28	72
14	0	31	69
15	0	33	67
16	0	35	65
17	0	38	62
18	0	40	60
19	1	43	56
20	1	45	54
21	1	47	52
22	1	49	50
23	1	52	47
24	1	54	45
25	1	56	43
26	2	56	42
27	2	58	40
28	2	59	39
29	2	61	37
30	3	61	36
31	3	63	34

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	5	95
2	5	95
3	5	95
4	5	95
5	5	95
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	6	94
12	7	93
13	8	92
14	8	92
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	11	89
18	12	88
19	12	88
20	13	87
21	13	87
22	15	85
23	16	84
24	16	84
25	17	83
26	18	82
27	19	81
28	19	81
29	20	80
30	21	79
31	22	78

	Rain chance (%)
1	96
2	97
3	97
4	97
5	98
6	98
7	98
8	98
9	98
10	98
11	97
12	97
13	96
14	95
15	95
16	94
17	93
18	93
19	92
20	91
21	90
22	90
23	89
24	88
25	87
26	87
27	86
28	86
29	85
30	85
31	84

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	1	20	79
2	1	19	80
3	0	19	81
4	0	18	82
5	0	18	82
6	0	18	82
7	0	19	81
8	0	20	80
9	0	21	79
10	0	22	78
11	0	24	76
12	0	26	74
13	0	28	72
14	0	31	69
15	0	33	67
16	0	35	65
17	0	38	62
18	0	40	60
19	1	43	56
20	1	45	54
21	1	47	52
22	1	49	50
23	1	52	47
24	1	54	45
25	1	56	43
26	2	56	42
27	2	58	40
28	2	59	39
29	2	61	37
30	3	61	36
31	3	63	34