Debre Birhan weather in May

In May, Debre Birhan sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 78 mm of rain across 9.3 wet days and about 12.4 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 18 min at the start of May to 12 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Debre Birhan's 6th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Debre Birhan's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 78 mm; 9.3 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 24 min; 6:05 AM – 6:31 PM
Cloud cover: 51%; 6th clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 6.12 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.7; out of 10

Debre Birhan is city in Ethiopia.

Density: 9,986/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1456

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

← April Debre Birhan 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 21°C through the month.

A typical May day in Debre Birhan reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 19°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and on par with 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)	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

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

Debre Birhan weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 1st-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	19° / 7°	49	8.4	11.5	6.6
Feb	20° / 8°	56	9.2	11.7	6.6
Mar	21° / 9°	152	15.5	11.9	5.8
Apr	21° / 10°	161	16	12.2	5.6
May	21° / 10°	78	9.3	12.4	6.7
Jun	21° / 10°	113	12	12.6	6.2
Jul	18° / 10°	484	29.6	12.5	3.3
Aug	17° / 10°	579	30.6	12.3	3.1
Sep	18° / 9°	252	21.7	12.1	4.4
Oct	19° / 8°	47	6.4	11.8	6.9
Nov	19° / 7°	23	4.2	11.6	7.4
Dec	19° / 7°	17	4	11.4	7.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 24% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 39%. Skies tend to open up 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 (%)	52	53	53	55	55	55	57	57	59	59	60	61	61	61	61	61	62	62	62	62	63	63	63	64	64	65	65	66	66	67	67
Cloudier (%)	48	47	47	45	45	45	43	43	41	41	40	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	38	38	37	37	37	36	36	35	35	34	34	33	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	55	45
7	57	43
8	57	43
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	60	40
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	61	39
15	61	39
16	61	39
17	62	38
18	62	38
19	62	38
20	62	38
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	64	36
25	64	36
26	65	35
27	65	35
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	67	33
31	67	33

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Debre Birhan gets around 78 mm of rain over 9.3 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 31% and peaks near 49% 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 (%)	49	48	47	46	45	43	42	40	39	37	36	34	33	31	30	28	27	25	24	23	22	22	21	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	19

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	43
7	42
8	40
9	39
10	37
11	36
12	34
13	33
14	31
15	30
16	28
17	27
18	25
19	24
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	21
24	20
25	20
26	20
27	19
28	19
29	19
30	19
31	19

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 100% 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	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in May

Winds average 8 km/h in May.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 18 min at the start of May to 12 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 12 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:09 AM to 6:04 AM, and sunset from 6:29 PM to 6:35 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)	12.3	12.3	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.5
Sunrise (AM)	6:09	6:09	6:08	6:08	6:08	6:07	6:07	6:07	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:06	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:04
Sunset (PM)	6:29	6:29	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.3	6:09	6:29
2	12.3	6:09	6:29
3	12.4	6:08	6:29
4	12.4	6:08	6:29
5	12.4	6:08	6:30
6	12.4	6:07	6:30
7	12.4	6:07	6:30
8	12.4	6:07	6:30
9	12.4	6:06	6:30
10	12.4	6:06	6:30
11	12.4	6:06	6:30
12	12.4	6:06	6:31
13	12.4	6:05	6:31
14	12.4	6:05	6:31
15	12.4	6:05	6:31
16	12.4	6:05	6:31
17	12.4	6:05	6:32
18	12.5	6:05	6:32
19	12.5	6:04	6:32
20	12.5	6:04	6:32
21	12.5	6:04	6:32
22	12.5	6:04	6:33
23	12.5	6:04	6:33
24	12.5	6:04	6:33
25	12.5	6:04	6:33
26	12.5	6:04	6:34
27	12.5	6:04	6:34
28	12.5	6:04	6:34
29	12.5	6:04	6:34
30	12.5	6:04	6:35
31	12.5	6:04	6:35

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.12 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.5 kWh/m² to a high of 6.4 kWh/m² in April across the year — May's 6.12 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)	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.7
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.2	Intense
2	6.2	Intense
3	6.2	Intense
4	6.2	Intense
5	6.2	Intense
6	6.2	Intense
7	6.2	Intense
8	6.2	Intense
9	6.2	Intense
10	6.2	Intense
11	6.2	Intense
12	6.2	Intense
13	6.2	Intense
14	6.2	Intense
15	6.2	Intense
16	6.2	Intense
17	6.1	Intense
18	6.1	Intense
19	6.1	Intense
20	6.1	Intense
21	6.1	Intense
22	6.0	Intense
23	6.0	Intense
24	6.0	Bright
25	6.0	Bright
26	5.9	Bright
27	5.9	Bright
28	5.9	Bright
29	5.8	Bright
30	5.8	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Debre Birhan

In seasonPeak

None of Debre Birhan's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Debre Birhan's monsoon runs July–August, when most of the year's rain falls.

Debre Birhan sees seasonal dust haze (June–July), heaviest in June.

Monsoon

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Debre Birhan?

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

6.7

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

4.2

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Debre Birhan for sightseeing.

What to pack for Debre Birhan in May

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

In May, Debre Birhan sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 10°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

UV index in Debre Birhan 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 Debre Birhan peaks around March 19 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 10 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	14	16	15	14	13	12	15	14	13	11	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	13	Extreme
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	16	Extreme
Apr	15	Extreme
May	14	Extreme
Jun	13	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	15	Extreme
Sep	14	Extreme
Oct	13	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	11	Extreme

Air quality in Debre Birhan 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 Debre Birhan is worst in June — around 43 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 1.7× the cleanest month (November, 25 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)	27	28	30	28	32	43	37	34	38	28	25	26
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	27	Moderate
Feb	28	Moderate
Mar	30	Moderate
Apr	28	Moderate
May	32	Moderate
Jun	43	Poor
Jul	37	Poor
Aug	34	Moderate
Sep	38	Poor
Oct	28	Moderate
Nov	25	Moderate
Dec	26	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Debre Birhan?

Debre Birhan sits at 9.7°N, 39.5°E, 2,830 m above sea level, in Ethiopia. The nearest listed city is Sheno, 47 km away.

Topography around Debre Birhan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Debre Birhan has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 459 m around an average of 2,763 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,027 m.

The land around Debre Birhan is covered by cropland (52%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, cropland (73%) within 16 km, and cropland (51%) and shrubs (33%) within 80 km.

3 km

459 m

cropland 52%

16 km

1,339 m

cropland 73%

80 km

3,027 m

cropland 51%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwetland

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

May weather nearby: Sheno 47 km · Kobo 52 km · Robit 53 km · Abomsa 60 km · ‘Alem Ketema 71 km · Mehal Mēda 72 km · Sendafa 81 km · Āt’aye 87 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 Debre Birhan (9.6795°, 39.5326°, elevation 2,830 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	21	10
2	21	10
3	21	10
4	21	10
5	21	10
6	21	10
7	21	10
8	21	10
9	21	10
10	21	10
11	21	10
12	21	10
13	21	11
14	21	11
15	21	11
16	21	11
17	21	11
18	21	11
19	21	11
20	21	11
21	21	11
22	21	11
23	21	11
24	21	11
25	21	11
26	22	11
27	22	11
28	22	11
29	22	11
30	22	11
31	22	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	55	45
7	57	43
8	57	43
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	60	40
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	61	39
15	61	39
16	61	39
17	62	38
18	62	38
19	62	38
20	62	38
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	64	36
25	64	36
26	65	35
27	65	35
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	67	33
31	67	33

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	43
7	42
8	40
9	39
10	37
11	36
12	34
13	33
14	31
15	30
16	28
17	27
18	25
19	24
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	21
24	20
25	20
26	20
27	19
28	19
29	19
30	19
31	19

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	55	45
7	57	43
8	57	43
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	60	40
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	61	39
15	61	39
16	61	39
17	62	38
18	62	38
19	62	38
20	62	38
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	64	36
25	64	36
26	65	35
27	65	35
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	67	33
31	67	33

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	43
7	42
8	40
9	39
10	37
11	36
12	34
13	33
14	31
15	30
16	28
17	27
18	25
19	24
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	21
24	20
25	20
26	20
27	19
28	19
29	19
30	19
31	19

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	55	45
7	57	43
8	57	43
9	59	41
10	59	41
11	60	40
12	61	39
13	61	39
14	61	39
15	61	39
16	61	39
17	62	38
18	62	38
19	62	38
20	62	38
21	63	37
22	63	37
23	63	37
24	64	36
25	64	36
26	65	35
27	65	35
28	66	34
29	66	34
30	67	33
31	67	33

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	43
7	42
8	40
9	39
10	37
11	36
12	34
13	33
14	31
15	30
16	28
17	27
18	25
19	24
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	21
24	20
25	20
26	20
27	19
28	19
29	19
30	19
31	19

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