Pau weather in May

In May, Pau sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 159 mm of precipitation across 16.3 wet days and about 14.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 14 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Pau's 12th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Pau's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 159 mm; 16.3 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 30 min; 5:43 AM – 8:12 PM
Cloud cover: 66%; 12th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 5.39 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.1; out of 10

Pau is city and commune in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.

Air quality: Good; PM10 17.4 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 2,624/km²; people per km²

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

← April Pau 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 17°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical May day in Pau reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 25°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 3°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)	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12

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

Pau weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	10° / 2°	112	13.8	2.4	9.2	2.0
Feb	11° / 3°	97	12.3	3.2	10.2	2.4
Mar	14° / 5°	107	13.7	1.6	11.6	3.7
Apr	16° / 7°	145	16.4	0.4	13.2	4.1
May	19° / 10°	159	16.3	0.1	14.5	5.1
Jun	22° / 13°	128	14	0	15.1	6.0
Jul	24° / 15°	105	12.1	0	14.9	6.7
Aug	25° / 15°	104	12.5	0	13.8	6.7
Sep	22° / 12°	98	11.9	0	12.3	6.3
Oct	18° / 9°	123	13.7	0.1	10.8	5.4
Nov	13° / 5°	138	14.2	0.6	9.5	3.3
Dec	10° / 3°	108	13.3	1.1	8.8	2.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 64%. 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 (%)	33	33	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	37	37	39	38	38	38	39	39	38	38	38	37	37	38
Cloudier (%)	67	67	68	67	67	67	67	66	66	66	65	65	64	64	64	64	64	63	63	61	62	62	62	61	61	62	62	62	63	63	62

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	32	68
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	34	66
10	34	66
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	36	64
17	36	64
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	39	61
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	38	62
28	38	62
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	38	62

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Pau gets around 159 mm of rain and snow over 16.3 wet days in May, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 53% and peaks near 59% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. 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 (%)	59	59	59	58	58	58	58	57	57	56	56	55	55	54	53	52	52	51	50	50	49	49	49	48	48	48	49	49	50	50	51

	Rain chance (%)
1	59
2	59
3	59
4	58
5	58
6	58
7	58
8	57
9	57
10	56
11	56
12	55
13	55
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	49
28	49
29	50
30	50
31	51

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 82% 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 (%)	96	95	95	94	93	92	91	90	89	88	88	87	87	86	86	85	84	84	82	81	79	78	75	74	71	69	67	66	64	62	60
Comfortable (%)	4	5	5	6	7	8	9	9	10	11	11	12	12	13	13	14	15	15	16	17	19	20	22	23	25	27	28	29	31	32	33
Humid (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	6	7

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	96	4	0
2	95	5	0
3	95	5	0
4	94	6	0
5	93	7	0
6	92	8	0
7	91	9	0
8	90	9	1
9	89	10	1
10	88	11	1
11	88	11	1
12	87	12	1
13	87	12	1
14	86	13	1
15	86	13	1
16	85	14	1
17	84	15	1
18	84	15	1
19	82	16	2
20	81	17	2
21	79	19	2
22	78	20	2
23	75	22	3
24	74	23	3
25	71	25	4
26	69	27	4
27	67	28	5
28	66	29	5
29	64	31	5
30	62	32	6
31	60	33	7

Wind in May

Winds average 6 km/h in May.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 14 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:02 AM to 5:31 AM, and sunset from 7:55 PM to 8:27 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)	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9
Sunrise (AM)	6:02	6:01	5:59	5:58	5:57	5:55	5:54	5:53	5:51	5:50	5:49	5:48	5:46	5:45	5:44	5:43	5:42	5:41	5:40	5:39	5:38	5:37	5:36	5:36	5:35	5:34	5:33	5:33	5:32	5:31	5:31
Sunset (PM)	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:10	8:11	8:12	8:13	8:14	8:15	8:16	8:17	8:19	8:20	8:21	8:21	8:22	8:23	8:24	8:25	8:26	8:27

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.9	6:02	7:55
2	13.9	6:01	7:56
3	14.0	5:59	7:57
4	14.0	5:58	7:59
5	14.1	5:57	8:00
6	14.1	5:55	8:01
7	14.1	5:54	8:02
8	14.2	5:53	8:03
9	14.2	5:51	8:04
10	14.3	5:50	8:06
11	14.3	5:49	8:07
12	14.3	5:48	8:08
13	14.4	5:46	8:09
14	14.4	5:45	8:10
15	14.4	5:44	8:11
16	14.5	5:43	8:12
17	14.5	5:42	8:13
18	14.6	5:41	8:14
19	14.6	5:40	8:15
20	14.6	5:39	8:16
21	14.7	5:38	8:17
22	14.7	5:37	8:19
23	14.7	5:36	8:20
24	14.7	5:36	8:21
25	14.8	5:35	8:21
26	14.8	5:34	8:22
27	14.8	5:33	8:23
28	14.9	5:33	8:24
29	14.9	5:32	8:25
30	14.9	5:31	8:26
31	14.9	5:31	8:27

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.39 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.46 kWh/m² to a high of 5.82 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.39 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)	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6
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	5.0	Bright
2	5.0	Bright
3	5.0	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	5.1	Bright
6	5.1	Bright
7	5.1	Bright
8	5.1	Bright
9	5.2	Bright
10	5.2	Bright
11	5.2	Bright
12	5.3	Bright
13	5.3	Bright
14	5.3	Bright
15	5.4	Bright
16	5.4	Bright
17	5.4	Bright
18	5.5	Bright
19	5.5	Bright
20	5.5	Bright
21	5.5	Bright
22	5.6	Bright
23	5.6	Bright
24	5.6	Bright
25	5.6	Bright
26	5.6	Bright
27	5.6	Bright
28	5.6	Bright
29	5.6	Bright
30	5.6	Bright
31	5.6	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Pau?

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

5.1

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

2.2

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Pau for sightseeing.

What to pack for Pau in May

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

In May, Pau sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Pau in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Pau peaks around July 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	2	5	6	7	8	9	8	6	4	2	2
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	2	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	7	High
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	6	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	2	Moderate
Dec	2	Low

Air quality in Pau 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 Pau is worst in March — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (November, 9 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)	12	14	15	14	11	12	10	10	10	10	9	10
Level	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	12	Good
Feb	14	Moderate
Mar	15	Moderate
Apr	14	Moderate
May	11	Good
Jun	12	Good
Jul	10	Good
Aug	10	Good
Sep	10	Good
Oct	10	Good
Nov	9	Good
Dec	10	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Pau?

Pau sits at 43.3°N, 0.4°W, 219 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Lourdes, 35 km away.

Topography around Pau

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Pau has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 73 m around an average of 210 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 342 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,323 m.

The land around Pau is covered by artificial surfaces (47%) and trees (38%) within 3 km, trees (41%), cropland (30%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and trees (45%), grassland (30%) and cropland (22%) within 80 km.

3 km

73 m

artificial surfaces 47%

16 km

342 m

trees 41%

80 km

3,323 m

trees 45%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Lourdes 35 km · Tarbes 36 km · Mont-de-Marsan 65 km · Dax 72 km · Auch 85 km · Bayonne 92 km · Anglet 96 km · Biarritz 99 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / E; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 77% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $48,986; 2025
Happiness: 6.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.3; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 5.1; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 539
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 Pau (43.3112°, -0.3558°, elevation 219 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	17	8
2	17	8
3	17	9
4	17	9
5	18	9
6	18	9
7	18	9
8	18	9
9	18	9
10	18	9
11	18	10
12	18	10
13	19	10
14	19	10
15	19	10
16	19	10
17	19	10
18	19	10
19	19	10
20	20	10
21	20	11
22	20	11
23	20	11
24	20	11
25	20	11
26	20	11
27	20	11
28	21	11
29	21	12
30	21	12
31	21	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	32	68
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	34	66
10	34	66
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	36	64
17	36	64
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	39	61
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	38	62
28	38	62
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	38	62

	Rain chance (%)
1	59
2	59
3	59
4	58
5	58
6	58
7	58
8	57
9	57
10	56
11	56
12	55
13	55
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	49
28	49
29	50
30	50
31	51

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	96	4	0
2	95	5	0
3	95	5	0
4	94	6	0
5	93	7	0
6	92	8	0
7	91	9	0
8	90	9	1
9	89	10	1
10	88	11	1
11	88	11	1
12	87	12	1
13	87	12	1
14	86	13	1
15	86	13	1
16	85	14	1
17	84	15	1
18	84	15	1
19	82	16	2
20	81	17	2
21	79	19	2
22	78	20	2
23	75	22	3
24	74	23	3
25	71	25	4
26	69	27	4
27	67	28	5
28	66	29	5
29	64	31	5
30	62	32	6
31	60	33	7

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	32	68
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	34	66
10	34	66
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	36	64
17	36	64
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	39	61
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	38	62
28	38	62
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	38	62

	Rain chance (%)
1	59
2	59
3	59
4	58
5	58
6	58
7	58
8	57
9	57
10	56
11	56
12	55
13	55
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	49
28	49
29	50
30	50
31	51

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	96	4	0
2	95	5	0
3	95	5	0
4	94	6	0
5	93	7	0
6	92	8	0
7	91	9	0
8	90	9	1
9	89	10	1
10	88	11	1
11	88	11	1
12	87	12	1
13	87	12	1
14	86	13	1
15	86	13	1
16	85	14	1
17	84	15	1
18	84	15	1
19	82	16	2
20	81	17	2
21	79	19	2
22	78	20	2
23	75	22	3
24	74	23	3
25	71	25	4
26	69	27	4
27	67	28	5
28	66	29	5
29	64	31	5
30	62	32	6
31	60	33	7

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	33	67
3	32	68
4	33	67
5	33	67
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	34	66
10	34	66
11	35	65
12	35	65
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	36	64
17	36	64
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	39	61
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	38	62
28	38	62
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	38	62

	Rain chance (%)
1	59
2	59
3	59
4	58
5	58
6	58
7	58
8	57
9	57
10	56
11	56
12	55
13	55
14	54
15	53
16	52
17	52
18	51
19	50
20	50
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	48
25	48
26	48
27	49
28	49
29	50
30	50
31	51

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	96	4	0
2	95	5	0
3	95	5	0
4	94	6	0
5	93	7	0
6	92	8	0
7	91	9	0
8	90	9	1
9	89	10	1
10	88	11	1
11	88	11	1
12	87	12	1
13	87	12	1
14	86	13	1
15	86	13	1
16	85	14	1
17	84	15	1
18	84	15	1
19	82	16	2
20	81	17	2
21	79	19	2
22	78	20	2
23	75	22	3
24	74	23	3
25	71	25	4
26	69	27	4
27	67	28	5
28	66	29	5
29	64	31	5
30	62	32	6
31	60	33	7