Climate and average weather in Bodh Gaya

In Bodh Gaya, the summers are humid, sweltering, fairly dry, and clear and the winters are warm and clear.

Best: mid November to late February

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Bodh Gaya typically varies from 10°C to 40°C, and is rarely below 7°C or above 44°C. May is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Bodh Gaya for warm-weather activities is from mid November to late February.

Hottest
May
40°
Coldest
Jan
10°
Wettest
Jul
280 mm
Driest
Nov
7 mm
Rain / yr
1019 mm
109 wet days
Daylight
10.5–13.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
124 m
24.7°N
Clearest
Nov
18% cloud

Bodh Gaya is town.

Air quality
High
PM10 77 µg/m³ · 2017

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

Bodh Gaya weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid November to late February.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Bodh Gaya, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 2.9 months, from March 26 to June 22, with daily high temperatures above 35°C. The hottest month of the year in Bodh Gaya is May, with an average high of 40°C and low of 27°C.

The cool season lasts 2.1 months, from December 6 to February 7, with daily high temperatures below 26°C. The coldest month of the year in Bodh Gaya is January, with an average low of 10°C and high of 23°C.

Days typically run about 11°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 14°C) in March.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2310
Feb2714
Mar3319
Apr3824
May4027
Jun3728
Jul3327
Aug3227
Sep3226
Oct3122
Nov2916
Dec2412

How hot and cold Bodh Gaya really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Bodh Gaya feels like about 45°C (around June 9). About 230 days a year carry some heat stress, and 161 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in June.

10°20°30°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan23231010
Feb27271414
Mar33331919
Apr38382424
May42402727
Jun44372828
Jul42332727
Aug41322727
Sep40322626
Oct35312222
Nov29291616
Dec24241212

Average hourly temperature in Bodh Gaya

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on May afternoons, near 40°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 10°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Bodh Gaya weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 10°172.210.68.9
Feb27° / 14°152.411.18.1
Mar33° / 19°132.511.84.4
Apr38° / 24°93.212.61.1
May40° / 27°245.513.20.2
Jun37° / 28°16615.613.51.1
Jul33° / 27°28024.813.42.2
Aug32° / 27°2452512.92.4
Sep32° / 26°18419.512.23.0
Oct31° / 22°536.511.45.0
Nov29° / 16°70.810.87.7
Dec24° / 12°70.810.59.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Bodh Gaya gets about 1019 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from around Jun 5 to Oct 9, peaking in August at about 84% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 24.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 280 mm over about 25 wet days; November is the driest, with 7 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 15 · 84%Nov 24 · 2%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan62
Feb92
Mar83
Apr113
May186
Jun5216
Jul8025
Aug8025
Sep6420
Oct227
Nov31
Dec31

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Bodh Gaya collects about 1019 mm of rain across 109 wet days — roughly 85 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 280 mm, while November is the driest at just 7 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 70% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1715139241662802451845377
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan172
Feb152
Mar133
Apr93
May246
Jun16616
Jul28025
Aug24525
Sep18420
Oct537
Nov71
Dec71

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Bodh Gaya, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around October 4 and lasts for 8.1 months, ending around June 7. The clearest month is May, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 92% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around June 8 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around October 3. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 90% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 6 · 94%Jul 18 · 9%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan8713
Feb8911
Mar8911
Apr919
May928
Jun4753
Jul1090
Aug1288
Sep3961
Oct8020
Nov9010
Dec8812

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 5, brings about 13 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 3 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.66:415:18
Feb11.16:305:39
Mar11.86:055:54
Apr12.65:336:08
May13.25:106:22
Jun13.55:056:36
Jul13.45:146:38
Aug12.95:286:20
Sep12.25:405:49
Oct11.45:535:17
Nov10.86:124:59
Dec10.56:325:00

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Bodh Gaya averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 26 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 8.0 months, from around Oct 6 to Jun 7. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 25 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is July, down near 1 sunny days — about 96% fewer than the May peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantMay 1026 daysJul 300 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan24Brilliant
Feb22Brilliant
Mar25Brilliant
Apr25Brilliant
May26Brilliant
Jun11Mixed
Jul1Gloomy
Aug1Gloomy
Sep7Gloomy
Oct22Bright
Nov25Brilliant
Dec25Brilliant

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Bodh Gaya, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around April 29 to November 11. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around November 12 to April 28, and December is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 94% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecDec 31 · 97%Jul 5 · 0%oppressivemuggycomfortablemiserablehumiddrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan82144000
Feb632512100
Mar532718300
Apr3921191550
May11131523316
Jun13582854
Jul0000496
Aug0000199
Sep00011188
Oct1413263324
Nov2331281630
Dec70246000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Bodh Gaya is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Feb 13 to Aug 16. The windiest month is April, averaging about 10 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 17 to Feb 12, with October the calmest month at about 6 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeApr 16 · 10 km/hOct 25 · 6 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan8calm
Feb8calm
Mar9calm
Apr10calm
May10calm
Jun9calm
Jul9calm
Aug8calm
Sep8calm
Oct6calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Bodh Gaya

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Bodh Gaya's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Bodh Gaya sees seasonal dust haze (June), heaviest in June.

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

Best time to visit Bodh Gaya

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bodh Gaya throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid February, Bodh Gaya is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Bodh Gaya for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid November to late February, with a peak score in the third week of December.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationDec 18 · 9.3

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan8.9ideal
Feb8.0ideal
Mar4.4fair
Apr1.1poor
May0.3poor
Jun1.1poor
Jul2.2poor
Aug2.4poor
Sep3.0poor
Oct5.0fair
Nov7.7ideal
Dec9.1ideal

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Bodh Gaya for hot-weather activities run from late January to late March and again from mid October to late December, with a peak score in the second week of November.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationNov 13 · 9.1

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Bodh Gaya, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around May (highs near 40°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 23°C), pack light clothes.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In May, Bodh Gaya sees daytime highs around 40°C and nights near 27°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Bodh Gaya by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bodh Gaya peaks around July 22 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 15 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 22UV 11Jan 15UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar8Very high
Apr9Very high
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct7High
Nov5Moderate
Dec4Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Bodh Gaya

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan20
Feb4.50
Mar74
Apr7.55
May7.54.5
Jun7.54.5
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep7.55
Oct62.5
Nov4.50
Dec40

Air quality in Bodh Gaya by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Bodh Gaya is worst in December — around 221 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 4.5× the cleanest month (July, 49 µg/m³).

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

0306090120150180210240JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery unhealthyUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyVery unhealthyDec 22219 µg/m³Jul 1950 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan215Very unhealthy
Feb154Very unhealthy
Mar111Unhealthy
Apr83Unhealthy
May76Unhealthy
Jun69Unhealthy
Jul49Poor
Aug59Unhealthy
Sep70Unhealthy
Oct115Unhealthy
Nov188Very unhealthy
Dec221Very unhealthy
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Bodh Gaya is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Bodh Gaya banks about 5,975 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan208
Feb293
Mar495
Apr636
May727
Jun679
Jul622
Aug605
Sep570
Oct520
Nov371
Dec248

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Bodh Gaya receives about 5.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.1 and 7.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.2 months, from around Feb 13 to Jun 20. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.9 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 4.2 kWh/m² — roughly 40% less than the May peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 17.1 kWhDec 204.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.4Bright
Feb5.2Bright
Mar6.3Intense
Apr7.0Intense
May7.0Intense
Jun5.5Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug4.2Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct4.7Bright
Nov4.5Bright
Dec4.1Bright

Where is Bodh Gaya?

Bodh Gaya sits at 24.7°N, 85.0°E, 124 m above sea level, in India. The nearest listed city is Varanasi, 211 km away.

VaranasiGaurJaleshwarJanakpurMalaṅgawāSirahaBirgañjLahān

What Bodh Gaya looks like

Topography around Bodh Gaya

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bodh Gaya has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 20 m around an average of 122 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 220 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 749 m.

The land around Bodh Gaya is covered by cropland (56%) within 3 km, cropland (78%) within 16 km, and cropland (67%) and trees (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
20 m
16 km
220 m
80 km
749 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Varanasi 211 km · Gaur 232 km · Jaleshwar 232 km · Janakpur 245 km · Malaṅgawā 247 km · Siraha 250 km · Birgañj 258 km · Lahān 270 km

India travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / D / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 23% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,702
2025
Happiness
4.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2.8
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
15.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 484
Religion
Hindu 80%Muslim 14%Christian 2%other and unspecified 2%

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 Bodh Gaya (24.6981°, 84.9869°, elevation 124 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).