Climate and average weather in Shimla
In Shimla, the summers are warm, wet, and mostly clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Shimla typically varies from 1°C to 26°C, and is rarely below -3°C or above 31°C. June is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Shimla for warm-weather activities are from early April to early June and late September to early December.
- Hottest
- Jun
- 26°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 1°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 377 mm
- Driest
- Nov
- 22 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1648 mm
- 164 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.0–14.0 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 2,073 m
- 31.1°N
- Clearest
- Oct
- 20% cloud
Shimla is capital of Himachal Pradesh, India.
- Air quality
- High
- PM2.5 26 µg/m³ · 2019
- Density
- 6,940/km²
- people per km²
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Shimla 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 late September to early December.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Shimla, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 5.6 months, from April 15 to October 2, with daily high temperatures above 23°C. The hottest month of the year in Shimla is June, with an average high of 26°C and low of 17°C.
The cool season lasts 2.2 months, from December 16 to February 19, with daily high temperatures below 14°C. The coldest month of the year in Shimla is January, with an average low of 1°C and high of 12°C.
Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 12°C) in April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 12 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 14 |
| Avg low (°C) | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 3 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 1 |
| Feb | 14 | 3 |
| Mar | 18 | 7 |
| Apr | 23 | 11 |
| May | 26 | 15 |
| Jun | 26 | 17 |
| Jul | 25 | 19 |
| Aug | 25 | 19 |
| Sep | 24 | 16 |
| Oct | 22 | 11 |
| Nov | 18 | 6 |
| Dec | 14 | 3 |
How hot and cold Shimla really feels
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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -0°C (around January 16), with roughly 20 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 12 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 14 |
| Air high (°C) | 12 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 14 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 3 |
| Air low (°C) | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 3 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| Feb | 14 | 14 | 2 | 3 |
| Mar | 18 | 18 | 6 | 7 |
| Apr | 23 | 23 | 11 | 11 |
| May | 26 | 26 | 15 | 15 |
| Jun | 26 | 26 | 17 | 17 |
| Jul | 25 | 25 | 19 | 19 |
| Aug | 25 | 25 | 19 | 19 |
| Sep | 24 | 24 | 16 | 16 |
| Oct | 22 | 22 | 11 | 11 |
| Nov | 18 | 18 | 6 | 6 |
| Dec | 14 | 14 | 3 | 3 |
Average hourly temperature in Shimla
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 June afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 1°C.
Shimla weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12° / 1° | 85 | 8.6 | 4.1 | 10.2 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 14° / 3° | 109 | 10.7 | 3.8 | 10.9 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 18° / 7° | 112 | 13.6 | 0.8 | 11.8 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 23° / 11° | 98 | 12.8 | 0 | 12.7 | 6.6 |
| May | 26° / 15° | 76 | 12.7 | 0 | 13.6 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 26° / 17° | 160 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 5.7 |
| Jul | 25° / 19° | 377 | 28.2 | 0 | 13.8 | 4.0 |
| Aug | 25° / 19° | 352 | 27.8 | 0 | 13.1 | 4.1 |
| Sep | 24° / 16° | 193 | 18.7 | 0 | 12.2 | 5.8 |
| Oct | 22° / 11° | 33 | 6.1 | 0 | 11.2 | 7.9 |
| Nov | 18° / 6° | 22 | 3.7 | 0.1 | 10.4 | 7.4 |
| Dec | 14° / 3° | 30 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 10 | 5.3 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Shimla gets about 1648 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 3.7 months, from around Jun 3 to Sep 24, peaking in July at about 94% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 25.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 377 mm over about 28 wet days; November is the driest, with 22 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 27 | 38 | 44 | 43 | 40 | 58 | 90 | 89 | 62 | 21 | 12 | 15 |
| Rain days | 9 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 9 |
| Feb | 38 | 11 |
| Mar | 44 | 14 |
| Apr | 43 | 13 |
| May | 40 | 13 |
| Jun | 58 | 17 |
| Jul | 90 | 28 |
| Aug | 89 | 28 |
| Sep | 62 | 19 |
| Oct | 21 | 6 |
| Nov | 12 | 4 |
| Dec | 15 | 4 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Shimla collects about 1648 mm of rain across 164 wet days — roughly 137 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 377 mm, while November is the driest at just 22 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 56% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 85 | 109 | 112 | 98 | 76 | 160 | 377 | 352 | 193 | 33 | 22 | 30 |
| Rain days | 9 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Snow days | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 85 | 9 | 4 |
| Feb | 109 | 11 | 4 |
| Mar | 112 | 14 | 1 |
| Apr | 98 | 13 | 0 |
| May | 76 | 13 | 0 |
| Jun | 160 | 17 | 0 |
| Jul | 377 | 28 | 0 |
| Aug | 352 | 28 | 0 |
| Sep | 193 | 19 | 0 |
| Oct | 33 | 6 | 0 |
| Nov | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| Dec | 30 | 4 | 1 |
Snow in Shimla
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Shimla averages about 10 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Dec 3 to Mar 21 — about 3.6 months.
February is snowiest, with roughly 4 days of snow and an estimated 23 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 64 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 31 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 31 |
| Feb | 4 | 23 |
| Mar | 1 | 3 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 1 | 6 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Shimla, 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 September 15 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around January 13. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 93% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around June 19 and lasts for 2.9 months, ending around September 14. The cloudiest month is August, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 73% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 68 | 63 | 64 | 70 | 81 | 70 | 27 | 27 | 67 | 93 | 88 | 81 |
| Cloudier (%) | 32 | 37 | 36 | 30 | 19 | 30 | 73 | 73 | 33 | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 32 |
| Feb | 63 | 37 |
| Mar | 64 | 36 |
| Apr | 70 | 30 |
| May | 81 | 19 |
| Jun | 70 | 30 |
| Jul | 27 | 73 |
| Aug | 27 | 73 |
| Sep | 67 | 33 |
| Oct | 93 | 7 |
| Nov | 88 | 12 |
| Dec | 81 | 19 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 8, brings about 14 hours of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 hours — a swing of roughly 4 hours.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.8 | 12.7 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:25 | 7:10 | 6:38 | 5:59 | 5:30 | 5:21 | 5:32 | 5:51 | 6:10 | 6:30 | 6:55 | 7:18 |
| Sunset (PM) | 5:36 | 6:02 | 6:24 | 6:44 | 7:05 | 7:22 | 7:22 | 7:00 | 6:21 | 5:43 | 5:18 | 5:17 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10.2 | 7:25 | 5:36 |
| Feb | 10.9 | 7:10 | 6:02 |
| Mar | 11.8 | 6:38 | 6:24 |
| Apr | 12.7 | 5:59 | 6:44 |
| May | 13.6 | 5:30 | 7:05 |
| Jun | 14.0 | 5:21 | 7:22 |
| Jul | 13.8 | 5:32 | 7:22 |
| Aug | 13.1 | 5:51 | 7:00 |
| Sep | 12.2 | 6:10 | 6:21 |
| Oct | 11.2 | 6:30 | 5:43 |
| Nov | 10.4 | 6:55 | 5:18 |
| Dec | 10.0 | 7:18 | 5:17 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Shimla averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 26 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.4 months, from around Sep 17 to Jan 28. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 26 sunny days (brilliant).
The greyest month is August, down near 4 sunny days — about 84% fewer than the October peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 17 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Sky | Bright | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Gloomy | Gloomy | Bright | Brilliant | Brilliant | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Bright |
| Feb | 14 | Mixed |
| Mar | 14 | Mixed |
| Apr | 13 | Mixed |
| May | 16 | Bright |
| Jun | 15 | Bright |
| Jul | 5 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 4 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 15 | Bright |
| Oct | 26 | Brilliant |
| Nov | 24 | Brilliant |
| Dec | 22 | Bright |
Humidity comfort
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 Shimla, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 3.8 months, from around June 9 to October 1. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 2 to June 8, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 79 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 76 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 14 | 17 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 82 | 81 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 79 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 24 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 2 | 14 | 82 | 2 |
| Aug | 0 | 1 | 17 | 81 | 1 |
| Sep | 7 | 23 | 48 | 23 | 0 |
| Oct | 76 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.
Wind in Shimla is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | calm |
| Feb | 6 | calm |
| Mar | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 7 | calm |
| May | 7 | calm |
| Jun | 6 | calm |
| Jul | 4 | calm |
| Aug | 4 | calm |
| Sep | 5 | calm |
| Oct | 5 | calm |
| Nov | 5 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Shimla
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Shimla's rainy season runs July–September, when most of the year's rain falls.
Shimla sees seasonal dust haze (June), heaviest in June.
Best time to visit Shimla
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Shimla throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late November, Shimla 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 times of year to visit Shimla for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to late May and again from late September to early December, with a peak score in the third week of October.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 3.4 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 5.3 |
| Rating | poor | fair | good | good | good | good | fair | fair | good | ideal | good | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.4 | poor |
| Feb | 4.1 | fair |
| Mar | 5.6 | good |
| Apr | 6.6 | good |
| May | 6.6 | good |
| Jun | 5.7 | good |
| Jul | 4.0 | fair |
| Aug | 4.1 | fair |
| Sep | 5.9 | good |
| Oct | 7.9 | ideal |
| Nov | 7.4 | good |
| Dec | 5.3 | fair |
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 Shimla for hot-weather activities run from mid April to late June and again from late September to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of May.
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 Shimla, by month
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 June (highs near 26°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 12°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.
In June, Shimla sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 17°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 17 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Shimla by month
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 Shimla peaks around June 16 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 4 (moderate).
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) | 4 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| Level | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Very high | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | Moderate |
| Feb | 5 | High |
| Mar | 9 | Very high |
| Apr | 9 | Very high |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 12 | Extreme |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 11 | Extreme |
| Sep | 9 | Very high |
| Oct | 7 | Very high |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 4 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Shimla
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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 3.5 | 5 | 7 | 7.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 6 | 3.5 | 3 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.5 | 0 |
| Feb | 5 | 0 |
| Mar | 7 | 4 |
| Apr | 7.5 | 4.5 |
| May | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 8 | 6 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 6 | 2.5 |
| Nov | 3.5 | 0 |
| Dec | 3 | 0 |
Air quality in Shimla by month
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 Shimla is worst in December — around 37 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.1× the cleanest month (August, 17 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Shimla's WHO annual average of 26 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 36 | 30 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 28 | 35 | 37 |
| Level | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | Poor |
| Feb | 30 | Moderate |
| Mar | 25 | Moderate |
| Apr | 21 | Moderate |
| May | 21 | Moderate |
| Jun | 22 | Moderate |
| Jul | 18 | Moderate |
| Aug | 17 | Moderate |
| Sep | 20 | Moderate |
| Oct | 28 | Moderate |
| Nov | 35 | Moderate |
| Dec | 37 | Poor |
Growing season
Shimla is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about February 23 to December 19 (300 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 67 | 83 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 91 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 31 |
| Feb | 83 | 23 |
| Mar | 99 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 91 | 12 |
Growing degree days
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. Shimla banks about 2,261 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 84 | 215 | 323 | 354 | 372 | 361 | 296 | 191 | 64 | 1 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 84 |
| Apr | 215 |
| May | 323 |
| Jun | 354 |
| Jul | 372 |
| Aug | 361 |
| Sep | 296 |
| Oct | 191 |
| Nov | 64 |
| Dec | 1 |
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.
Shimla receives about 5.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.5 and 7.1 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around Mar 3 to Jul 6. The brightest month is May, averaging about 7.0 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is January, down near 3.7 kWh/m² — roughly 47% less than the May peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 6.3 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| Level | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.6 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4.4 | Bright |
| Mar | 5.5 | Bright |
| Apr | 6.5 | Intense |
| May | 7.0 | Intense |
| Jun | 6.3 | Intense |
| Jul | 4.5 | Bright |
| Aug | 4.2 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.8 | Bright |
| Oct | 5.0 | Bright |
| Nov | 4.1 | Bright |
| Dec | 3.6 | Moderate |
Where is Shimla?
Shimla sits at 31.1°N, 77.2°E, 2,073 m above sea level, in India. The nearest listed city is Rishikesh, 155 km away.
Topography around Shimla
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Shimla.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Shimla has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 979 m around an average of 1,939 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,222 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,838 m.
The land around Shimla is covered by trees (79%) within 3 km, trees (78%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) within 80 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
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 Shimla (31.1044°, 77.1666°, elevation 2,073 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).