Shimla weather in March

In March, Shimla sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 112 mm of precipitation across 13.6 wet days and about 11.8 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 47% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 18 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Shimla's 10th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Shimla's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 18°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 5th coldest
Precipitation: 112 mm; 13.6 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 48 min; 6:38 AM – 6:24 PM
Cloud cover: 45%; 10th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 5.5 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.6; out of 10

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.

← February Shimla year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical March day in Shimla reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 4°C warmer than February and about 5°C cooler than April.

	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)	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9

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

How March really feels in Shimla

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

March sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Shimla weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 8th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

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

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 47% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 36%.

	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 (%)	65	66	66	66	65	65	65	64	64	64	63	63	63	62	61	61	62	62	62	62	63	64	64	65	65	65	66	66	66	67	67
Cloudier (%)	35	34	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	36	37	37	37	38	39	39	38	38	38	38	37	36	36	35	35	35	34	34	34	33	33

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

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Shimla gets around 112 mm of rain and snow over 13.6 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 44% and peaks near 46% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	44	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	46	46	46	46	46	46	45	45	44	44	43	43	43	42	42	42	42	42	42	42
Snow chance (%)	7	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	7
2	45	6
3	45	6
4	45	6
5	45	6
6	45	5
7	45	5
8	45	5
9	45	5
10	45	4
11	45	4
12	46	4
13	46	4
14	46	3
15	46	3
16	46	3
17	46	3
18	45	2
19	45	2
20	44	2
21	44	1
22	43	1
23	43	1
24	43	1
25	42	1
26	42	1
27	42	1
28	42	1
29	42	1
30	42	0
31	42	0

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March 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 March

Winds average 6 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 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	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
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	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 18 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:56 AM to 6:19 AM, and sunset from 6:13 PM to 6:34 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)	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.3
Sunrise (AM)	6:56	6:55	6:54	6:53	6:51	6:50	6:49	6:48	6:47	6:45	6:44	6:43	6:42	6:41	6:39	6:38	6:37	6:36	6:34	6:33	6:32	6:30	6:29	6:28	6:27	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19
Sunset (PM)	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:15	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:20	6:21	6:22	6:23	6:23	6:24	6:25	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:34

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.3	6:56	6:13
2	11.3	6:55	6:14
3	11.4	6:54	6:15
4	11.4	6:53	6:15
5	11.4	6:51	6:16
6	11.4	6:50	6:17
7	11.5	6:49	6:18
8	11.5	6:48	6:18
9	11.5	6:47	6:19
10	11.6	6:45	6:20
11	11.6	6:44	6:20
12	11.6	6:43	6:21
13	11.7	6:42	6:22
14	11.7	6:41	6:23
15	11.7	6:39	6:23
16	11.8	6:38	6:24
17	11.8	6:37	6:25
18	11.8	6:36	6:25
19	11.9	6:34	6:26
20	11.9	6:33	6:27
21	11.9	6:32	6:27
22	12.0	6:30	6:28
23	12.0	6:29	6:29
24	12.0	6:28	6:29
25	12.1	6:27	6:30
26	12.1	6:25	6:31
27	12.1	6:24	6:31
28	12.2	6:23	6:32
29	12.2	6:21	6:33
30	12.2	6:20	6:33
31	12.3	6:19	6:34

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 5.5 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.57 kWh/m² to a high of 7.05 kWh/m² in May across the year — March's 5.5 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	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0
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	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.9	Bright
2	5.0	Bright
3	5.0	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	5.1	Bright
6	5.1	Bright
7	5.2	Bright
8	5.2	Bright
9	5.2	Bright
10	5.3	Bright
11	5.3	Bright
12	5.3	Bright
13	5.4	Bright
14	5.4	Bright
15	5.5	Bright
16	5.5	Bright
17	5.5	Bright
18	5.6	Bright
19	5.6	Bright
20	5.6	Bright
21	5.7	Bright
22	5.7	Bright
23	5.8	Bright
24	5.8	Bright
25	5.8	Bright
26	5.9	Bright
27	5.9	Bright
28	5.9	Bright
29	6.0	Bright
30	6.0	Intense
31	6.0	Intense

Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Shimla

In seasonPeak

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

Shimla's rainy season runs July–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Shimla sees seasonal dust haze (June), heaviest in June.

Rainy season

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is March a good time to visit Shimla?

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

5.6

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

2.2

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Shimla for sightseeing.

What to pack for Shimla in March

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

In March, Shimla sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Shimla in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

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

Air quality in Shimla in March

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where March falls, not just the annual 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

Location & terrain

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.

3 km

979 m

trees 79%

16 km

2,222 m

trees 78%

80 km

4,838 m

trees 65%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← February Shimla year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Rishikesh 155 km · Amritsar 225 km · Lahore 272 km · Delhi 273 km · Sialkot 293 km · Nankana Sahib 331 km · Leh 343 km · Dārchulā 354 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).

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

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

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	7
2	45	6
3	45	6
4	45	6
5	45	6
6	45	5
7	45	5
8	45	5
9	45	5
10	45	4
11	45	4
12	46	4
13	46	4
14	46	3
15	46	3
16	46	3
17	46	3
18	45	2
19	45	2
20	44	2
21	44	1
22	43	1
23	43	1
24	43	1
25	42	1
26	42	1
27	42	1
28	42	1
29	42	1
30	42	0
31	42	0

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

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

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	7
2	45	6
3	45	6
4	45	6
5	45	6
6	45	5
7	45	5
8	45	5
9	45	5
10	45	4
11	45	4
12	46	4
13	46	4
14	46	3
15	46	3
16	46	3
17	46	3
18	45	2
19	45	2
20	44	2
21	44	1
22	43	1
23	43	1
24	43	1
25	42	1
26	42	1
27	42	1
28	42	1
29	42	1
30	42	0
31	42	0

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

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

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	7
2	45	6
3	45	6
4	45	6
5	45	6
6	45	5
7	45	5
8	45	5
9	45	5
10	45	4
11	45	4
12	46	4
13	46	4
14	46	3
15	46	3
16	46	3
17	46	3
18	45	2
19	45	2
20	44	2
21	44	1
22	43	1
23	43	1
24	43	1
25	42	1
26	42	1
27	42	1
28	42	1
29	42	1
30	42	0
31	42	0

	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