Palu weather in May

In May, Palu sees average daytime highs of 28°C and overnight lows near 21°C, with 340 mm of rain across 28.8 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 28°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in May, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 hours at the start of May to 12 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Palu's 5th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Palu's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 28°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 21°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 340 mm; 28.8 wet days
Daylight: 12 hours; 5:58 AM – 5:56 PM
Cloud cover: 85%; 5th clearest
Wind: 3 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 4.51 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.4; out of 10

Palu is administrative city in Donggala Regency, Indonesia.

Founded: 1978

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

← April Palu 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 28°C through the month.

A typical May day in Palu reaches about 28°C in the afternoon and slips back to 21°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 26°C and 30°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)	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28
Avg low (°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	21	21	21	21	21	21

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

Palu weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 1st-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 21°	259	27.9	12	3.5
Feb	28° / 21°	244	25	12	3.6
Mar	28° / 21°	289	28.3	12	3.5
Apr	28° / 21°	313	27.8	12	3.4
May	28° / 21°	340	28.8	12	3.4
Jun	27° / 21°	332	28.3	11.9	3.5
Jul	27° / 21°	331	28.4	12	3.6
Aug	28° / 21°	314	28.1	12	3.7
Sep	28° / 21°	335	28.2	12	3.5
Oct	28° / 21°	342	29.1	12	3.4
Nov	28° / 21°	321	28.6	12	3.3
Dec	28° / 21°	264	27.5	12.1	3.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 7% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 90%.

	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 (%)	4	4	4	5	6	6	6	7	7	8	8	10	10	11	12	12	12	14	14	14	13	13	12	13	13	13	13	12	12	11	11
Cloudier (%)	96	96	96	95	94	94	94	93	93	92	92	90	90	89	88	88	88	86	86	86	87	87	88	87	87	87	87	88	88	89	89

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	4	96
2	4	96
3	4	96
4	5	95
5	6	94
6	6	94
7	6	94
8	7	93
9	7	93
10	8	92
11	8	92
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	14	86
19	14	86
20	14	86
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	12	88
24	13	87
25	13	87
26	13	87
27	13	87
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	11	89
31	11	89

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Palu gets around 340 mm of rain over 28.8 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 93% and peaks near 96% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	94	94	94	93	93	93	92	92	92	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	91	92	92	93	93	93	94	94	95	95	95	96	96	96	96

	Rain chance (%)
1	94
2	94
3	94
4	93
5	93
6	93
7	92
8	92
9	92
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	91
14	91
15	91
16	91
17	91
18	92
19	92
20	93
21	93
22	93
23	94
24	94
25	95
26	95
27	95
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the oppressive band about 96% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

	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
Muggy (%)	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Oppressive (%)	97	97	97	97	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	3	97
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	4	96
11	4	96
12	4	96
13	4	96
14	4	96
15	4	96
16	4	96
17	4	96
18	4	96
19	4	96
20	4	96
21	4	96
22	3	97
23	3	97
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	3	97
29	3	97
30	3	97
31	3	97

Wind in May

Winds average 3 km/h in May.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 0 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:59 AM to 5:59 AM, and sunset from 5:57 PM to 5:56 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)	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0
Sunrise (AM)	5:59	5:59	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:59	5:59	5:59	5:59	5:59	5:59	5:59
Sunset (PM)	5:57	5:57	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.0	5:59	5:57
2	12.0	5:59	5:57
3	12.0	5:58	5:56
4	12.0	5:58	5:56
5	12.0	5:58	5:56
6	12.0	5:58	5:56
7	12.0	5:58	5:56
8	12.0	5:58	5:56
9	12.0	5:58	5:56
10	12.0	5:58	5:56
11	12.0	5:58	5:56
12	12.0	5:58	5:56
13	12.0	5:58	5:56
14	12.0	5:58	5:56
15	12.0	5:58	5:56
16	12.0	5:58	5:56
17	12.0	5:58	5:56
18	12.0	5:58	5:56
19	12.0	5:58	5:56
20	12.0	5:58	5:56
21	12.0	5:58	5:56
22	12.0	5:58	5:56
23	12.0	5:58	5:56
24	12.0	5:58	5:56
25	12.0	5:59	5:56
26	12.0	5:59	5:56
27	12.0	5:59	5:56
28	12.0	5:59	5:56
29	12.0	5:59	5:56
30	12.0	5:59	5:56
31	12.0	5:59	5:56

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.51 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.25 kWh/m² to a high of 5.26 kWh/m² in September across the year — May's 4.51 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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)	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4
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	4.5	Bright
2	4.5	Bright
3	4.5	Bright
4	4.5	Bright
5	4.5	Bright
6	4.5	Bright
7	4.5	Bright
8	4.5	Bright
9	4.5	Bright
10	4.5	Bright
11	4.5	Bright
12	4.5	Bright
13	4.5	Bright
14	4.5	Bright
15	4.5	Bright
16	4.5	Bright
17	4.5	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.5	Bright
20	4.5	Bright
21	4.5	Bright
22	4.5	Bright
23	4.5	Bright
24	4.5	Bright
25	4.5	Bright
26	4.5	Bright
27	4.5	Bright
28	4.5	Bright
29	4.4	Bright
30	4.4	Bright
31	4.4	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Palu?

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

3.4

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

3.8

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Palu.

What to pack for Palu in May

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

In May, Palu sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 29 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Palu in May

The nearest coast averages about 30°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 42 km away) is warmest in May at about 30°C and coldest in February near 29°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	29	29	29	29	30	30	29	29	29	29	29	29
Comfort	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	29	Tropical
Feb	29	Tropical
Mar	29	Tropical
Apr	29	Tropical
May	30	Tropical
Jun	30	Tropical
Jul	29	Tropical
Aug	29	Tropical
Sep	29	Tropical
Oct	29	Tropical
Nov	29	Tropical
Dec	29	Tropical

UV index in Palu in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 12 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Palu peaks around February 20 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 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)	14	16	16	14	12	11	12	13	13	13	13	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

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

Location & terrain

Where is Palu?

Palu sits at 0.9°S, 119.9°E, 9 m above sea level, in Indonesia. The nearest listed city is Poso, 112 km away.

Topography around Palu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Palu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 96 m around an average of 29 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,194 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,505 m.

The land around Palu is covered by artificial surfaces (78%) within 3 km, trees (56%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and trees (56%) and water (40%) within 80 km.

3 km

96 m

artificial surfaces 78%

16 km

2,194 m

trees 56%

80 km

2,505 m

trees 56%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Poso 112 km · Masamba 190 km · Rantepao 229 km · Palopo 235 km · Polewali 287 km · Bontang 289 km · Bungku 296 km · Samarinda 307 km

Indonesia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 29% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,060; 2025
Happiness: 5.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 30%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 0.3; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 11.3; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 471
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 Palu (-0.9083°, 119.8708°, elevation 9 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. 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	28	21
2	28	21
3	28	21
4	28	21
5	28	21
6	28	21
7	28	21
8	28	21
9	28	21
10	28	21
11	28	21
12	28	21
13	28	21
14	28	21
15	28	21
16	28	21
17	28	21
18	28	21
19	28	21
20	28	21
21	28	21
22	28	21
23	28	21
24	28	21
25	28	21
26	28	21
27	28	21
28	28	21
29	28	21
30	28	21
31	28	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	4	96
2	4	96
3	4	96
4	5	95
5	6	94
6	6	94
7	6	94
8	7	93
9	7	93
10	8	92
11	8	92
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	14	86
19	14	86
20	14	86
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	12	88
24	13	87
25	13	87
26	13	87
27	13	87
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	94
2	94
3	94
4	93
5	93
6	93
7	92
8	92
9	92
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	91
14	91
15	91
16	91
17	91
18	92
19	92
20	93
21	93
22	93
23	94
24	94
25	95
26	95
27	95
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	3	97
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	4	96
11	4	96
12	4	96
13	4	96
14	4	96
15	4	96
16	4	96
17	4	96
18	4	96
19	4	96
20	4	96
21	4	96
22	3	97
23	3	97
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	3	97
29	3	97
30	3	97
31	3	97

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	4	96
2	4	96
3	4	96
4	5	95
5	6	94
6	6	94
7	6	94
8	7	93
9	7	93
10	8	92
11	8	92
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	14	86
19	14	86
20	14	86
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	12	88
24	13	87
25	13	87
26	13	87
27	13	87
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	94
2	94
3	94
4	93
5	93
6	93
7	92
8	92
9	92
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	91
14	91
15	91
16	91
17	91
18	92
19	92
20	93
21	93
22	93
23	94
24	94
25	95
26	95
27	95
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	3	97
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	4	96
11	4	96
12	4	96
13	4	96
14	4	96
15	4	96
16	4	96
17	4	96
18	4	96
19	4	96
20	4	96
21	4	96
22	3	97
23	3	97
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	3	97
29	3	97
30	3	97
31	3	97

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	4	96
2	4	96
3	4	96
4	5	95
5	6	94
6	6	94
7	6	94
8	7	93
9	7	93
10	8	92
11	8	92
12	10	90
13	10	90
14	11	89
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	14	86
19	14	86
20	14	86
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	12	88
24	13	87
25	13	87
26	13	87
27	13	87
28	12	88
29	12	88
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	94
2	94
3	94
4	93
5	93
6	93
7	92
8	92
9	92
10	91
11	91
12	91
13	91
14	91
15	91
16	91
17	91
18	92
19	92
20	93
21	93
22	93
23	94
24	94
25	95
26	95
27	95
28	96
29	96
30	96
31	96

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	3	97
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	4	96
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	4	96
11	4	96
12	4	96
13	4	96
14	4	96
15	4	96
16	4	96
17	4	96
18	4	96
19	4	96
20	4	96
21	4	96
22	3	97
23	3	97
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	3	97
29	3	97
30	3	97
31	3	97