Nakuru weather in May

In May, Nakuru sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 14°C, with 68 mm of rain across 9.3 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

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 Nakuru's 6th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nakuru's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 24°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 14°; 11th coldest
Rainfall: 68 mm; 9.3 wet days
Daylight: 12 hours; 6:32 AM – 6:32 PM
Cloud cover: 61%; 6th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 5.8 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.0; out of 10

Nakuru is city in Kenya.

Founded: 1904

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

← April Nakuru 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 24°C through the month.

A typical May day in Nakuru reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 14°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 1°C cooler than April and about 1°C warmer 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)	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24
Avg low (°C)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13

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

Nakuru weather by month

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

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	26° / 13°	19	3.8	12	7.7
Feb	27° / 13°	17	2.6	12	7.6
Mar	27° / 13°	48	6.5	12	7.0
Apr	25° / 14°	104	12.9	12	6.1
May	24° / 14°	68	9.3	12	7.0
Jun	23° / 13°	49	9.6	12	6.8
Jul	23° / 12°	55	11.2	12	6.4
Aug	23° / 12°	72	13	12	6.2
Sep	24° / 12°	51	8.4	12	7.1
Oct	24° / 13°	87	11.1	12	6.6
Nov	24° / 13°	92	14.7	12	6.0
Dec	24° / 13°	38	7.3	12	7.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 26% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 52%. 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 (%)	31	32	32	34	35	37	37	39	40	42	44	45	46	47	49	50	52	53	54	55	56	56	57	57	57	58	58	59	58	58	57
Cloudier (%)	69	68	68	66	65	63	63	61	60	58	56	55	54	53	51	50	48	47	46	45	44	44	43	43	43	42	42	41	42	42	43

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	34	66
5	35	65
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	42	58
11	44	56
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	47	53
15	49	51
16	50	50
17	52	48
18	53	47
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	59	41
29	58	42
30	58	42
31	57	43

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Nakuru gets around 68 mm of rain over 9.3 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 30% and peaks near 49% on the wettest days. 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 (%)	49	48	47	46	45	44	43	41	39	37	35	33	32	30	28	27	26	25	24	22	22	21	20	19	19	19	19	19	20	21	22

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	44
7	43
8	41
9	39
10	37
11	35
12	33
13	32
14	30
15	28
16	27
17	26
18	25
19	24
20	22
21	22
22	21
23	20
24	19
25	19
26	19
27	19
28	19
29	20
30	21
31	22

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 61% 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 (%)	43	43	43	43	44	45	46	47	49	51	52	55	57	59	61	63	64	66	68	70	72	73	75	76	77	78	78	78	78	78	77
Comfortable (%)	57	57	57	57	56	55	54	53	51	49	48	45	43	41	39	37	36	34	32	30	28	27	25	24	23	22	22	22	22	22	23

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	43	57
2	43	57
3	43	57
4	43	57
5	44	56
6	45	55
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	49	51
10	51	49
11	52	48
12	55	45
13	57	43
14	59	41
15	61	39
16	63	37
17	64	36
18	66	34
19	68	32
20	70	30
21	72	28
22	73	27
23	75	25
24	76	24
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	78	22
29	78	22
30	78	22
31	77	23

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 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 6:33 AM to 6:34 AM, and sunset from 6:33 PM to 6:33 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)	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:34
Sunset (PM)	6:33	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:32	6:33

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.0	6:33	6:33
2	12.0	6:33	6:32
3	12.0	6:33	6:32
4	12.0	6:33	6:32
5	12.0	6:33	6:32
6	12.0	6:33	6:32
7	12.0	6:33	6:32
8	12.0	6:33	6:32
9	12.0	6:33	6:32
10	12.0	6:32	6:32
11	12.0	6:32	6:32
12	12.0	6:32	6:32
13	12.0	6:32	6:32
14	12.0	6:32	6:32
15	12.0	6:32	6:32
16	12.0	6:32	6:32
17	12.0	6:32	6:32
18	12.0	6:32	6:32
19	12.0	6:32	6:32
20	12.0	6:33	6:32
21	12.0	6:33	6:32
22	12.0	6:33	6:32
23	12.0	6:33	6:32
24	12.0	6:33	6:32
25	12.0	6:33	6:32
26	12.0	6:33	6:32
27	12.0	6:33	6:32
28	12.0	6:33	6:32
29	12.0	6:33	6:32
30	12.0	6:33	6:32
31	12.0	6:34	6:33

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.8 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.98 kWh/m² to a high of 7.11 kWh/m² in February across the year — May's 5.8 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)	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8
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	5.6	Bright
2	5.6	Bright
3	5.6	Bright
4	5.6	Bright
5	5.6	Bright
6	5.7	Bright
7	5.7	Bright
8	5.7	Bright
9	5.7	Bright
10	5.7	Bright
11	5.7	Bright
12	5.8	Bright
13	5.8	Bright
14	5.8	Bright
15	5.8	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.9	Bright
19	5.9	Bright
20	5.9	Bright
21	5.9	Bright
22	5.9	Bright
23	5.9	Bright
24	5.9	Bright
25	5.9	Bright
26	5.9	Bright
27	5.8	Bright
28	5.8	Bright
29	5.8	Bright
30	5.8	Bright
31	5.8	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Nakuru?

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

7.0

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

6.0

Beach & pool

6th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Nakuru for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Nakuru in May

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

In May, Nakuru sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 14°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 9 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Nakuru in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nakuru peaks around March 15 at about 17 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 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)	16	16	17	16	13	11	12	13	14	15	14	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	16	Extreme
Feb	16	Extreme
Mar	17	Extreme
Apr	16	Extreme
May	13	Extreme
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	13	Extreme
Sep	14	Extreme
Oct	15	Extreme
Nov	14	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Air quality in Nakuru 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 Nakuru is worst in June — around 38 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	27	29	32	28	31	38	37	32	30	28	28	27
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	27	Moderate
Feb	29	Moderate
Mar	32	Moderate
Apr	28	Moderate
May	31	Moderate
Jun	38	Poor
Jul	37	Poor
Aug	32	Moderate
Sep	30	Moderate
Oct	28	Moderate
Nov	28	Moderate
Dec	27	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Nakuru?

Nakuru sits at 0.3°S, 36.1°E, 1,802 m above sea level, in Kenya. The nearest listed city is Njoro, 14 km away.

Topography around Nakuru

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nakuru has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 126 m around an average of 1,799 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 684 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,998 m.

The land around Nakuru is covered by artificial surfaces (43%) and water (20%) within 3 km, cropland (31%), grassland (25%) and trees (23%) within 16 km, and trees (33%), cropland (25%) and grassland (23%) within 80 km.

3 km

126 m

artificial surfaces 43%

16 km

684 m

cropland 31%

80 km

2,998 m

trees 33%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

May weather nearby: Njoro 14 km · Upper Gilgil 25 km · Rongai 28 km · Elburgon 29 km · Ol Kalou 34 km · Gilgil 35 km · Molo 38 km · Nyahururu 50 km

Kenya travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type G; 240 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 34% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $2,363; 2025
Happiness: 4.7 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate: 4.9; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 28.3; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
English: High; EF EPI 593
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 Nakuru (-0.3072°, 36.0722°, elevation 1,802 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	24	14
2	24	14
3	24	14
4	24	14
5	24	14
6	24	14
7	24	14
8	24	14
9	24	14
10	24	14
11	24	14
12	24	14
13	24	14
14	24	14
15	24	14
16	24	14
17	24	14
18	24	14
19	24	14
20	24	14
21	24	14
22	24	14
23	24	14
24	24	14
25	24	14
26	24	14
27	24	14
28	24	14
29	24	14
30	24	14
31	24	13

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	34	66
5	35	65
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	42	58
11	44	56
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	47	53
15	49	51
16	50	50
17	52	48
18	53	47
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	59	41
29	58	42
30	58	42
31	57	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	44
7	43
8	41
9	39
10	37
11	35
12	33
13	32
14	30
15	28
16	27
17	26
18	25
19	24
20	22
21	22
22	21
23	20
24	19
25	19
26	19
27	19
28	19
29	20
30	21
31	22

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	43	57
2	43	57
3	43	57
4	43	57
5	44	56
6	45	55
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	49	51
10	51	49
11	52	48
12	55	45
13	57	43
14	59	41
15	61	39
16	63	37
17	64	36
18	66	34
19	68	32
20	70	30
21	72	28
22	73	27
23	75	25
24	76	24
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	78	22
29	78	22
30	78	22
31	77	23

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	34	66
5	35	65
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	42	58
11	44	56
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	47	53
15	49	51
16	50	50
17	52	48
18	53	47
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	59	41
29	58	42
30	58	42
31	57	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	44
7	43
8	41
9	39
10	37
11	35
12	33
13	32
14	30
15	28
16	27
17	26
18	25
19	24
20	22
21	22
22	21
23	20
24	19
25	19
26	19
27	19
28	19
29	20
30	21
31	22

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	43	57
2	43	57
3	43	57
4	43	57
5	44	56
6	45	55
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	49	51
10	51	49
11	52	48
12	55	45
13	57	43
14	59	41
15	61	39
16	63	37
17	64	36
18	66	34
19	68	32
20	70	30
21	72	28
22	73	27
23	75	25
24	76	24
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	78	22
29	78	22
30	78	22
31	77	23

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	34	66
5	35	65
6	37	63
7	37	63
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	42	58
11	44	56
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	47	53
15	49	51
16	50	50
17	52	48
18	53	47
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	59	41
29	58	42
30	58	42
31	57	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	48
3	47
4	46
5	45
6	44
7	43
8	41
9	39
10	37
11	35
12	33
13	32
14	30
15	28
16	27
17	26
18	25
19	24
20	22
21	22
22	21
23	20
24	19
25	19
26	19
27	19
28	19
29	20
30	21
31	22

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	43	57
2	43	57
3	43	57
4	43	57
5	44	56
6	45	55
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	49	51
10	51	49
11	52	48
12	55	45
13	57	43
14	59	41
15	61	39
16	63	37
17	64	36
18	66	34
19	68	32
20	70	30
21	72	28
22	73	27
23	75	25
24	76	24
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	78	22
29	78	22
30	78	22
31	77	23