Irkutsk weather in May

In May, Irkutsk sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 38 mm of precipitation across 8.9 wet days and about 15.4 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 36 min at the start of May to 16 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Irkutsk's 6th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Irkutsk's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 16°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 4°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 38 mm; 8.9 wet days
Daylight: 15 h 30 min; 5:15 AM – 8:43 PM
Cloud cover: 61%; 6th clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 1st windiest
Solar energy: 6.03 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.0; out of 10

Irkutsk is capital city of Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, in eastern Russia.

Density: 2,252/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1661

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

← April Irkutsk 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

Highs climb over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical May day in Irkutsk reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 12°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 7°C warmer than April and about 6°C cooler 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)	12	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19
Avg low (°C)	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	7	7

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	12	0
2	13	1
3	13	1
4	13	1
5	13	1
6	14	1
7	14	2
8	14	2
9	14	2
10	15	2
11	15	3
12	15	3
13	15	3
14	16	3
15	16	3
16	16	4
17	16	4
18	17	4
19	17	4
20	17	4
21	17	5
22	17	5
23	17	5
24	18	5
25	18	6
26	18	6
27	18	6
28	18	6
29	19	6
30	19	7
31	19	7

How May really feels in Irkutsk

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 12 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

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Irkutsk weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 4th-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	-15° / -24°	5	1.8	3.3	8	0.0
Feb	-10° / -21°	5	1.8	3.2	9.5	0.0
Mar	-0° / -13°	10	3.4	4.4	11.5	0.0
Apr	9° / -3°	22	5.7	3.6	13.6	1.7
May	16° / 4°	38	8.9	1.4	15.4	5.0
Jun	21° / 10°	65	10.3	0	16.4	6.4
Jul	23° / 14°	94	12.2	0	16	6.5
Aug	21° / 12°	101	11.6	0	14.5	6.3
Sep	15° / 6°	61	10.2	0.6	12.4	4.6
Oct	7° / -2°	23	5.7	3.9	10.3	1.1
Nov	-4° / -11°	13	4	5.3	8.5	0.0
Dec	-13° / -20°	10	3.5	5.2	7.5	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 56%.

	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 (%)	42	42	43	44	45	45	45	45	45	46	45	45	46	45	45	44	44	44	44	43	43	44	44	44	44	44	45	44	44	45	45
Cloudier (%)	58	58	57	56	55	55	55	55	55	54	55	55	54	55	55	56	56	56	56	57	57	56	56	56	56	56	55	56	56	55	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	42	58
2	42	58
3	43	57
4	44	56
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	45	55
8	45	55
9	45	55
10	46	54
11	45	55
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	44	56
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	44	56
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	44	56
23	44	56
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Irkutsk gets around 38 mm of rain and snow over 8.9 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 29% and peaks near 34% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds climb 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 (%)	24	24	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	26	27	27	28	29	29	30	30	31	32	32	33	33	34	34	34	34	34	34
Snow chance (%)	10	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	1

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	10
2	24	9
3	25	9
4	25	8
5	25	8
6	25	7
7	25	7
8	25	6
9	25	6
10	25	6
11	25	5
12	26	5
13	26	5
14	27	5
15	27	5
16	28	4
17	29	4
18	29	4
19	30	4
20	30	4
21	31	4
22	32	3
23	32	3
24	33	3
25	33	3
26	34	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	34	1
30	34	1
31	34	1

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 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 May

Winds average 11 km/h in May, the windiest month of the year.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 36 min at the start of May to 16 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:42 AM to 4:56 AM, and sunset from 8:18 PM to 9:04 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)	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.3	15.3	15.4	15.4	15.5	15.5	15.6	15.6	15.7	15.7	15.8	15.8	15.9	15.9	15.9	16.0	16.0	16.1	16.1	16.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:42	5:40	5:38	5:36	5:34	5:32	5:30	5:29	5:27	5:25	5:23	5:22	5:20	5:18	5:17	5:15	5:14	5:12	5:11	5:09	5:08	5:06	5:05	5:04	5:03	5:01	5:00	4:59	4:58	4:57	4:56
Sunset (PM)	8:18	8:20	8:22	8:23	8:25	8:27	8:28	8:30	8:32	8:33	8:35	8:37	8:38	8:40	8:42	8:43	8:45	8:46	8:48	8:49	8:51	8:52	8:54	8:55	8:56	8:58	8:59	9:00	9:02	9:03	9:04

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.6	5:42	8:18
2	14.7	5:40	8:20
3	14.7	5:38	8:22
4	14.8	5:36	8:23
5	14.8	5:34	8:25
6	14.9	5:32	8:27
7	15.0	5:30	8:28
8	15.0	5:29	8:30
9	15.1	5:27	8:32
10	15.1	5:25	8:33
11	15.2	5:23	8:35
12	15.3	5:22	8:37
13	15.3	5:20	8:38
14	15.4	5:18	8:40
15	15.4	5:17	8:42
16	15.5	5:15	8:43
17	15.5	5:14	8:45
18	15.6	5:12	8:46
19	15.6	5:11	8:48
20	15.7	5:09	8:49
21	15.7	5:08	8:51
22	15.8	5:06	8:52
23	15.8	5:05	8:54
24	15.9	5:04	8:55
25	15.9	5:03	8:56
26	15.9	5:01	8:58
27	16.0	5:00	8:59
28	16.0	4:59	9:00
29	16.1	4:58	9:02
30	16.1	4:57	9:03
31	16.1	4:56	9:04

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.03 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.91 kWh/m² to a high of 6.06 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 6.03 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.7	Bright
2	5.7	Bright
3	5.7	Bright
4	5.8	Bright
5	5.8	Bright
6	5.8	Bright
7	5.8	Bright
8	5.9	Bright
9	5.9	Bright
10	5.9	Bright
11	6.0	Bright
12	6.0	Bright
13	6.0	Bright
14	6.0	Intense
15	6.0	Intense
16	6.0	Intense
17	6.0	Intense
18	6.1	Intense
19	6.1	Intense
20	6.1	Intense
21	6.1	Intense
22	6.1	Intense
23	6.1	Intense
24	6.1	Intense
25	6.2	Intense
26	6.2	Intense
27	6.2	Intense
28	6.2	Intense
29	6.2	Intense
30	6.2	Intense
31	6.2	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Irkutsk?

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

5.0

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

0.9

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Irkutsk for sightseeing.

What to pack for Irkutsk in May

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

In May, Irkutsk sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 4°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

UV index in Irkutsk in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Irkutsk peaks around July 12 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	1	2	5	5	6	7	5	4	2	1	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	1	Low
Mar	2	Moderate
Apr	5	Moderate
May	5	High
Jun	6	High
Jul	7	High
Aug	5	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	2	Low
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Air quality in Irkutsk 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 Irkutsk is worst in May — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (November, 10 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	15	15	13	17	22	16	18	18	11	12	10	12
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	15	Moderate
Feb	15	Moderate
Mar	13	Moderate
Apr	17	Moderate
May	22	Moderate
Jun	16	Moderate
Jul	18	Moderate
Aug	18	Moderate
Sep	11	Good
Oct	12	Good
Nov	10	Good
Dec	12	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Irkutsk?

Irkutsk sits at 52.3°N, 104.3°E, 415 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Markova, 11 km away.

Topography around Irkutsk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Irkutsk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 104 m around an average of 442 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 204 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,089 m.

The land around Irkutsk is covered by artificial surfaces (54%) and trees (27%) within 3 km, trees (58%) within 16 km, and trees (69%) within 80 km.

3 km

104 m

artificial surfaces 54%

16 km

204 m

trees 58%

80 km

1,089 m

trees 69%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Markova 11 km · Shelekhov 16 km · Angarsk 39 km · Usol’ye-Sibirskoye 67 km · Slyudyanka 81 km · Baykal’sk 87 km · Cheremkhovo 125 km · Gusinoozyorsk 189 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 32% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $17,547; 2025
Happiness: 5.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 76%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 6.8; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 12; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 521
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 Irkutsk (52.2957°, 104.2908°, elevation 415 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	12	0
2	13	1
3	13	1
4	13	1
5	13	1
6	14	1
7	14	2
8	14	2
9	14	2
10	15	2
11	15	3
12	15	3
13	15	3
14	16	3
15	16	3
16	16	4
17	16	4
18	17	4
19	17	4
20	17	4
21	17	5
22	17	5
23	17	5
24	18	5
25	18	6
26	18	6
27	18	6
28	18	6
29	19	6
30	19	7
31	19	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	42	58
2	42	58
3	43	57
4	44	56
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	45	55
8	45	55
9	45	55
10	46	54
11	45	55
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	44	56
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	44	56
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	44	56
23	44	56
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	10
2	24	9
3	25	9
4	25	8
5	25	8
6	25	7
7	25	7
8	25	6
9	25	6
10	25	6
11	25	5
12	26	5
13	26	5
14	27	5
15	27	5
16	28	4
17	29	4
18	29	4
19	30	4
20	30	4
21	31	4
22	32	3
23	32	3
24	33	3
25	33	3
26	34	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	34	1
30	34	1
31	34	1

	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	12	0
2	13	1
3	13	1
4	13	1
5	13	1
6	14	1
7	14	2
8	14	2
9	14	2
10	15	2
11	15	3
12	15	3
13	15	3
14	16	3
15	16	3
16	16	4
17	16	4
18	17	4
19	17	4
20	17	4
21	17	5
22	17	5
23	17	5
24	18	5
25	18	6
26	18	6
27	18	6
28	18	6
29	19	6
30	19	7
31	19	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	42	58
2	42	58
3	43	57
4	44	56
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	45	55
8	45	55
9	45	55
10	46	54
11	45	55
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	44	56
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	44	56
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	44	56
23	44	56
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	10
2	24	9
3	25	9
4	25	8
5	25	8
6	25	7
7	25	7
8	25	6
9	25	6
10	25	6
11	25	5
12	26	5
13	26	5
14	27	5
15	27	5
16	28	4
17	29	4
18	29	4
19	30	4
20	30	4
21	31	4
22	32	3
23	32	3
24	33	3
25	33	3
26	34	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	34	1
30	34	1
31	34	1

	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	12	0
2	13	1
3	13	1
4	13	1
5	13	1
6	14	1
7	14	2
8	14	2
9	14	2
10	15	2
11	15	3
12	15	3
13	15	3
14	16	3
15	16	3
16	16	4
17	16	4
18	17	4
19	17	4
20	17	4
21	17	5
22	17	5
23	17	5
24	18	5
25	18	6
26	18	6
27	18	6
28	18	6
29	19	6
30	19	7
31	19	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	42	58
2	42	58
3	43	57
4	44	56
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	45	55
8	45	55
9	45	55
10	46	54
11	45	55
12	45	55
13	46	54
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	44	56
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	44	56
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	44	56
23	44	56
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	44	56
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	10
2	24	9
3	25	9
4	25	8
5	25	8
6	25	7
7	25	7
8	25	6
9	25	6
10	25	6
11	25	5
12	26	5
13	26	5
14	27	5
15	27	5
16	28	4
17	29	4
18	29	4
19	30	4
20	30	4
21	31	4
22	32	3
23	32	3
24	33	3
25	33	3
26	34	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	34	1
30	34	1
31	34	1

	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