Anuradhapura in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Anuradhapura sees average daytime highs around 33°C and overnight lows near 24°C, with 257 mm of rain over about 42 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 33°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Spring is Anuradhapura's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Anuradhapura's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
33°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
24°C
Rainfall
257 mm
42 wet days
Avg wind
11 km/h
Travel score
3.2
weakest season of the year
Months
Mar · Apr · May

Temperature in Anuradhapura in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across spring, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 33°C.

A typical spring day in Anuradhapura reaches about 33°C and drops to 24°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is April, the coolest March.

15°20°25°30°35°40°MarAprMay

How spring really feels in Anuradhapura

Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 92 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
92
39 feel dangerously hot (≥ 39°C)
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in spring is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Anuradhapura weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan29° / 22°731111.65.4
Feb30° / 22°508.111.75.0
Mar33° / 23°498.711.93.7
Apr33° / 25°12217.312.22.7
May33° / 25°8715.712.43.1
Jun32° / 25°3911.712.53.6
Jul32° / 25°4311.112.43.5
Aug32° / 25°5612.412.33.4
Sep32° / 25°7415123.2
Oct31° / 24°19921.511.83.1
Nov30° / 23°23423.111.63.5
Dec29° / 22°16317.711.54.5

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across spring.

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Anuradhapura gets around 257 mm of rain over 42 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%MarAprMay

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%MarAprMay

Wind in Spring

Winds average 11 km/h across spring.

0510152025MarAprMay

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min in early March to 12 h 24 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMMarAprMay

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 5.9 kWh/m².

0246MarAprMay
Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Anuradhapura

In seasonPeak

In spring, Anuradhapura overlaps its cyclone and rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Anuradhapura sits in the North Indian Ocean cyclone zone; the season peaks May and October–November.

Anuradhapura's rainy season runs October–December, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is spring a good time to visit Anuradhapura?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

3.2
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
5.6
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

spring is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Anuradhapura.

What to pack for Anuradhapura in Spring

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

In spring, Anuradhapura sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 42 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Anuradhapura in Spring

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

The sea at the nearest coast (about 69 km away) is warmest in April at about 30°C and coldest in January near 27°C.

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

26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb28Warm
Mar29Tropical
Apr30Tropical
May30Tropical
Jun29Tropical
Jul28Tropical
Aug28Warm
Sep28Tropical
Oct28Tropical
Nov29Tropical
Dec28Warm

UV index in Anuradhapura in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages 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 Anuradhapura peaks around April 22 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 9 (very high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highApr 22UV 13Dec 21UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Very high
Feb12Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May13Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec9Very high

Air quality in Anuradhapura in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Anuradhapura is worst in April — around 31 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (July, 19 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateApr 1830 µg/m³Jul 2319 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan23Moderate
Feb22Moderate
Mar27Moderate
Apr31Moderate
May28Moderate
Jun20Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct26Moderate
Nov27Moderate
Dec24Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Anuradhapura?

Anuradhapura sits at 8.3°N, 80.4°E, 100 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Vavuniya, 50 km away.

VavuniyaSigiriyaDambullaPuttalamPolonnaruwaKurunegalaTrincomaleeMannar

Topography around Anuradhapura

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Anuradhapura has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 35 m around an average of 91 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 317 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,165 m.

The land around Anuradhapura is covered by trees (60%) within 3 km, trees (59%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (70%) within 80 km.

3 km
35 m
16 km
317 m
80 km
1,165 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Spring weather nearby: Vavuniya 50 km · Sigiriya 55 km · Dambulla 57 km · Puttalam 71 km · Polonnaruwa 77 km · Kurunegala 92 km · Trincomalee 94 km · Mannar 96 km

Sri Lanka travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 27% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$5,002
2025
Happiness
4.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
47%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
3.3
per 100k, 2019
Road deaths
19.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 486
Religion
Buddhist 70%Hindu 13%Muslim 10%Roman Catholic 6%

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 Anuradhapura (8.3122°, 80.4131°, elevation 100 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.