Climate and average weather in Dambulla
In Dambulla, the weather is muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around November.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Dambulla typically varies from 20°C to 32°C, and is rarely below 17°C or above 34°C. April is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Dambulla for warm-weather activities is from late December to mid March.
- Hottest
- Apr
- 32°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 20°
- Wettest
- Nov
- 282 mm
- Driest
- Jun
- 45 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1562 mm
- 210 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.5–12.5 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 168 m
- 7.9°N
- Clearest
- Mar
- 52% cloud
Dambulla is human settlement.
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Dambulla weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late December to mid March.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Dambulla, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Dambulla stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is April, with an average high of 32°C and low of 23°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 20°C and high of 27°C.
Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 27 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 |
| Avg low (°C) | 20 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 20 |
| Feb | 29 | 20 |
| Mar | 31 | 21 |
| Apr | 32 | 23 |
| May | 31 | 24 |
| Jun | 31 | 24 |
| Jul | 31 | 24 |
| Aug | 31 | 24 |
| Sep | 31 | 24 |
| Oct | 30 | 23 |
| Nov | 28 | 22 |
| Dec | 27 | 21 |
How hot and cold Dambulla really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Dambulla feels like about 36°C (around April 19). About 249 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 28 | 31 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 28 |
| Air high (°C) | 27 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 20 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| Air low (°C) | 20 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 27 | 20 | 20 |
| Feb | 31 | 29 | 20 | 20 |
| Mar | 34 | 31 | 21 | 21 |
| Apr | 36 | 32 | 23 | 23 |
| May | 36 | 31 | 24 | 24 |
| Jun | 34 | 31 | 24 | 24 |
| Jul | 34 | 31 | 24 | 24 |
| Aug | 34 | 31 | 24 | 24 |
| Sep | 34 | 31 | 24 | 24 |
| Oct | 33 | 30 | 23 | 23 |
| Nov | 31 | 28 | 22 | 22 |
| Dec | 28 | 27 | 21 | 21 |
Average hourly temperature in Dambulla
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on April afternoons, near 32°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 20°C.
Dambulla weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27° / 20° | 128 | 15.2 | 11.6 | 5.5 |
| Feb | 29° / 20° | 84 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 5.4 |
| Mar | 31° / 21° | 74 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 32° / 23° | 152 | 18.8 | 12.2 | 3.1 |
| May | 31° / 24° | 113 | 18.3 | 12.4 | 3.4 |
| Jun | 31° / 24° | 45 | 14.2 | 12.4 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 31° / 24° | 55 | 16.1 | 12.4 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 31° / 24° | 64 | 17.9 | 12.3 | 3.5 |
| Sep | 31° / 24° | 88 | 18.7 | 12 | 3.3 |
| Oct | 30° / 23° | 248 | 22.7 | 11.8 | 3.3 |
| Nov | 28° / 22° | 282 | 24.1 | 11.6 | 3.7 |
| Dec | 27° / 21° | 229 | 21.6 | 11.6 | 4.6 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Dambulla gets about 1562 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.0 months, from around Aug 9 to Jan 6, peaking in November at about 82% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Mar 18.
November is the wettest month by volume, with 282 mm over about 24 wet days; June is the driest, with 45 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 50 | 41 | 37 | 62 | 58 | 48 | 51 | 58 | 62 | 74 | 80 | 69 |
| Rain days | 15 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 22 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 15 |
| Feb | 41 | 12 |
| Mar | 37 | 11 |
| Apr | 62 | 19 |
| May | 58 | 18 |
| Jun | 48 | 14 |
| Jul | 51 | 16 |
| Aug | 58 | 18 |
| Sep | 62 | 19 |
| Oct | 74 | 23 |
| Nov | 80 | 24 |
| Dec | 69 | 22 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Dambulla collects about 1562 mm of rain across 210 wet days — roughly 130 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 282 mm, while June is the driest at just 45 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 49% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 128 | 84 | 74 | 152 | 113 | 45 | 55 | 64 | 88 | 248 | 282 | 229 |
| Rain days | 15 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 22 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 128 | 15 |
| Feb | 84 | 12 |
| Mar | 74 | 11 |
| Apr | 152 | 19 |
| May | 113 | 18 |
| Jun | 45 | 14 |
| Jul | 55 | 16 |
| Aug | 64 | 18 |
| Sep | 88 | 19 |
| Oct | 248 | 23 |
| Nov | 282 | 24 |
| Dec | 229 | 22 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Dambulla, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around January 4 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around May 13. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 58% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around May 14 and lasts for 7.7 months, ending around January 3. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 85% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 34 | 47 | 58 | 43 | 28 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 27 | 21 | 15 | 21 |
| Cloudier (%) | 66 | 53 | 42 | 57 | 72 | 81 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 79 | 85 | 79 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 66 |
| Feb | 47 | 53 |
| Mar | 58 | 42 |
| Apr | 43 | 57 |
| May | 28 | 72 |
| Jun | 19 | 81 |
| Jul | 17 | 83 |
| Aug | 20 | 80 |
| Sep | 27 | 73 |
| Oct | 21 | 79 |
| Nov | 15 | 85 |
| Dec | 21 | 79 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 13, brings about 12 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 11 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 1 hour.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 11.6 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:29 | 6:30 | 6:19 | 6:02 | 5:53 | 5:54 | 6:01 | 6:04 | 6:00 | 5:58 | 6:04 | 6:17 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:04 | 6:14 | 6:15 | 6:13 | 6:14 | 6:21 | 6:26 | 6:19 | 6:03 | 5:47 | 5:42 | 5:50 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.6 | 6:29 | 6:04 |
| Feb | 11.7 | 6:30 | 6:14 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 6:19 | 6:15 |
| Apr | 12.2 | 6:02 | 6:13 |
| May | 12.4 | 5:53 | 6:14 |
| Jun | 12.4 | 5:54 | 6:21 |
| Jul | 12.4 | 6:01 | 6:26 |
| Aug | 12.3 | 6:04 | 6:19 |
| Sep | 12.0 | 6:00 | 6:03 |
| Oct | 11.8 | 5:58 | 5:47 |
| Nov | 11.6 | 6:04 | 5:42 |
| Dec | 11.6 | 6:17 | 5:50 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Dambulla averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 12 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.2 months, from around Jan 9 to May 16. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).
The greyest month is November, down near 2 sunny days — about 85% fewer than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 5 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 7 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 11 | Mixed |
| Apr | 6 | Gloomy |
| May | 4 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 2 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 2 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 3 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 2 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 2 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 3 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
Dambulla is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.
The stickiest month is January, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 89% of the time. Even in March, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 1% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 11 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Muggy (%) | 42 | 37 | 37 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 45 | 44 | 22 | 13 | 26 |
| Oppressive (%) | 47 | 48 | 56 | 87 | 93 | 90 | 70 | 55 | 55 | 77 | 85 | 68 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 11 | 42 | 47 | 0 |
| Feb | 1 | 13 | 37 | 48 | 0 |
| Mar | 1 | 6 | 37 | 56 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 1 | 10 | 87 | 2 |
| May | 0 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 4 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 | 10 | 90 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 30 | 70 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 45 | 55 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 1 | 44 | 55 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 1 | 22 | 77 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 1 | 13 | 85 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 5 | 26 | 68 | 0 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Dambulla is typically light breeze, near 12 km/h, and varies a lot with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around May 10 to Oct 9. The windiest month is June, averaging about 20 km/h (breezy).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Oct 10 to May 9, with April the calmest month at about 7 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | light breeze | breezy | breezy | light breeze | light breeze | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | calm |
| Feb | 9 | calm |
| Mar | 7 | calm |
| Apr | 7 | calm |
| May | 14 | light breeze |
| Jun | 20 | breezy |
| Jul | 20 | breezy |
| Aug | 19 | light breeze |
| Sep | 16 | light breeze |
| Oct | 11 | calm |
| Nov | 7 | calm |
| Dec | 8 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Dambulla
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Dambulla's rainy season runs October–January, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Dambulla
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dambulla throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early March, Dambulla is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Dambulla for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to mid March, with a peak score in the last week of January.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 5.5 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
| Rating | good | fair | fair | poor | poor | fair | fair | poor | poor | poor | fair | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.5 | good |
| Feb | 5.4 | fair |
| Mar | 4.4 | fair |
| Apr | 3.1 | poor |
| May | 3.4 | poor |
| Jun | 3.9 | fair |
| Jul | 3.7 | fair |
| Aug | 3.5 | poor |
| Sep | 3.3 | poor |
| Oct | 3.3 | poor |
| Nov | 3.7 | fair |
| Dec | 4.6 | fair |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Dambulla for hot-weather activities run from mid January to early April and again from late May to late July, with a peak score in the last week of February.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Dambulla, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
Dambulla packs about the same all year — highs hold near 32°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.
In April, Dambulla sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 19 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Dambulla by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dambulla peaks around April 20 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 10 (very high).
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) | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Extreme |
| Feb | 13 | Extreme |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 14 | Extreme |
| May | 13 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 12 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 13 | Extreme |
| Oct | 13 | Extreme |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Dambulla
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in April the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.5 | 5 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 |
| Apr | 8 | 6.5 |
| May | 8 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 5.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 6 |
| Aug | 8 | 6 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 7.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Dec | 7 | 5 |
Air quality in Dambulla by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Dambulla is worst in April — around 46 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) | 40 | 37 | 45 | 46 | 40 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 34 | 43 | 44 | 41 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | Poor |
| Feb | 37 | Poor |
| Mar | 45 | Poor |
| Apr | 46 | Poor |
| May | 40 | Poor |
| Jun | 31 | Moderate |
| Jul | 30 | Moderate |
| Aug | 30 | Moderate |
| Sep | 34 | Moderate |
| Oct | 43 | Poor |
| Nov | 44 | Poor |
| Dec | 41 | Poor |
Growing season
Dambulla is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Dambulla banks about 5,920 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 423 | 401 | 498 | 521 | 551 | 525 | 539 | 541 | 523 | 511 | 452 | 436 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 423 |
| Feb | 401 |
| Mar | 498 |
| Apr | 521 |
| May | 551 |
| Jun | 525 |
| Jul | 539 |
| Aug | 541 |
| Sep | 523 |
| Oct | 511 |
| Nov | 452 |
| Dec | 436 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Dambulla receives about 5.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.7 and 6.4 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.9 months, from around Feb 13 to Oct 11. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 3.8 kWh/m² — roughly 39% less than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 4.3 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.3 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.3 | Bright |
| Mar | 6.3 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.1 | Intense |
| May | 5.8 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.5 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.5 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.7 | Bright |
| Sep | 5.7 | Bright |
| Oct | 5.1 | Bright |
| Nov | 4.1 | Bright |
| Dec | 3.8 | Moderate |
Where is Dambulla?
Dambulla sits at 7.9°N, 80.7°E, 168 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Sigiriya, 15 km away.
Topography around Dambulla
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Dambulla.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Dambulla has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 186 m around an average of 173 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 747 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,865 m.
The land around Dambulla is covered by trees (69%) within 3 km, trees (73%) within 16 km, and trees (74%) within 80 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
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 Dambulla (7.86°, 80.6517°, elevation 168 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).