Dambulla in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Dambulla sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 21°C, with 441 mm of rain over about 49 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Winter is Dambulla's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Dambulla's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 28°C; coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low: 21°C
Rainfall: 441 mm; 49 wet days
Avg wind: 9 km/h
Travel score: 5.2; best season of the year
Months: Dec · Jan · Feb

← Fall Dambulla year-round climate Spring →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Dambulla in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C.

A typical winter day in Dambulla reaches about 28°C and drops to 21°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest February.

How winter really feels in Dambulla

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

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Dambulla weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

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

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time across winter.

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Dambulla gets around 441 mm of rain over 49 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 km/h across winter.

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.4 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Dambulla

In seasonPeak

In winter, Dambulla overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

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

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Dambulla?

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

5.2

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

5.6

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Dambulla for sightseeing.

What to pack for Dambulla in Winter

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

In winter, Dambulla sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 49 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Dambulla in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

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

Air quality in Dambulla in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Location & terrain

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.

3 km

186 m

trees 69%

16 km

747 m

trees 73%

80 km

1,865 m

trees 74%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← Fall Dambulla year-round climate Spring →

Winter weather nearby: Sigiriya 15 km · Polonnaruwa 40 km · Matale 44 km · Kurunegala 52 km · Anuradhapura 57 km · Kandy 63 km · Kegalle 76 km · Gampola 78 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.