Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia sees average daytime highs around 29°C and overnight lows near 25°C, with 291 mm of rain over about 34 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 29°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Winter is Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
29°C
2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
25°C
Rainfall
291 mm
34 wet days
Avg wind
13 km/h
Travel score
5.1
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 29°C.

A typical winter day in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia reaches about 29°C and drops to 25°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°25°30°35°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 82 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
82
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

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

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan30° / 25°608.811.65.4
Feb30° / 25°578.511.85.2
Mar30° / 26°7514.9124.5
Apr30° / 26°17424.412.13.3
May29° / 27°2932912.33.0
Jun29° / 26°25726.512.43.3
Jul28° / 26°20525.312.43.7
Aug28° / 26°18324.612.23.8
Sep28° / 26°23224.3123.7
Oct28° / 25°3282611.83.6
Nov29° / 25°33023.811.73.7
Dec29° / 25°17516.711.64.6

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia gets around 291 mm of rain over 34 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%DecJanFeb

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.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 13 km/h across winter.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 5.5 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

In seasonPeak

In winter, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia overlaps its cyclone season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia sits in the North Indian Ocean cyclone zone; the season peaks May and October–November.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia?

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.

5.1
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
6.7
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in Winter

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

In winter, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 34 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 28°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in April at about 30°C and coldest in August 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
Jan28Warm
Feb28Tropical
Mar29Tropical
Apr30Tropical
May29Tropical
Jun28Tropical
Jul28Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep28Warm
Oct28Tropical
Nov29Tropical
Dec28Tropical

UV index in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 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 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia peaks around September 10 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 10 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highSep 10UV 13Dec 15UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Extreme
Feb12Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov10Extreme
Dec10Very high

Air quality in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia 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 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is worst in February — around 37 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.1× the cleanest month (September, 18 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModerateFeb 1437 µg/m³Sep 1118 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan36Poor
Feb37Poor
Mar36Poor
Apr28Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun19Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct20Moderate
Nov30Moderate
Dec34Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia?

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia sits at 6.8°N, 79.9°E, 16 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Maharagama, 6.0 km away.

Topography around Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 33 m around an average of 7 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 74 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,145 m.

The land around Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is covered by artificial surfaces (51%) and water (32%) within 3 km, water (50%), trees (25%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) and water (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
33 m
16 km
74 m
80 km
2,145 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Maharagama 6.0 km · Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte 6.0 km · Pita Kotte 7.0 km · Moratuwa 8.0 km · Battaramulla South 8.0 km · Kolonnawa 10 km · Kotikawatta 11 km · Colombo 11 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 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (6.8402°, 79.8712°, elevation 16 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.