Ella in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Ella sees average daytime highs around 25°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 445 mm of rain over about 50 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 25°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.

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

Avg daytime high: 25°C; coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low: 18°C
Rainfall: 445 mm; 50 wet days
Avg wind: 5 km/h
Travel score: 5.7; best season of the year
Months: Dec · Jan · Feb

← Fall Ella year-round climate Spring →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Ella in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°C.

A typical winter day in Ella reaches about 25°C and drops to 18°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest February.

Ella 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	24° / 18°	131	15.7	11.6	5.9
Feb	25° / 18°	93	13.3	11.8	6.1
Mar	27° / 18°	84	12.7	12	6.0
Apr	28° / 20°	176	20.2	12.1	4.4
May	29° / 21°	141	16.6	12.3	4.3
Jun	30° / 22°	53	9.9	12.4	4.7
Jul	30° / 22°	52	7.9	12.4	4.8
Aug	30° / 21°	71	10	12.2	4.7
Sep	30° / 21°	128	13.6	12	4.5
Oct	28° / 20°	277	22	11.8	4.3
Nov	25° / 19°	269	24	11.7	4.3
Dec	24° / 19°	221	21.2	11.6	5.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across winter.

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Ella gets around 445 mm of rain over 50 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

Wind in Winter

Winds average 5 km/h across winter.

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.

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.6 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Ella

In seasonPeak

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

Ella's rainy season runs April–May, 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 Ella?

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.

5.7

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

5.0

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Ella for sightseeing.

What to pack for Ella in Winter

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

In winter, Ella sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 18°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 50 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

UV index in Ella in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 12 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ella peaks around April 13 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 10 (extreme).

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)	11	13	14	14	14	11	12	13	13	12	11	10
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	14	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	14	Extreme
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	13	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	10	Extreme

Air quality in Ella 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 Ella is worst in November — around 48 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 1.8× the cleanest month (July, 27 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)	42	36	41	44	36	27	27	28	29	41	48	44
Level	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	42	Poor
Feb	36	Poor
Mar	41	Poor
Apr	44	Poor
May	36	Poor
Jun	27	Moderate
Jul	27	Moderate
Aug	28	Moderate
Sep	29	Moderate
Oct	41	Poor
Nov	48	Poor
Dec	44	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Ella?

Ella sits at 6.9°N, 81.0°E, 0 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Badulla, 12 km away.

Topography around Ella

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ella has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 902 m around an average of 1,030 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,848 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,505 m.

The land around Ella is covered by trees (76%) and grassland (21%) within 3 km, trees (80%) within 16 km, and trees (84%) within 80 km.

3 km

902 m

trees 76%

16 km

1,848 m

trees 80%

80 km

2,505 m

trees 84%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← Fall Ella year-round climate Spring →

Winter weather nearby: Badulla 12 km · Nuwara Eliya 31 km · Hatton 50 km · Kataragama 60 km · Gampola 62 km · Kandy 65 km · Ratnapura 74 km · Matale 81 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 Ella (6.8756°, 81.0463°, elevation 0 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.