Climate and average weather in Katunayaka

In Katunayaka, 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 October.

Best: early January to late February

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Katunayaka typically varies from 23°C to 33°C, and is rarely below 21°C or above 35°C. March is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Katunayaka for warm-weather activities are from early January to late February and early December to late December.

Hottest
Mar
33°
Coldest
Jul
25°
Wettest
Oct
341 mm
Driest
Feb
48 mm
Rain / yr
2313 mm
262 wet days
Daylight
11.6–12.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
13 m
7.2°N
Clearest
Feb
52% cloud

Katunayaka is suburb in Western Province.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Katunayaka 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 early January to late February.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Katunayaka, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Katunayaka stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is March, with an average high of 33°C and low of 25°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 25°C and high of 29°C.

Days typically run about 6°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 9°C) in February.

20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3123
Feb3224
Mar3325
Apr3225
May3026
Jun2926
Jul2925
Aug2925
Sep2925
Oct2924
Nov3024
Dec3023

How hot and cold Katunayaka really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

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, Katunayaka feels like about 39°C (around April 21). Nearly every day a year carries some heat stress, and 30 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in April.

20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan34312323
Feb36322424
Mar38332525
Apr39322525
May38302626
Jun36292526
Jul35292525
Aug35292525
Sep35292525
Oct35292424
Nov35302424
Dec33302323

Average hourly temperature in Katunayaka

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 March afternoons, near 33°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 25°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Katunayaka weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 23°486.711.64.9
Feb32° / 24°486.611.84.1
Mar33° / 25°9115123.2
Apr32° / 25°18326.412.22.6
May30° / 26°23428.912.32.6
Jun29° / 26°25328.612.42.8
Jul29° / 25°23028.412.43.0
Aug29° / 25°20928.612.23.0
Sep29° / 25°23227.4123.0
Oct29° / 24°3412811.83.0
Nov30° / 24°29922.711.73.4
Dec30° / 23°14814.311.64.5

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Katunayaka gets about 2313 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 7.7 months, from around Mar 31 to Nov 20, peaking in June at about 96% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 23.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 341 mm over about 28 wet days; February is the driest, with 48 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 3 · 96%Jan 23 · 19%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan237
Feb247
Mar5015
Apr8626
May9329
Jun9529
Jul9228
Aug9229
Sep9227
Oct9028
Nov7523
Dec4614

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Katunayaka collects about 2313 mm of rain across 262 wet days — roughly 193 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 341 mm, while February is the driest at just 48 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 39% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350400JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec484891183234253230209232341299148
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan487
Feb487
Mar9115
Apr18326
May23429
Jun25329
Jul23028
Aug20929
Sep23227
Oct34128
Nov29923
Dec14814

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Katunayaka, 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 December 9 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around April 26. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 27 and lasts for 7.4 months, ending around December 8. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 90% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 10 · 63%Jul 19 · 10%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb5941
Mar6040
Apr3763
May1882
Jun1288
Jul1090
Aug1288
Sep1585
Oct1585
Nov1981
Dec3466

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

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 May 22, brings about 12 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 0 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.66:316:08
Feb11.86:326:18
Mar12.06:226:19
Apr12.26:066:15
May12.35:576:16
Jun12.45:586:23
Jul12.46:056:27
Aug12.26:076:22
Sep12.06:046:06
Oct11.86:005:51
Nov11.76:065:46
Dec11.66:195:54

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Katunayaka averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.4 months, from around Dec 3 to Apr 16. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 1 sunny days — about 93% fewer than the March peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedMar 1012 daysJun 50 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr4Gloomy
May1Gloomy
Jun1Gloomy
Jul1Gloomy
Aug1Gloomy
Sep1Gloomy
Oct1Gloomy
Nov2Gloomy
Dec6Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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.

Katunayaka 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 94% of the time. Even in February, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 1% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmiserableoppressivemuggyhumid
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan0636563
Feb1830574
Mar0196228
Apr0001980
May000298
Jun000496
Jul0001783
Aug0002179
Sep0002476
Oct0003466
Nov0025839
Dec01157014

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 Katunayaka is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around May 7 to Oct 3. The windiest month is June, averaging about 13 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Feb 5 to May 6, with March the calmest month at about 7 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeJun 19 · 13 km/hMar 15 · 6 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan11calm
Feb9calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May11calm
Jun13light breeze
Jul13light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep12calm
Oct8calm
Nov7calm
Dec10calm

Hazard calendar for Katunayaka

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Katunayaka 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

Best time to visit Katunayaka

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Katunayaka throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid February, Katunayaka 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 Katunayaka for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to mid February, with a peak score in the first week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 7 · 5.0

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).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan4.9fair
Feb4.1fair
Mar3.2poor
Apr2.6poor
May2.7poor
Jun2.8poor
Jul3.0poor
Aug3.0poor
Sep3.0poor
Oct3.0poor
Nov3.4poor
Dec4.4fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Katunayaka for hot-weather activities is from mid December to mid March, with a peak score in the third week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 20 · 7.2

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 Katunayaka, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

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.

Katunayaka packs about the same all year — highs hold near 33°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In March, Katunayaka sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Katunayaka

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

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 (midday) in Katunayaka by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Katunayaka peaks around February 17 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 highFeb 17UV 13Dec 15UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov10Extreme
Dec10Very high

Average hourly UV index in Katunayaka

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 February the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan7.55
Feb86
Mar7.55.5
Apr86
May86
Jun85.5
Jul86
Aug86
Sep86
Oct7.56
Nov7.55
Dec75

Air quality in Katunayaka by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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 Katunayaka is worst in November — around 60 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.4× the cleanest month (July, 25 µg/m³).

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

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyPoorNov 1759 µg/m³Jul 2025 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan45Poor
Feb41Poor
Mar57Unhealthy
Apr59Unhealthy
May42Poor
Jun27Moderate
Jul25Moderate
Aug26Moderate
Sep30Moderate
Oct49Poor
Nov60Unhealthy
Dec52Poor
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Katunayaka is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

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. Katunayaka banks about 6,353 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around March.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan523
Feb503
Mar580
Apr553
May559
Jun524
Jul532
Aug529
Sep511
Oct523
Nov504
Dec514

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.

Katunayaka receives about 5.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.5 and 6.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around Jan 6 to May 5. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is November, down near 4.5 kWh/m² — roughly 28% less than the March peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMar 166.3 kWhNov 44.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.4Bright
Feb6.0Intense
Mar6.3Intense
Apr5.7Bright
May4.8Bright
Jun4.6Bright
Jul4.8Bright
Aug5.0Bright
Sep4.9Bright
Oct4.6Bright
Nov4.5Bright
Dec4.7Bright

Where is Katunayaka?

Katunayaka sits at 7.2°N, 79.9°E, 13 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Negombo, 7.0 km away.

Kelaniya

Topography around Katunayaka

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Katunayaka has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 36 m around an average of 9 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 70 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,145 m.

The land around Katunayaka is covered by trees (57%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, trees (53%) and water (33%) within 16 km, and trees (60%) and water (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
36 m
16 km
70 m
80 km
2,145 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Negombo 7.0 km · Ja Ela 11 km · Kandana 14 km · Welisara 16 km · Hendala 20 km · Wattala 20 km · Peliyagoda 22 km · Kelaniya 24 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 Katunayaka (7.1699°, 79.8884°, elevation 13 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).