Kelaniya weather in May

In May, Kelaniya sees average daytime highs of 31°C and overnight lows near 26°C, with 264 mm of rain across 29.4 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 31°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 2% of the time in May, and the air most often feels miserable.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 12 min at the start of May to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Kelaniya's 8th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kelaniya's year-round climate.

Daytime high
31°
5th warmest
Overnight low
26°
12th coldest
Rainfall
264 mm
29.4 wet days
Daylight
12 h 18 min
5:57 AM – 6:16 PM
Cloud cover
82%
8th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
4.65 kWh/m²
Travel score
2.5
out of 10

Kelaniya is suburb in Western Province, Sri Lanka.

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 31°C through the month.

A typical May day in Kelaniya reaches about 31°C in the afternoon and slips back to 26°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 29°C and 32°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 1°C cooler than April and about 1°C warmer than June.

20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
13125
23125
33125
43125
53125
63125
73125
83126
93126
103126
113126
123126
133126
143126
153126
163126
173126
183126
193026
203026
213026
223026
233026
243026
253026
263026
273026
283026
293026
303026
313026

How May really feels in Kelaniya

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 31 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
31
6 feel dangerously hot (≥ 39°C)
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

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

Kelaniya weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 23°668.411.64.4
Feb33° / 24°658.611.83.8
Mar33° / 25°9414.8123.1
Apr32° / 25°19225.412.12.5
May31° / 26°26429.412.32.5
Jun30° / 25°27928.712.42.7
Jul29° / 25°24529.212.42.9
Aug29° / 25°21929.112.22.9
Sep29° / 25°24727.8122.9
Oct30° / 24°35928.211.82.9
Nov30° / 24°33723.911.73.2
Dec30° / 23°17816.111.64.1

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 2% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 86%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12278
22080
32080
41981
51882
61882
71783
81684
91684
101684
111684
121486
131486
141486
151486
161387
171387
181387
191387
201387
211387
221288
231288
241288
251189
261189
271189
281090
291090
30991
31991

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Kelaniya gets around 264 mm of rain over 29.4 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 95% and peaks near 97% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%80%100%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
192
292
392
493
593
693
793
893
993
1093
1194
1294
1394
1494
1595
1695
1795
1895
1995
2096
2196
2296
2396
2496
2597
2697
2797
2897
2997
3097
3197

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the miserable band about 96% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
1595
2595
3496
4496
5496
6496
7496
8496
9496
10496
11496
12496
13496
14496
15496
16496
17496
18496
19496
20397
21397
22496
23496
24496
25496
26496
27496
28496
29595
30595
31694

Wind in May

Winds average 10 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
18calm
28calm
38calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 12 min at the start of May to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 12 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:00 AM to 5:57 AM, and sunset from 6:15 PM to 6:19 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.26:006:15
212.26:006:15
312.36:006:15
412.35:596:15
512.35:596:15
612.35:596:15
712.35:596:15
812.35:586:15
912.35:586:15
1012.35:586:15
1112.35:586:15
1212.35:586:16
1312.35:586:16
1412.35:576:16
1512.35:576:16
1612.35:576:16
1712.35:576:16
1812.35:576:16
1912.35:576:16
2012.35:576:17
2112.35:576:17
2212.35:576:17
2312.35:576:17
2412.35:566:17
2512.45:566:18
2612.45:566:18
2712.45:566:18
2812.45:566:18
2912.45:566:18
3012.45:576:19
3112.45:576:19

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.65 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.43 kWh/m² to a high of 6.15 kWh/m² in March across the year — May's 4.65 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.1Bright
25.1Bright
35.0Bright
45.0Bright
55.0Bright
64.9Bright
74.9Bright
84.9Bright
94.8Bright
104.8Bright
114.8Bright
124.8Bright
134.7Bright
144.7Bright
154.7Bright
164.7Bright
174.6Bright
184.6Bright
194.6Bright
204.6Bright
214.5Bright
224.5Bright
234.5Bright
244.5Bright
254.5Bright
264.5Bright
274.4Bright
284.4Bright
294.4Bright
304.4Bright
314.4Bright
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Kelaniya

In seasonPeak

In May, Kelaniya sits inside its cyclone season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Kelaniya 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 May a good time to visit Kelaniya?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

2.5
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
3.7
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kelaniya.

What to pack for Kelaniya in May

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

In May, Kelaniya sees daytime highs around 31°C and nights near 26°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 29 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Kelaniya in May

The nearest coast averages about 29°C in May — 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 Kelaniya in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks 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 Kelaniya 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 Kelaniya in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Kelaniya is worst in January — around 84 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.8× the cleanest month (July, 29 µg/m³).

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

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyJan 1483 µg/m³Jul 2129 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan84Unhealthy
Feb78Unhealthy
Mar73Unhealthy
Apr62Unhealthy
May44Poor
Jun31Moderate
Jul29Moderate
Aug30Moderate
Sep35Poor
Oct52Poor
Nov74Unhealthy
Dec81Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Kelaniya?

Kelaniya sits at 7.0°N, 79.9°E, 10 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Mulleriyawa, 3.0 km away.

Topography around Kelaniya

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kelaniya has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 35 m around an average of 9 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 179 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,145 m.

The land around Kelaniya is covered by trees (48%) and artificial surfaces (47%) within 3 km, trees (47%), artificial surfaces (24%) and water (23%) within 16 km, and trees (62%) and water (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
35 m
16 km
179 m
80 km
2,145 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Mulleriyawa 3.0 km · Kotikawatta 3.0 km · Peliyagoda 4.0 km · Kolonnawa 5.0 km · Wattala 5.0 km · Hendala 6.0 km · Battaramulla South 7.0 km · Pita Kotte 8.0 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 Kelaniya (6.9553°, 79.922°, elevation 10 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).