Climate and average weather in Trincomalee
In Trincomalee, the summers are muggy, sweltering, fairly dry, and mostly cloudy and the winters are warm and partly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Trincomalee typically varies from 25°C to 33°C, and is rarely below 23°C or above 35°C. June is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Trincomalee for warm-weather activities is from late December to late March.
- Hottest
- Jun
- 33°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 25°
- Wettest
- Nov
- 300 mm
- Driest
- Jun
- 18 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1262 mm
- 140 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.5–12.5 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 10 m
- 8.6°N
- Clearest
- Mar
- 43% cloud
Trincomalee is city in Sri Lanka.
- Density
- 14,456/km²
- people per km²
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Trincomalee 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 late December to late March.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Trincomalee, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Trincomalee stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is June, with an average high of 33°C and low of 27°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 25°C and high of 27°C.
Days typically run about 5°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 6°C) in August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 27 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 27 |
| Avg low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 25 |
| Feb | 28 | 25 |
| Mar | 29 | 25 |
| Apr | 31 | 26 |
| May | 33 | 27 |
| Jun | 33 | 27 |
| Jul | 33 | 27 |
| Aug | 33 | 27 |
| Sep | 33 | 26 |
| Oct | 31 | 26 |
| Nov | 28 | 25 |
| Dec | 27 | 25 |
How hot and cold Trincomalee really feels
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, Trincomalee feels like about 40°C (around May 8). About 247 days a year carry some heat stress, and 40 of them tip into dangerous heat (feels-like above 39°C), peaking in May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 28 | 30 | 33 | 38 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 32 | 29 |
| Air high (°C) | 27 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 27 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 |
| Air low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 27 | 24 | 25 |
| Feb | 30 | 28 | 25 | 25 |
| Mar | 33 | 29 | 25 | 25 |
| Apr | 38 | 31 | 26 | 26 |
| May | 40 | 33 | 27 | 27 |
| Jun | 38 | 33 | 27 | 27 |
| Jul | 38 | 33 | 27 | 27 |
| Aug | 37 | 33 | 26 | 27 |
| Sep | 37 | 33 | 26 | 26 |
| Oct | 35 | 31 | 26 | 26 |
| Nov | 32 | 28 | 25 | 25 |
| Dec | 29 | 27 | 25 | 25 |
Average hourly temperature in Trincomalee
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 June afternoons, near 33°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 25°C.
Trincomalee weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27° / 25° | 126 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 5.8 |
| Feb | 28° / 25° | 73 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 6.3 |
| Mar | 29° / 25° | 40 | 7.2 | 11.9 | 5.8 |
| Apr | 31° / 26° | 56 | 10 | 12.2 | 4.4 |
| May | 33° / 27° | 48 | 8.2 | 12.4 | 3.6 |
| Jun | 33° / 27° | 18 | 3.2 | 12.5 | 3.6 |
| Jul | 33° / 27° | 31 | 5.5 | 12.4 | 3.6 |
| Aug | 33° / 27° | 45 | 7.8 | 12.3 | 3.6 |
| Sep | 33° / 26° | 65 | 10.7 | 12.1 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 31° / 26° | 186 | 18.5 | 11.8 | 3.6 |
| Nov | 28° / 25° | 300 | 24.1 | 11.6 | 3.9 |
| Dec | 27° / 25° | 277 | 20.9 | 11.5 | 4.7 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Trincomalee gets about 1262 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from around Sep 22 to Feb 5, peaking in November at about 80% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 20.
November is the wettest month by volume, with 300 mm over about 24 wet days; June is the driest, with 18 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 48 | 33 | 25 | 33 | 26 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 78 | 68 |
| Rain days | 15 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 21 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 15 |
| Feb | 33 | 10 |
| Mar | 25 | 7 |
| Apr | 33 | 10 |
| May | 26 | 8 |
| Jun | 11 | 3 |
| Jul | 17 | 6 |
| Aug | 26 | 8 |
| Sep | 35 | 11 |
| Oct | 61 | 19 |
| Nov | 78 | 24 |
| Dec | 68 | 21 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Trincomalee collects about 1262 mm of rain across 140 wet days — roughly 105 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 300 mm, while June is the driest at just 18 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 60% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 126 | 73 | 40 | 56 | 48 | 18 | 31 | 45 | 65 | 186 | 300 | 277 |
| Rain days | 15 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 21 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 126 | 15 |
| Feb | 73 | 10 |
| Mar | 40 | 7 |
| Apr | 56 | 10 |
| May | 48 | 8 |
| Jun | 18 | 3 |
| Jul | 31 | 6 |
| Aug | 45 | 8 |
| Sep | 65 | 11 |
| Oct | 186 | 19 |
| Nov | 300 | 24 |
| Dec | 277 | 21 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Trincomalee, 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 23 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around May 15. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 69% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around May 16 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around December 22. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 48 | 59 | 69 | 59 | 39 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 35 |
| Cloudier (%) | 52 | 41 | 31 | 41 | 61 | 77 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 65 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 52 |
| Feb | 59 | 41 |
| Mar | 69 | 31 |
| Apr | 59 | 41 |
| May | 39 | 61 |
| Jun | 23 | 77 |
| Jul | 20 | 80 |
| Aug | 22 | 78 |
| Sep | 30 | 70 |
| Oct | 30 | 70 |
| Nov | 28 | 72 |
| Dec | 35 | 65 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 29, brings about 12 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 1 hour.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 12.1 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 11.5 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:28 | 6:28 | 6:17 | 6:00 | 5:50 | 5:50 | 5:57 | 6:01 | 5:58 | 5:56 | 6:02 | 6:16 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:01 | 6:11 | 6:13 | 6:11 | 6:13 | 6:20 | 6:24 | 6:18 | 6:01 | 5:44 | 5:38 | 5:46 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.6 | 6:28 | 6:01 |
| Feb | 11.7 | 6:28 | 6:11 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 6:17 | 6:13 |
| Apr | 12.2 | 6:00 | 6:11 |
| May | 12.4 | 5:50 | 6:13 |
| Jun | 12.5 | 5:50 | 6:20 |
| Jul | 12.4 | 5:57 | 6:24 |
| Aug | 12.3 | 6:01 | 6:18 |
| Sep | 12.1 | 5:58 | 6:01 |
| Oct | 11.8 | 5:56 | 5:44 |
| Nov | 11.6 | 6:02 | 5:38 |
| Dec | 11.5 | 6:16 | 5:46 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Trincomalee averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 16 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.3 months, from around Jan 8 to May 19. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is July, down near 2 sunny days — about 86% fewer than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 8 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Mixed | Bright | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 11 | Mixed |
| Mar | 16 | Bright |
| Apr | 12 | Mixed |
| May | 7 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 3 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 4 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 5 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 4 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 5 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
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.
Trincomalee 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 96% of the time. Even in January, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 0% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humid (%) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Muggy (%) | 33 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| Oppressive (%) | 62 | 65 | 66 | 30 | 45 | 89 | 97 | 97 | 96 | 87 | 78 | 74 |
| Miserable (%) | 1 | 5 | 23 | 70 | 55 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 18 | 8 |
| Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 33 | 62 | 1 |
| Feb | 3 | 28 | 65 | 5 |
| Mar | 0 | 10 | 66 | 23 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | 30 | 70 |
| May | 0 | 0 | 45 | 55 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 | 89 | 11 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 97 | 3 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 97 | 3 |
| Sep | 0 | 1 | 96 | 3 |
| Oct | 0 | 1 | 87 | 12 |
| Nov | 0 | 4 | 78 | 18 |
| Dec | 1 | 16 | 74 | 8 |
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 Trincomalee is typically light breeze, near 16 km/h, and varies a lot with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around May 12 to Sep 27. The windiest month is June, averaging about 24 km/h (breezy).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Sep 28 to May 11, with April the calmest month at about 11 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 16 |
| Feels | light breeze | light breeze | calm | calm | light breeze | breezy | breezy | breezy | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | light breeze |
| Feb | 14 | light breeze |
| Mar | 12 | calm |
| Apr | 11 | calm |
| May | 18 | light breeze |
| Jun | 24 | breezy |
| Jul | 22 | breezy |
| Aug | 21 | breezy |
| Sep | 18 | light breeze |
| Oct | 14 | light breeze |
| Nov | 12 | light breeze |
| Dec | 16 | light breeze |
Hazard calendar for Trincomalee
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Trincomalee sits in the North Indian Ocean cyclone zone; the season peaks May and October–November.
Trincomalee's monsoon runs October–December, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Trincomalee
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Trincomalee throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid January, Trincomalee is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.
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 Trincomalee for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to late March, with a peak score in the third week of February.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 5.7 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.7 |
| Rating | good | good | good | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.7 | good |
| Feb | 6.3 | good |
| Mar | 5.8 | good |
| Apr | 4.4 | fair |
| May | 3.6 | fair |
| Jun | 3.6 | fair |
| Jul | 3.6 | fair |
| Aug | 3.6 | fair |
| Sep | 3.6 | fair |
| Oct | 3.6 | fair |
| Nov | 3.9 | fair |
| Dec | 4.7 | fair |
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 Trincomalee for hot-weather activities is from late January to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of March.
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 Trincomalee, by month
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.
For a warm-season trip around June (highs near 33°C), the essentials are light clothes, sun protection and a windbreaker. In the cold season around January (highs near 27°C), pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.
In June, Trincomalee sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 27°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection and a windbreaker. About 3 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Trincomalee
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 17 km away) is warmest in May at about 30°C and coldest in January near 27°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Comfort | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | Warm |
| Feb | 28 | Warm |
| Mar | 29 | Tropical |
| Apr | 30 | Tropical |
| May | 30 | Tropical |
| Jun | 30 | Tropical |
| Jul | 29 | Tropical |
| Aug | 29 | Tropical |
| Sep | 29 | Tropical |
| Oct | 29 | Tropical |
| Nov | 29 | Tropical |
| Dec | 28 | Warm |
UV index (midday) in Trincomalee by month
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 Trincomalee peaks around May 10 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 9 (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 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 9 |
| Level | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Very high |
| Feb | 12 | Extreme |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 14 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 13 | Extreme |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 9 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in Trincomalee
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 May the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.5 | 5 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 8 | 6.5 |
| May | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 6 |
| Jul | 8 | 6 |
| Aug | 8 | 6 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 7.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Dec | 7 | 5 |
Air quality in Trincomalee by month
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 Trincomalee is worst in May — around 28 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), 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) | 22 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 25 | 24 | 22 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | Moderate |
| Feb | 21 | Moderate |
| Mar | 24 | Moderate |
| Apr | 27 | Moderate |
| May | 28 | Moderate |
| Jun | 21 | Moderate |
| Jul | 20 | Moderate |
| Aug | 20 | Moderate |
| Sep | 21 | Moderate |
| Oct | 25 | Moderate |
| Nov | 24 | Moderate |
| Dec | 22 | Moderate |
Growing season
Trincomalee is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
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. Trincomalee banks about 6,619 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 487 | 453 | 536 | 563 | 621 | 604 | 614 | 608 | 580 | 560 | 498 | 495 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 487 |
| Feb | 453 |
| Mar | 536 |
| Apr | 563 |
| May | 621 |
| Jun | 604 |
| Jul | 614 |
| Aug | 608 |
| Sep | 580 |
| Oct | 560 |
| Nov | 498 |
| Dec | 495 |
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.
Trincomalee receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.1 and 6.6 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 7.9 months, from around Feb 13 to Oct 10. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.4 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 4.2 kWh/m² — roughly 35% less than the March peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 4.7 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.7 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.6 | Bright |
| Mar | 6.5 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.5 | Intense |
| May | 6.2 | Intense |
| Jun | 5.8 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.8 | Bright |
| Aug | 6.0 | Bright |
| Sep | 6.0 | Intense |
| Oct | 5.4 | Bright |
| Nov | 4.3 | Bright |
| Dec | 4.2 | Bright |
Where is Trincomalee?
Trincomalee sits at 8.6°N, 81.2°E, 10 m above sea level, in Sri Lanka. The nearest listed city is Vakarai, 54 km away.
Topography around Trincomalee
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Trincomalee.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Trincomalee has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 78 m around an average of 5 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 161 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 684 m.
The land around Trincomalee is covered by water (62%) within 3 km, water (55%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and trees (41%) and water (38%) within 80 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 Trincomalee (8.5778°, 81.2289°, 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).