Chernobyl weather in May

In May, Chernobyl sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 59 mm of rain across 11.2 wet days and about 15.3 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 22°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 16 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Chernobyl's 4th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Chernobyl's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 20°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 59 mm; 11.2 wet days
Daylight: 15 h 18 min; 4:15 AM – 7:35 PM
Cloud cover: 60%; 4th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 5.39 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.2; out of 10

Chernobyl is partially abandoned city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.

Density: 63/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1193

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

← April Chernobyl year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 22°C by the end.

A typical May day in Chernobyl reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 7°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22
Avg low (°C)	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	8
2	18	8
3	18	8
4	18	9
5	19	9
6	19	9
7	19	9
8	19	9
9	19	9
10	19	10
11	20	10
12	20	10
13	20	10
14	20	10
15	20	10
16	20	11
17	20	11
18	21	11
19	21	11
20	21	11
21	21	11
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	22	12
26	22	12
27	22	12
28	22	13
29	22	13
30	22	13
31	22	13

How May really feels in Chernobyl

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Chernobyl weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 4th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-2° / -6°	36	8.9	6.9	8.2	0.0
Feb	-0° / -5°	33	8.4	6.4	9.6	0.0
Mar	5° / -1°	40	9.8	5	11.5	0.4
Apr	14° / 5°	42	9	0.6	13.5	4.0
May	20° / 11°	59	11.2	0	15.3	6.2
Jun	24° / 14°	65	11	0	16.3	6.8
Jul	25° / 16°	77	12.5	0	15.9	6.5
Aug	25° / 15°	58	9.4	0	14.4	7.0
Sep	19° / 10°	55	8.5	0	12.4	6.1
Oct	12° / 5°	47	8.8	0.2	10.4	3.1
Nov	5° / 1°	41	8.6	3.2	8.7	0.3
Dec	-0° / -4°	44	9.7	6.2	7.7	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 52%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	50	50	50	49	49	49	48	48	47	48	47	47	47	47	47	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	49	51
Cloudier (%)	50	50	50	51	51	51	52	52	53	52	53	53	53	53	53	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	51	49

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	48	52
8	48	52
9	47	53
10	48	52
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	48	52
25	48	52
26	48	52
27	48	52
28	48	52
29	48	52
30	49	51
31	51	49

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Chernobyl gets around 59 mm of rain over 11.2 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 35% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	31	32	32	33	34	34	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	37	37	37	37	37	36

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	36
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 83% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	98	98	98	97	97	96	95	95	93	92	91	89	88	87	85	83	82	80	79	77	76	75	74	73	71	71	70	70	68	68	66
Comfortable (%)	2	2	2	3	3	4	5	5	6	7	8	10	11	12	13	15	16	17	18	19	20	20	21	21	22	22	22	22	23	23	24
Humid (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	7	7	8	8	9	9	10

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	98	2	0
2	98	2	0
3	98	2	0
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	96	4	0
7	95	5	0
8	95	5	0
9	93	6	1
10	92	7	1
11	91	8	1
12	89	10	1
13	88	11	1
14	87	12	1
15	85	13	2
16	83	15	2
17	82	16	2
18	80	17	3
19	79	18	3
20	77	19	4
21	76	20	4
22	75	20	5
23	74	21	5
24	73	21	6
25	71	22	7
26	71	22	7
27	70	22	8
28	70	22	8
29	68	23	9
30	68	23	9
31	66	24	10

Wind in May

Winds average 12 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	12	light breeze
2	12	light breeze
3	12	light breeze
4	12	light breeze
5	12	light breeze
6	12	light breeze
7	12	light breeze
8	12	light breeze
9	12	light breeze
10	12	light breeze
11	12	light breeze
12	12	light breeze
13	12	light breeze
14	12	light breeze
15	12	light breeze
16	12	light breeze
17	12	light breeze
18	12	light breeze
19	12	light breeze
20	12	light breeze
21	12	light breeze
22	12	light breeze
23	12	light breeze
24	12	light breeze
25	12	light breeze
26	12	light breeze
27	12	light breeze
28	12	light breeze
29	12	light breeze
30	12	light breeze
31	12	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 16 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:41 AM to 3:57 AM, and sunset from 7:12 PM to 7:56 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.9	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.2	15.3	15.3	15.4	15.4	15.5	15.5	15.6	15.6	15.7	15.7	15.7	15.8	15.8	15.9	15.9	15.9	16.0
Sunrise (AM)	4:41	4:39	4:37	4:35	4:34	4:32	4:30	4:28	4:27	4:25	4:23	4:22	4:20	4:18	4:17	4:15	4:14	4:12	4:11	4:10	4:08	4:07	4:06	4:05	4:04	4:02	4:01	4:00	3:59	3:58	3:57
Sunset (PM)	7:12	7:13	7:15	7:16	7:18	7:20	7:21	7:23	7:25	7:26	7:28	7:29	7:31	7:32	7:34	7:35	7:37	7:38	7:40	7:41	7:43	7:44	7:45	7:47	7:48	7:49	7:51	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:56

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.5	4:41	7:12
2	14.6	4:39	7:13
3	14.6	4:37	7:15
4	14.7	4:35	7:16
5	14.7	4:34	7:18
6	14.8	4:32	7:20
7	14.9	4:30	7:21
8	14.9	4:28	7:23
9	15.0	4:27	7:25
10	15.0	4:25	7:26
11	15.1	4:23	7:28
12	15.1	4:22	7:29
13	15.2	4:20	7:31
14	15.2	4:18	7:32
15	15.3	4:17	7:34
16	15.3	4:15	7:35
17	15.4	4:14	7:37
18	15.4	4:12	7:38
19	15.5	4:11	7:40
20	15.5	4:10	7:41
21	15.6	4:08	7:43
22	15.6	4:07	7:44
23	15.7	4:06	7:45
24	15.7	4:05	7:47
25	15.7	4:04	7:48
26	15.8	4:02	7:49
27	15.8	4:01	7:51
28	15.9	4:00	7:52
29	15.9	3:59	7:53
30	15.9	3:58	7:54
31	16.0	3:57	7:56

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.39 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.57 kWh/m² to a high of 5.76 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.39 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.1	Bright
2	5.1	Bright
3	5.2	Bright
4	5.2	Bright
5	5.2	Bright
6	5.2	Bright
7	5.2	Bright
8	5.2	Bright
9	5.3	Bright
10	5.3	Bright
11	5.3	Bright
12	5.3	Bright
13	5.3	Bright
14	5.3	Bright
15	5.3	Bright
16	5.4	Bright
17	5.4	Bright
18	5.4	Bright
19	5.4	Bright
20	5.5	Bright
21	5.5	Bright
22	5.5	Bright
23	5.5	Bright
24	5.5	Bright
25	5.6	Bright
26	5.6	Bright
27	5.6	Bright
28	5.6	Bright
29	5.7	Bright
30	5.7	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Chernobyl?

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

6.2

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

3.4

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Chernobyl for sightseeing.

What to pack for Chernobyl in May

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

In May, Chernobyl sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Chernobyl in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Chernobyl peaks around June 23 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	1	2	4	4	7	7	6	4	2	1	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	1	Low
Mar	2	Moderate
Apr	4	Moderate
May	4	Moderate
Jun	7	High
Jul	7	High
Aug	6	High
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	2	Moderate
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Chernobyl?

Chernobyl sits at 51.3°N, 30.2°E, 0 m above sea level, in Ukraine. The nearest listed city is Slavutych, 45 km away.

Topography around Chernobyl

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Chernobyl has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 42 m around an average of 113 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 67 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 116 m.

The land around Chernobyl is covered by trees (58%) and grassland (27%) within 3 km, trees (72%) within 16 km, and trees (52%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

42 m

trees 58%

16 km

67 m

trees 72%

80 km

116 m

trees 52%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland

← April Chernobyl year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Slavutych 45 km · Novozavodskyi 76 km · Masany 76 km · Hostomel 78 km · Chernihiv 79 km · Vyshhorod 79 km · Bucha 80 km · Desnyanskyi 81 km

Ukraine travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 31% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,866; 2025
Happiness: 4.7 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 88%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 3.8; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 10.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 526

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 Chernobyl (51.2701°, 30.2197°, 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	8
2	18	8
3	18	8
4	18	9
5	19	9
6	19	9
7	19	9
8	19	9
9	19	9
10	19	10
11	20	10
12	20	10
13	20	10
14	20	10
15	20	10
16	20	11
17	20	11
18	21	11
19	21	11
20	21	11
21	21	11
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	22	12
26	22	12
27	22	12
28	22	13
29	22	13
30	22	13
31	22	13

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	48	52
8	48	52
9	47	53
10	48	52
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	48	52
25	48	52
26	48	52
27	48	52
28	48	52
29	48	52
30	49	51
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	36
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	98	2	0
2	98	2	0
3	98	2	0
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	96	4	0
7	95	5	0
8	95	5	0
9	93	6	1
10	92	7	1
11	91	8	1
12	89	10	1
13	88	11	1
14	87	12	1
15	85	13	2
16	83	15	2
17	82	16	2
18	80	17	3
19	79	18	3
20	77	19	4
21	76	20	4
22	75	20	5
23	74	21	5
24	73	21	6
25	71	22	7
26	71	22	7
27	70	22	8
28	70	22	8
29	68	23	9
30	68	23	9
31	66	24	10

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	8
2	18	8
3	18	8
4	18	9
5	19	9
6	19	9
7	19	9
8	19	9
9	19	9
10	19	10
11	20	10
12	20	10
13	20	10
14	20	10
15	20	10
16	20	11
17	20	11
18	21	11
19	21	11
20	21	11
21	21	11
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	22	12
26	22	12
27	22	12
28	22	13
29	22	13
30	22	13
31	22	13

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	48	52
8	48	52
9	47	53
10	48	52
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	48	52
25	48	52
26	48	52
27	48	52
28	48	52
29	48	52
30	49	51
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	36
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	98	2	0
2	98	2	0
3	98	2	0
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	96	4	0
7	95	5	0
8	95	5	0
9	93	6	1
10	92	7	1
11	91	8	1
12	89	10	1
13	88	11	1
14	87	12	1
15	85	13	2
16	83	15	2
17	82	16	2
18	80	17	3
19	79	18	3
20	77	19	4
21	76	20	4
22	75	20	5
23	74	21	5
24	73	21	6
25	71	22	7
26	71	22	7
27	70	22	8
28	70	22	8
29	68	23	9
30	68	23	9
31	66	24	10

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	8
2	18	8
3	18	8
4	18	9
5	19	9
6	19	9
7	19	9
8	19	9
9	19	9
10	19	10
11	20	10
12	20	10
13	20	10
14	20	10
15	20	10
16	20	11
17	20	11
18	21	11
19	21	11
20	21	11
21	21	11
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	22	12
26	22	12
27	22	12
28	22	13
29	22	13
30	22	13
31	22	13

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	48	52
8	48	52
9	47	53
10	48	52
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	48	52
25	48	52
26	48	52
27	48	52
28	48	52
29	48	52
30	49	51
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	36
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	98	2	0
2	98	2	0
3	98	2	0
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	96	4	0
7	95	5	0
8	95	5	0
9	93	6	1
10	92	7	1
11	91	8	1
12	89	10	1
13	88	11	1
14	87	12	1
15	85	13	2
16	83	15	2
17	82	16	2
18	80	17	3
19	79	18	3
20	77	19	4
21	76	20	4
22	75	20	5
23	74	21	5
24	73	21	6
25	71	22	7
26	71	22	7
27	70	22	8
28	70	22	8
29	68	23	9
30	68	23	9
31	66	24	10