Sri Lanka · 6.93°N 79.85°E · monthly climate normals, judged against the Tropical preset (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon)
The best time to visit Colombo is December to March and July to August, when mean temperatures run from 27 °C81 °F to 28 °C82 °F and rainfall runs 80–176 mm3.1–6.9 in a month.
The rainy season runs March to July and September to December, and April to June and September to November is a true monsoon — 232–408 mm9.1–16 in a month, peaking in October at 408 mm16 in. The mean temperature barely moves through the year, 27–29 °C81–84 °F, warmest in April.
Figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at 6.93, 79.85 — a climate guide, not a forecast.
Pick the weather you like and every month is judged against it — temperature above the month names, rain below.
Good time to go for a Tropical holiday: December to March and July to August.
Open Colombo on the interactive map ↗ the same verdict for every place on Earth, any month
Reading the chart. Gold is good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour names the reason it doesn't — the temperature bar can be too cold or too hot, the rain bar too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar is a half that fits while the other half fails; a gold month name means both fit.
What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the monthly mean, judged against the preset's band (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within Colombo's own year rather than raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month the preset doesn't allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season — 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate whose wettest month is at least three times its driest — so every monsoon month is rainy season too; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.
| Month | Rain | Mean | Season | Tropical verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 803.1 | 2781 | showers | good |
| February | 883.5 | 2781 | showers | good |
| March | 1606.3 | 2882 | rainy | good |
| April | 28811 | 2983 | monsoon | monsoon |
| May | 39215 | 2983 | monsoon | monsoon |
| June | 2489.8 | 2882 | monsoon | monsoon |
| July | 1606.3 | 2882 | rainy | good |
| August | 1365.4 | 2882 | showers | good |
| September | 2329.1 | 2882 | monsoon | monsoon |
| October | 40816 | 2781 | monsoon | monsoon |
| November | 35214 | 2781 | monsoon | monsoon |
| December | 1766.9 | 2780 | rainy | good |
| Looking for | Rule | Months that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers | |
| Tropical | mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon | December to March and July to August |
| Beach | mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, dry or showers | January to February and August |
| Cool | mean 0–14 °C32–57 °F, anything but the monsoon | |
| Snow | mean below 0 °C32 °F, any rain |
Yes. The rainy season runs March to July and September to December, and April to June and September to November is a true monsoon — 232–408 mm9.1–16 in a month, peaking in October at 408 mm16 in. Outside it, rain eases but never stops.
The mean temperature barely moves through the year, 27–29 °C81–84 °F, warmest in April. Annual rainfall totals about 2,720 mm107 in.
The nearest destinations that do fit the Tropical preset in the months Colombo doesn't:
The interactive map colours the whole world by how it fits your picks in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.