Climate in Puttalam (Sri Lanka)

The climate of Puttalam is tropical, hot all year round. There is a rainy season from October to December, which has a maximum in November, and another less evident in April and May, while in the rest of the year the rains are quite rare.

Puttalam is a city of 45,000 inhabitants, located on the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the North-Western Province. The city is located within a lagoon, separated from the coast of the Indian Ocean by the Kalpitiya peninsula.



During the period when the sun passes at the zenith (April-May), there is a certain increase in rainfall. But then, from mid-May to September, the period of the southwest monsoon, the north-west of Sri Lanka is partially protected by neighboring India, so the rains are rare. However, in the latter period, there is often wind and the sea is rough, in fact, on the ocean coast kitesurfing is practiced.
Instead, the rainiest period, as mentioned at the beginning, is from October to December. In November, which as mentioned is the rainiest month, there can sometimes be floods, as happened in 2021.

Temperatures are high all year round. The hottest period is from March to May, before the monsoon, when the temperature can reach 37/38 °C (99/100 °F).

The sun often shines from January to May, while in the rest of the year, the hours of sunshine decrease a little, both in the summer (where it rarely rains, but there's still some cloudiness due to the south-west monsoon) and in the rainy period of the end of the year.

Sri Lanka is in the path of tropical cyclones. Typically, on the Indian Ocean north of the Equator, cyclones occur from April to December, although Sri Lanka is usually only affected in November and December, and more rarely in May. In fact, usually in mid-May, sometimes there can be heavy rains, caused by cyclones that form in the Bay of Bengal, even if they are at the beginning of their life. However, since the sea is warm all year round, in theory they can also form from January to March, perhaps in a light form (such as tropical storms).

Best Time

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The best time for a beach holiday in Puttalam is from mid-January to March. It must be said that from March onwards it can get very hot. In April and May, during some years it can rain a lot, at least at certain times.
From June to August, rainfall is rare, but, as mentioned, it is windy, the sea is rough and the sky can be cloudy.

Puttalam - Climate data

In Puttalam, the average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 26 °C, that of the warmest month (May) is of 29.5 °C. Here are the average temperatures.