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Fall Weather in Colombo Sri Lanka

Daily high temperatures are around 87°F, rarely falling below 84°F or exceeding 89°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 4°F, from 79°F to 75°F, rarely falling below 73°F or exceeding 81°F.

For reference, on April 1, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Colombo typically range from 78°F to 90°F, while on January 12, the coldest day of the year, they range from 74°F to 88°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in the Fall in Colombo

Average High and Low Temperature in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov70°F70°F75°F75°F80°F80°F85°F85°F90°F90°F95°F95°FSummerWinterSep 186°FSep 186°F79°F79°FNov 3087°FNov 3087°F75°F75°FOct 187°FOct 187°F78°F78°FNov 187°FNov 187°F76°F76°FNowNow
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average fall temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in the Fall in Colombo

Average Hourly Temperature in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMSummerWinterNowNowwarmwarmhot
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Santa Marta, Colombia (10,266 miles away) and São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil (8,591 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Colombo (view comparison).

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The fall in Colombo experiences decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 83% to 74%.

The clearest day of the fall is November 30, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 26% of the time.

For reference, on July 21, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 88%, while on March 4, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 44%.

Cloud Cover Categories in the Fall in Colombo

Cloud Cover Categories in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%SummerWinterSep 117%Sep 117%Nov 3026%Nov 3026%Oct 119%Oct 119%Nov 121%Nov 121%NowNowmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Colombo, the chance of a wet day over the course of the fall is very rapidly increasing, starting the season at 35% and ending it at 52%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 70% on October 28, and its lowest chance is 19% on February 9.

Probability of Precipitation in the Fall in Colombo

Probability of Precipitation in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%SummerWinterOct 2870%Oct 2870%Sep 135%Sep 135%Nov 3052%Nov 3052%Oct 153%Oct 153%NowNowrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the fall in Colombo is very rapidly increasing, starting the season at 3.2 inches, when it rarely exceeds 6.4 inches or falls below 0.3 inches, and ending the season at 6.6 inches, when it rarely exceeds 12.1 inches or falls below 2.4 inches.

The highest average 31-day accumulation is 9.4 inches on November 2.

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Fall in Colombo

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0 in0 in2 in2 in4 in4 in6 in6 in8 in8 in10 in10 in12 in12 in14 in14 in16 in16 inSummerWinterNov 29.4 inNov 29.4 inSep 13.2 inSep 13.2 inNov 306.6 inNov 306.6 inOct 16.1 inOct 16.1 inNowNow
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of the fall in Colombo, the length of the day is gradually decreasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day decreases by 29 minutes, implying an average daily decrease of 20 seconds, and weekly decrease of 2 minutes, 17 seconds.

The shortest day of the fall is November 30, with 11 hours, 45 minutes of daylight and the longest day is September 1, with 12 hours, 15 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Fall in Colombo

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrSummerWinterSep 2212 hr, 7 minSep 2212 hr, 7 minnightnightdaydayNov 3011 hr, 45 minNov 3011 hr, 45 minNov 111 hr, 52 minNov 111 hr, 52 minNowNow
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the fall in Colombo is 5:57 AM on October 19 and the latest sunrise is 10 minutes later at 6:06 AM on November 30.

The latest sunset is 6:17 PM on September 1 and the earliest sunset is 28 minutes earlier at 5:49 PM on November 13.

Daylight saving time is not observed in Colombo during 2024.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:56 AM and sets 12 hours, 32 minutes later, at 6:28 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 6:17 AM and sets 11 hours, 43 minutes later, at 6:00 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in the Fall in Colombo

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMSummerWinter5:57 AM5:57 AMOct 195:53 PMOct 195:53 PM6:03 AM6:03 AMSep 16:17 PMSep 16:17 PM6:00 AM6:00 AMNov 135:49 PMNov 135:49 PM6:06 AM6:06 AMNov 305:51 PMNov 305:51 PM5:58 AM5:58 AMOct 16:01 PMOct 16:01 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day in the fall. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Fall in Colombo

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMSummerWinter001020203030405050606070800010102030304040506070NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth in the the fall of 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the fall of 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Fall in Colombo

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMSummerWinterAug 44:44 PMAug 44:44 PMAug 1911:56 PMAug 1911:56 PMSep 37:26 AMSep 37:26 AMSep 188:05 AMSep 188:05 AMOct 312:20 AMOct 312:20 AMOct 174:57 PMOct 174:57 PMNov 16:18 PMNov 16:18 PMNov 162:59 AMNov 162:59 AMDec 111:52 AMDec 111:52 AMDec 152:32 PMDec 152:32 PMDec 313:58 AMDec 313:58 AM6:35 PM6:35 PM6:14 PM6:14 PM6:25 AM6:25 AM6:34 PM6:34 PM5:39 PM5:39 PM6:00 AM6:00 AM6:11 AM6:11 AM6:23 PM6:23 PM5:49 PM5:49 PM6:30 AM6:30 AM5:35 AM5:35 AM5:40 PM5:40 PM5:17 PM5:17 PM6:10 AM6:10 AM5:57 AM5:57 AM5:55 PM5:55 PM5:58 PM5:58 PM7:01 AM7:01 AM6:34 PM6:34 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Colombo is essentially constant during the fall, remaining within 0% of 100% throughout.

For reference, on April 7, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 100% of the time, while on January 28, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 94% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Fall in Colombo

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%SummerWinterSep 1100%Sep 1100%Nov 3099%Nov 3099%Oct 1100%Oct 1100%Nov 1100%Nov 1100%NowNowmiserablemiserableoppressiveoppressivemuggymuggy
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Colombo is rapidly decreasing during the fall, decreasing from 13.0 miles per hour to 9.3 miles per hour over the course of the season.

For reference, on June 9, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 14.1 miles per hour, while on March 14, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 5.9 miles per hour.

The lowest daily average wind speed during the fall is 8.3 miles per hour on November 7.

Average Wind Speed in the Fall in Colombo

Average Wind Speed in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphSummerWinterNov 78.3 mphNov 78.3 mphSep 113.0 mphSep 113.0 mphNov 309.3 mphNov 309.3 mphOct 111.5 mphOct 111.5 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The wind direction in Colombo during the fall is predominantly out of the west from September 1 to November 10 and the north from November 10 to November 30.

Wind Direction in the Fall in Colombo

Wind Direction in the Fall in ColomboWNSepOctNov0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%SummerWinterNowNowwestnortheast
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Colombo is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Colombo is essentially constant during the fall, remaining within 1°F of 82°F throughout.

The highest average surface water temperature during the fall is 83°F on November 18.

Average Water Temperature in the Fall in Colombo

Average Water Temperature in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov79°F79°F80°F80°F81°F81°F82°F82°F83°F83°F84°F84°F85°F85°FSummerWinterNov 1883°FNov 1883°FSep 181°FSep 181°FOct 182°FOct 182°FNov 183°FNov 183°FNowNow
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Colombo are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Fall in Colombo

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%SummerWinter100%Oct 16100%Oct 16NowNowwarmhot
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Colombo are very rapidly increasing during the fall, increasing by 2,830°F, from 7,870°F to 10,699°F, over the course of the season.

Growing Degree Days in the Fall in Colombo

Growing Degree Days in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov8,000°F8,000°F8,500°F8,500°F9,000°F9,000°F9,500°F9,500°F10,000°F10,000°F10,500°F10,500°FSummerWinterSep 17,870°FSep 17,870°FNov 3010,699°FNov 3010,699°FOct 18,842°FOct 18,842°FNov 19,814°FNov 19,814°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the fall, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Colombo is essentially constant during the fall, remaining within 0.3 kWh of 4.6 kWh throughout.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during the fall is 4.3 kWh on November 8.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Fall in Colombo

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Fall in ColomboSepOctNov0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWhSummerWinterNov 84.3 kWhNov 84.3 kWhSep 14.9 kWhSep 14.9 kWhNov 304.6 kWhNov 304.6 kWhOct 14.8 kWhOct 14.8 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Colombo are 6.932 deg latitude, 79.848 deg longitude, and 30 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Colombo contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 102 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 20 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (226 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (7,175 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Colombo is covered by artificial surfaces (55%) and water (45%), within 10 miles by water (56%) and artificial surfaces (34%), and within 50 miles by water (59%) and trees (19%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Colombo, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Colombo.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Colombo according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Colombo is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Colombo and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Colombo and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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