The Climate of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a large island located in the Indian Ocean just to the south of India. The interior is mountainous, with peaks rising to 8000ft (2400m), while extensive lowland regions exist around the coast. Sri Lanka has a tropical climate influenced by the seasonal wind reversal of the Asian monsoon.

In the lowlands, temperatures are high all year round. The heat and high humidity can be uncomfortable at times.
 
However in coastal areas, some respite from the heat can come from afternoon sea breezes. Inland among the mountains, temperatures are cooler due to increased altitude, so that the climate is very pleasant most of the year. Frost occurs only very occasionally here.

Rainfall is abundant and occurs all year round. The wettest regions are the southwestern coast and mountain slopes, where rainfall is greatest during the two periods April-June and Oct-Nov.
 The northeastern side of the island is much drier with little rain between Feb-Sept. The main rainy season here is from Oct-Jan during the northeast monsoon season. Although the southwest monsoon brings wetter weather, the transition from dry to wet weather is not as abrupt as in the Indian subcontinent to the north.

Sunshine in Sri Lanka is abundant, about 6-8 hours per day. In many parts of the island, rainfall occurs in the form of afternoon thunderstorms
 

	Colombo Month Rainfall(mm) Temperature (Celsius) Ave. Monthly Ave. No. of Days with 1mm Average Daily Lowest Recorded Highest Recorded Min Max Jan 90 7 22.3 31.0 16.4 35.2 Feb 70 6 22.7 31.2 18.9 35.6 Mar 146 8 23.7 31.7 17.7 36 Apr 232 13 24.6 31.8 21.2 35.2 May 370 20 25.5 31.1 20.7 32.8 Jun 226 18 25.5 30.4 21.4 33.5 Jul 137 13 25.1 30.0 21.4 32.2 Aug 107 12 25.1 30.0 21.6 32.2 Sep 163 13 24.8 30.2 21.2 32.2 Oct 349 18 24.0 30.0 21.0 33.6 Nov 315 16 23.2 30.2 18.6 34.0 Dec 143 11 22.8 30.4 18.1 34.2