Chennai weather by month & the best time to visit
🇮🇳 India · major coastal city · tropical — wet & dry seasons climate
The best time to visit Chennai is February — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 93/100), with January close behind. Chennai averages about 2,636 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 30°C / 86°F and roughly 6 mm of rain in February.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,636
- Sunniest month
- February
- Peak score
- 93/100
- Rain / year
- 1,253 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 11 (extreme)
- Sea at warmest
- 31°C / 88°F
- Population
- 7.2M
- Elevation
- 12 m
When is the best time to visit Chennai?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Chennai is February, then January. The dullest month is May (51/100, 55 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Chennai?
Chennai gets a lot of sun: around 2,636 hours a year. February (93/100) is noticeably better than May (51). It ranks #59 of 112 destinations in India for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,654 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around October, carries about 56% of the annual 1,253 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 92 | 28° / 82°F | 21° / 70°F | 16 mm | 9 | 27° / 81°F |
| February | 93 | 30° / 86°F | 21° / 70°F | 6 mm | 10 | 29° / 84°F |
| March | 73 | 34° / 93°F | 23° / 73°F | 15 mm | 11 | 30° / 86°F |
| April | 54 | 36° / 97°F | 26° / 79°F | 26 mm | 11 | 31° / 88°F |
| May | 51 | 36° / 97°F | 27° / 81°F | 55 mm | 10 | 31° / 88°F |
| June | 57 | 35° / 95°F | 27° / 81°F | 68 mm | 9 | 31° / 88°F |
| July | 60 | 34° / 93°F | 26° / 79°F | 108 mm | 9 | 29° / 84°F |
| August | 63 | 33° / 91°F | 25° / 77°F | 132 mm | 10 | 30° / 86°F |
| September | 68 | 32° / 90°F | 25° / 77°F | 145 mm | 10 | 30° / 86°F |
| October | 67 | 30° / 86°F | 25° / 77°F | 264 mm | 9 | 31° / 88°F |
| November | 67 | 29° / 84°F | 23° / 73°F | 292 mm | 8 | 29° / 84°F |
| December | 71 | 28° / 82°F | 22° / 72°F | 126 mm | 7 | 27° / 81°F |
Sea temperature in Chennai by month
The sea off Chennai is warmest in April at around 31°C / 88°F, and coolest in January at 27°C / 81°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly all year round. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Chennai on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Bengaluru India · 268 km · best in Jan · 2,860 h sun/yr
- Tiruchirappalli India · 294 km · best in Jan · 2,755 h sun/yr
- Vijayawada India · 400 km · best in Jan · 2,492 h sun/yr
- Coimbatore India · 404 km · best in Jan · 2,699 h sun/yr
- Calicut India · 502 km · best in Dec · 2,500 h sun/yr
- Hyderabad India · 507 km · best in Dec · 2,741 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Tirupati India · 99 km · 2,616 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Puducherry (Pondicherry) India · 120 km · 2,630 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Kadapa India · 227 km · 2,790 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Jaffna Sri Lanka · 356 km · 2,591 h sun/yr · best in Feb
Head-to-head
How Chennai compares month by month: Chennai vs Bengaluru · Chennai vs Vijayawada · Chennai vs Tiruchirappalli · all comparisons
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