Is It Monsoon?
Chennai, India JANUARY
25°
★★★
Peak season
21° to 30°
Cool & Dry
The least hot month of the year, and the driest stretch of the cool season.
📅
Pongal, mid-January
Tamil Nadu's major harvest festival, a four-day celebration thanking the sun god and cattle for a good harvest, marked by decorated kolam patterns, the festival's namesake sweet rice dish, and family gatherings across the state.
☀️ Sunscreen🧥 Light layers for evenings
27°
★★★
Peak season
22° to 32°
Warm & Dry
Still comfortably cool and dry, with the best sunshine-to-comfort balance of the year.
☀️ Sunscreen🧥 Light layers for evenings
29°
★★★
Shoulder season
23° to 34°
Heat Builds
Still technically the dry season, but the heat climbs fast from here.
☀️ Sunscreen🥵 Heat building
31°
★★★
Shoulder season
26° to 36°
Very Hot
Daytime highs regularly push past 36°C, with the hottest stretch of the year just ahead.
🥵 Heat protection💧 Stay hydrated
33°
★★★
Shoulder season
28° to 38°
Scorching
The hottest month of the year, with temperatures that have reached 45°C.
🥵 Extreme heat💧 Stay hydrated
32°
★★★
Shoulder season
27° to 38°
Monsoon Elsewhere
The southwest monsoon begins on India's other coast, but the Western Ghats shield Chennai, so rain stays fairly light here.
🥵 Heat protection☔ Light rain jacket
31°
★★★
Off-peak season
26° to 36°
Hot & Humid
Still hot, with rain becoming more frequent, though not yet the year's wettest stretch.
☔ Umbrella handy💧 Stay hydrated
30°
★★★
Off-peak season
26° to 35°
Rain Increases
Rain grows more frequent and widespread as the month goes on.
☔ Umbrella handy💧 Stay hydrated
30°
★★★
Off-peak season
25° to 34°
Building Toward Monsoon
Hot and increasingly wet, as the year's wettest stretch approaches.
☔ Umbrella handy🥵 Still hot
29°
★★★
Shoulder season
24° to 33°
Northeast Monsoon Arrives
Rain becomes a near-daily event as the true wet season sets in.
☔ Umbrella essential⚠️ Flash-flood aware
27°
★★★
Shoulder season
23° to 31°
Wettest Month
The wettest month of the year, driven by the retreating northeast monsoon, with the mildest temperatures outside winter.
☔ Heavy rain gear⚠️ Flash-flood aware
26°
★★★
Peak season
22° to 29°
Cool but Damp
Cool and pleasant, though rain from the retreating monsoon can still linger into the first half of the month.
🧥 Light layers for evenings☔ Light rain jacket
Drag through the year Jan
⭐️
Jan
⭐️
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
⭐️
Dec
This month
Rainfall
25 mm
3 rainy days this month
Sunshine
7.5 hrs/day
58% of daylight hours
Humidity
74%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
6 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
5 mm
1 rainy day this month
Sunshine
8.5 hrs/day
65% of daylight hours
Humidity
72%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
8 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
15 mm
1 rainy day this month
Sunshine
9.5 hrs/day
73% of daylight hours
Humidity
70%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
10 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
25 mm
2 rainy days this month
Sunshine
10 hrs/day
77% of daylight hours
Humidity
71%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
11 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
51 mm
4 rainy days this month
Sunshine
9.5 hrs/day
73% of daylight hours
Humidity
65%
Comfortably humid
Wind
13 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
56 mm
11 rainy days this month
Sunshine
8 hrs/day
62% of daylight hours
Humidity
61%
Comfortably humid
Wind
13 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
84 mm
16 rainy days this month
Sunshine
4.5 hrs/day
35% of daylight hours
Humidity
65%
Comfortably humid
Wind
11 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
125 mm
18 rainy days this month
Sunshine
6 hrs/day
46% of daylight hours
Humidity
69%
Comfortably humid
Wind
11 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
119 mm
15 rainy days this month
Sunshine
6.5 hrs/day
50% of daylight hours
Humidity
73%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
10 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
264 mm
16 rainy days this month
Sunshine
8.5 hrs/day
65% of daylight hours
Humidity
79%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
6 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
310 mm
16 rainy days this month
Sunshine
8.5 hrs/day
65% of daylight hours
Humidity
81%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
6 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
Rainfall
155 mm
10 rainy days this month
Sunshine
7 hrs/day
54% of daylight hours
Humidity
78%
Air feels heavy and sticky
Wind
8 km/h
Light, barely noticeable
★★★ peak season, ★★☆ decent shoulder months, ★☆☆ true off-peak, based on rain frequency, heat, and haze.
Seasons at a glance
🌟
Peak season: Jan, Feb, Dec
Chennai's most comfortable stretch, the coolest weather of the year. January and February are also dry, the true best time to visit, while December still carries some lingering rain from the retreating monsoon.
🌤️
Shoulder season: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov
This tier spans real extremes. March through May are still technically the dry season, but the heat builds fast and peaks just before the summer monsoon, sometimes exceeding 45°C. June brings the start of the southwest monsoon elsewhere in India, though Chennai's east coast is shielded by the Western Ghats and sees only modest rain. October and November are the wettest months of the year, driven by the northeast monsoon.
☔
Off-peak season: Jul, Aug, Sep
The core of Chennai's rainy season, hot and humid with increasingly frequent rain, building toward the true deluge that arrives in October and November.
Good to know
✈️
A major South India air hub
Chennai International Airport connects to cities across India and international destinations throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
🏖️
Marina Beach is for walking, not swimming
One of the longest urban beaches in the world at 13km, but swimming is prohibited due to a dangerously strong undercurrent.
🌀
Cyclone risk is concentrated in autumn
Storms from the Bay of Bengal can affect the coast from April to December, but southeastern India is normally only in the path from mid-October to December, and more rarely in May. Cyclone Thane struck the city in late December 2011.
🌧️
Chennai's wet season runs backward from most of India
While much of the country gets its rain from the summer southwest monsoon, Chennai's wettest period is October to December, from the northeast monsoon instead.
Top attractions
1
Marina Beach
A 13km stretch of sand along the Bay of Bengal, one of the longest urban beaches in the world, lined with food stalls and popular for evening walks.
2
Kapaleeshwarar Temple
A 7th-century Shiva temple in Dravidian style, known for its towering, intricately sculpted gopuram gateway tower.
3
Fort St. George
India's first English fortress, built in 1644, now home to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and a museum of colonial-era artifacts, uniforms, and coins.