Chennai, India climate

Aw Tropical savanna (dry winter)

Chennai has a mildly seasonal tropical climate (Tropical savanna (dry winter), Köppen Aw). The hottest month is May with an average daily high near 101°F, while the coldest is January averaging around 69°F at night. Precipitation totals about 55 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — November alone averages 17.2 inches while February barely receives 0.12 inches.

☀️ All year

Very hot

Daytime highs near 101°F most of the year.

About 210 days a year above 90 °F

🌙 Nights

Stays warm

Even the coolest nights stay near 69°F.

🌧️ Rain

Wet

About 55 in of rain a year.

Wettest in November

⛅ Sky & trend

Partly cloudy

A roughly even mix of sun and cloud.

+0.6 °F vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Clear vs cloudy days

Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day counts

Chennai climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	86	89	94	97	101	100	97	95	94	91	87	85
Avg temp (°F)	78	80	84	88	91	90	88	86	86	84	80	78
Avg low (°F)	69	71	75	79	81	81	79	78	77	76	73	70
Precipitation (in)	0.8	0.1	0.7	0.8	2.4	4.1	3.9	6.3	4.2	9.4	17.2	5.6

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°F)	86	89	94	97	101	100
Avg temp (°F)	78	80	84	88	91	90
Avg low (°F)	69	71	75	79	81	81
Precipitation (in)	0.8	0.1	0.7	0.8	2.4	4.1

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	97	95	94	91	87	85
Avg temp (°F)	88	86	86	84	80	78
Avg low (°F)	79	78	77	76	73	70
Precipitation (in)	3.9	6.3	4.2	9.4	17.2	5.6

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	2	0.9	0.7	1	2	6	10	12	10	13	14	8
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	1.0	10	25	26	26	25	26	25	23	18	5	0.4

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	2	0.9	0.7	1	2	6
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	1.0	10	25	26	26	25

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	10	12	10	13	14	8
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	26	25	23	18	5	0.4

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	41	34	32	41	57	77	83	82	74	68	65	54
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	14	16	18	13	7	1	0.7	0.8	2	5	5	8
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	12	9	10	11	14	9	6	7	9	9	10	13
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	5	3	3	6	10	20	25	23	19	17	15	10
Relative humidity (%)	77	72	66	65	64	65	68	72	77	80	82	80
Wind speed (mph)	6.3	6.1	6.6	7.8	8.2	8.2	8.0	7.2	5.9	5.6	7.3	7.6

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	41	34	32	41	57	77
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	14	16	18	13	7	1
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	12	9	10	11	14	9
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	5	3	3	6	10	20
Relative humidity (%)	77	72	66	65	64	65
Wind speed (mph)	6.3	6.1	6.6	7.8	8.2	8.2

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	83	82	74	68	65	54
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	0.7	0.8	2	5	5	8
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	6	7	9	9	10	13
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	25	23	19	17	15	10
Relative humidity (%)	68	72	77	80	82	80
Wind speed (mph)	8.0	7.2	5.9	5.6	7.3	7.6

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 24 years of daily observations at Madras/minambakkam, a weather station, about 14 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →