Places to avoid in May

In May, 162 well-known destinations sit inside a hazard season: monsoon in 57 (Bagan, Colombo, Yangon and 54 more), extreme heat in 20 (Ranthambore, Jodhpur, Jaipur and 17 more), dust season in 23 (Sierra Nevada, Delhi, Doha and 20 more) and sargassum season in 21 (San Juan, Montego Bay, San Andrés and 18 more). By the numbers, of 1,387 destinations, 162 feel like 35 °C or more in the afternoon, 386 have 18 or more rainy days and 17 have poor air. 5 well-known places are at peak crowds and 1 is partly closed for the season.

Not a forecast: these are the seasons in which the risk exists, and the climate normals for the month. Most weeks pass quietly; the numbers say how often they do not.

Hazard seasons on in May

Curated, sourced windows — hurricane, typhoon and cyclone seasons, the monsoon, smoke, floods, smog. Well-known places first, the month's lowest scores at the top.

Monsoon on

73 places

The wet season proper — heavy, daily, and the reason prices fall.

  1. Bagan 🇲🇲 MyanmarMonsoon, 20 May – 10 Oct (usually) · instead January33
  2. Colombo 🇱🇰 Sri LankaMonsoon, 15 May – 15 Sep (usually) · instead February43
  3. Yangon 🇲🇲 MyanmarMonsoon, 20 May – 15 Oct (usually) — Yangon takes one of the heaviest monsoons in the region and it rains for days at a time rather than in bursts. · instead January43
  4. Bangkok 🇹🇭 ThailandMonsoon, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) · instead December47
  5. Khao Sok 🇹🇭 ThailandMonsoon, 1 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January48
  6. Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 CambodiaMonsoon, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — Late-afternoon downpours that flood the low streets for an hour and then clear. · instead January48

…and 67 more, 51 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Extreme heat on

41 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

  1. Ranthambore 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 1 May – 25 Jun (usually) · instead January27
  2. Jodhpur 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 20 Apr – 25 Jun (usually) · instead January31
  3. Jaipur 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 25 Apr – 20 Jun (usually) · instead February35
  4. Chennai 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 4–28 May (usually) — The fortnight the Tamil almanac names as the hottest of the year, and the city agrees with it. · instead February40
  5. Hyderabad 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually) — Heat advisories start in late March and the middle of the day goes indoors until the rains break. · instead January40
  6. Varanasi 🇮🇳 IndiaExtreme heat, 15 Apr – 20 Jun (usually) — The Gangetic plain at its worst: the ghats are empty between ten and five and the stone is too hot to sit on. · instead December40

…and 35 more, 14 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Dust season on

30 places

Spring dust and sandstorms; sensitive lungs stay in.

  1. Sierra Nevada 🇪🇸 SpainDust season, 15 Feb – 15 Jun (usually) · instead January23
  2. Delhi 🇮🇳 IndiaDust season, 15 Apr – 20 Jun (usually) · instead February41
  3. Doha 🇶🇦 QatarDust season, 15 May – 15 Aug (usually) · instead January45
  4. Riyadh 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaDust season, 1 Mar – 31 May (usually) · instead February49
  5. Luxor 🇪🇬 EgyptDust season, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) — Spring southerlies fill the valley with sand for a day or two at a time and ground the dawn balloon flights. · instead February50
  6. Merzouga 🇲🇦 MoroccoDust season, 15 Mar – 31 May (usually) · instead February56

…and 24 more, 17 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Sargassum season on

24 places

The months the seaweed comes ashore on Caribbean and Gulf beaches.

  1. San Juan 🇵🇷 Puerto RicoSargassum season, 1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually) · instead January70
  2. Montego Bay 🇯🇲 JamaicaSargassum season, 1 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January75
  3. San Andrés 🇨🇴 ColombiaSargassum season, 1 Apr – 31 Aug (usually) · instead March78
  4. Fort Lauderdale 🇺🇸 United StatesSargassum season, 15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) · instead March83
  5. Ocho Rios 🇯🇲 JamaicaSargassum season, 1 May – 30 Sep (usually) — The bays east towards Oracabessa collect a fringe of weed through the summer. · instead February83
  6. Placencia 🇧🇿 BelizeSargassum season, 1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually) — The long east-facing beach collects weed through the summer and the hotels rake their own stretch. · instead March83

…and 18 more, 15 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Flood season on

21 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

  1. Guilin 🇨🇳 ChinaFlood season, 15 May – 31 Jul (usually) · instead October53
  2. Franz Josef 🇳🇿 New ZealandFlood season, 1 Jan – 31 Dec · instead February62
  3. San Antonio 🇺🇸 United StatesFlood season, 1 May – 15 Jun (usually) · instead March70
  4. Winnipeg 🇨🇦 CanadaFlood season, 1 Apr – 10 May (usually) · instead June80
  5. St. Louis 🇺🇸 United StatesFlood season, 1 Apr – 30 Jun (usually) · instead May87
  6. Sylhet 🇧🇩 BangladeshFlood season, 15 May – 30 Sep (usually) · instead January46

…and 15 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Storm season on

10 places

Tornadoes, derechos, hail — the afternoons to watch the sky.

  1. Kolkata 🇮🇳 IndiaStorm season, 20 Mar – 20 May (usually) · instead January52
  2. Austin 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 15 Apr – 15 Jun (usually) · instead March69
  3. Dallas 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 1 Apr – 15 Jun · instead April75
  4. Memphis 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 15 Mar – 31 May (usually) · instead October83
  5. Atlanta 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 1 Mar – 15 May (usually) · instead October84
  6. St. Louis 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 15 Mar – 15 Jun (usually) · instead May87

…and 4 more, 3 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Hurricane season on

9 places

Statistically quiet most weeks, occasionally catastrophic.

  1. Huatulco 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season opens a fortnight before the Atlantic one. · instead February79
  2. Puerto Escondido 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season opens in mid-May and runs to the end of November. · instead December82
  3. Acapulco 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The official season runs from mid-May to the end of November, with September and October the active weeks. · instead April86
  4. Puerto Vallarta 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov — The eastern Pacific season runs mid-May to the end of November. · instead April91
  5. Zihuatanejo 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov · instead April91
  6. Los Cabos 🇲🇽 MexicoHurricane season, 15 May – 30 Nov · instead March95

…and 3 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Smoke season on

7 places

Burning fields or forests; the air, not the weather, is the problem.

  1. Santiago 🇨🇱 ChileSmoke season, 1 May – 31 Aug (usually) · instead November77
  2. Knysna 🇿🇦 South AfricaSmoke season, 1 May – 30 Nov (usually) · instead January79
  3. Saipan 🇲🇵 Northern Mariana IslandsSmoke season, 1 Feb – 31 May (usually) · instead March83
  4. Mexico City 🇲🇽 MexicoSmoke season, 1 Mar – 31 May · instead November84
  5. Cape Town 🇿🇦 South AfricaSmoke season, 1 Nov – 15 May (usually) — The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads. · instead November85
  6. Chita 🇷🇺 RussiaSmoke season, 1 Apr – 10 Jun (usually) · instead June81

…and 1 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Cyclone season on

6 places

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

  1. Muscat 🇴🇲 OmanCyclone season, 15 May – 15 Nov (usually) — Two risk windows, before and after the Indian monsoon, and most years pass without one. · instead January42
  2. Port Louis 🇲🇺 MauritiusCyclone season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) — The Mauritius Meteorological Services run their warning classes from mid-November to mid-May. · instead October86
  3. Grand Baie 🇲🇺 MauritiusCyclone season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) — The Mauritius Meteorological Services run their cyclone warning classes from mid-November to mid-May. · instead September89
  4. Chittagong 🇧🇩 BangladeshCyclone season, 1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually) — The first of the year's two storm windows, and the one that has done the most damage here. · instead January50
  5. Cox's Bazar 🇧🇩 BangladeshCyclone season, 1 Apr – 31 May · instead February73
  6. Le Morne 🇲🇺 MauritiusCyclone season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) · instead September89

Rip currents & big surf on

5 places

Red flags for weeks at a time; the calm-looking water is the one that pulls people out.

  1. Khao Lak 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — Rip currents on this stretch of coast are the real risk, and the red flags go up for weeks at a time. · instead February61
  2. Krabi 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 15 Oct (usually) · instead February61
  3. Phuket 🇹🇭 ThailandRip currents & big surf, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) · instead February62
  4. Destin 🇺🇸 United StatesRip currents & big surf, 1 Mar – 31 Oct · instead May89
  5. Palomino 🇨🇴 ColombiaRip currents & big surf, 1 Jan – 31 Dec · instead January58

Avalanche season on

4 places

Backcountry and passes on forecast; the weeks the road closes after a dump.

  1. Te Anau 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 May – 30 Nov (usually) · instead January70
  2. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesAvalanche season, 15 Oct – 15 Jun (usually) — From mid-autumn into early summer steep snow slopes above popular trails such as Emerald Lake can slide. · instead August77
  3. Mestia 🇬🇪 GeorgiaAvalanche season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) · instead September80
  4. Taupo 🇳🇿 New ZealandAvalanche season, 1 May – 31 Oct · instead January66

Algae & red tide on

3 places

Blooms that close beaches and clear the water of fish for a few weeks; not the Caribbean weed.

  1. Austin 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 15 May – 31 Oct (usually) — The city posts warnings for toxic cyanobacteria on Lady Bird Lake through the warm months. · instead March69
  2. Boracay 🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlgae & red tide, 15 Feb – 31 May (usually) · instead April78
  3. Qingdao 🇨🇳 ChinaAlgae & red tide, 20 May – 15 Aug (usually) · instead September80

Typhoon season on

2 places

A system a summer stops the trains for a day; it rarely ruins a week.

  1. Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Hong KongTyphoon season, 1 May – 30 Nov — Tropical cyclones can reach the city from May, with July to September the likeliest. · instead December55
  2. Koror 🇵🇼 PalauTyphoon season, 15 May – 30 Nov (usually) · instead March65

Extreme cold on

2 places

The weeks the city stops going outside — dzud, ice storms, minus thirty.

  1. Cradle Mountain 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme cold, 1 Jan – 31 Dec — Snow falls on this plateau in every month of the year and the summit track can be a whiteout in January. · instead January56
  2. Tongariro 🇳🇿 New ZealandExtreme cold, 1 May – 31 Oct (usually) — From May to October the Crossing is an alpine route: ice axe, crampons and the skills to use them, or a guide. · instead February68

Out of range by the numbers

Every destination whose May normals cross a line the comfort score will not forgive: 18 or more rainy days, afternoons that feel like 35 °C, air in the poor band, or well below freezing. Worst first.

Too wet by the numbers

386 places

Eighteen or more rainy days, or a soaked month by volume — the real rainy season, not afternoon showers.

  1. Jacó 🇨🇷 Costa Rica31 rainy days, 582 mm · instead February62
  2. Boquete 🇵🇦 Panama31 rainy days, 408 mm · instead February55
  3. Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador31 rainy days, 280 mm · instead August66
  4. Darjeeling 🇮🇳 India30 rainy days, 579 mm · instead November71
  5. Galle 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka30 rainy days, 379 mm · instead February63
  6. Colombo 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka29 rainy days, 359 mm · instead February43
  7. Thimphu 🇧🇹 Bhutan29 rainy days, 264 mm · instead November74
  8. Alleppey 🇮🇳 India29 rainy days, 449 mm · instead February57

…and 378 more, 173 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Too hot by the numbers

162 places

Afternoons that feel like 35 °C or more, or heat the humidity turns sticky. A dry, sunny month cannot average this away.

  1. Chennai 🇮🇳 India44°C afternoons · instead February40
  2. Ras Al Khaimah 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates43°C afternoons · instead November84
  3. Varanasi 🇮🇳 India43°C afternoons · instead December40
  4. Hyderabad 🇮🇳 India42°C afternoons · instead January40
  5. Muscat 🇴🇲 Oman42°C afternoons · instead January42
  6. Pondicherry 🇮🇳 India42°C afternoons · instead February82
  7. Agra 🇮🇳 India41°C afternoons · instead February44
  8. Bagan 🇲🇲 Myanmar41°C afternoons · instead January33

…and 154 more, 75 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Bad air by the numbers

17 places

A monthly mean air-quality index in the poor or unhealthy bands.

  1. Chengdu 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 138, poor air · instead April77
  2. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 127, poor air · instead April88
  3. Santiago 🇨🇱 ChileAQI 125, poor air · instead November77
  4. Xi'an 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 118, poor air · instead April87
  5. Leh 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 113, poor air · instead August74
  6. Qingdao 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 106, poor air · instead September80
  7. Mexico City 🇲🇽 MexicoAQI 104, poor air · instead November84
  8. Dakhla Western SaharaAQI 227, unhealthy air · instead October85

…and 9 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own May verdict.

Peak crowds

5 places

The editor's peak month for the place: full, expensive, and booked well ahead.

  1. Seoul 🇰🇷 South KoreaPeak crowds — Lotus Lantern Festival · instead May90
  2. New York 🇺🇸 United StatesPeak crowds — the editor's peak month · instead May88
  3. Tokyo 🇯🇵 JapanPeak crowds — Golden Week · instead May85
  4. Osaka 🇯🇵 JapanPeak crowds — Golden Week · instead November82
  5. Cairo 🇪🇬 EgyptPeak crowds — Eid al-Adha · instead March77

Closed for the season

1 place

Hotels, lifts, ferries or the sights themselves shut for the month.

  1. Zanzibar 🇹🇿 Tanzaniasome of the town shuts for the month · instead September75