Mumbai (Bombay) weather in May

May in Mumbai: sweltering, a little rain, with muggy air — a gamble, with 40°C afternoons.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Mumbai🇮🇳 India · Western India & Goa · City62
  1. 85Jan
  2. 82Feb
  3. 75Mar
  4. 67Apr
  5. 62May
  6. 38Jun
  7. 35Jul
  8. 41Aug
  9. 43Sep
  10. 58Oct
  11. 71Nov
  12. 79Dec

#7 of 12 months in Mumbai · #1148 of 1413 destinations to visit in May · comfort 62/100 (tier C)

Days
34°C
Nights
27°C
Wet days
4
Sun
11.4 h
Humidity
75%
Daylight
13 h
Mumbai, India
Photo: Frank van Dijk · Pexels

What May is like in Mumbai

The hottest and stickiest month, the pre-monsoon build-up, and the whole city waiting for the rain to arrive.

low season

confidence: high

Traveller notes on Mumbai in May

Other months in Mumbai

Regulars are split on this month more than the general warnings suggest - most call it too hot and humid to recommend, citing the city's island geography as the reason humidity compounds the heat so heavily, while others point out the daytime high isn't far off Toronto's own summer peak and that air-conditioned rooms make it manageable. Our row backs the intensity, 34C reading as a genuinely severe 39C at 72 percent humidity, over 24.7C nights, with rain essentially absent, 0.4mm and zero rainy days. Regulars note evenings and early mornings are meaningfully more bearable than the midday stretch, and that locals routinely go about their day regardless, umbrella or scarf as sun protection rather than for rain. The sea holds 29.8C. The record: 11.7 hours of sun, an 18.4 kph wind and AQI 110.
IslandCityHumidityMakesItWorse · April · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
March opens the pre-monsoon hot season here, which regulars date roughly mid-March to mid-June and rate progressively worse as it goes - April and May are the months to actively avoid, with March the comparatively gentler start of that run. Our row already shows real heat, 33.7C reading as 37C, though the air is genuinely dry for this city at 64.5 percent humidity, before the monsoon arrives around the 15th of June and the moisture returns with it. Rain has essentially stopped, 0.9mm across barely any days. The board's clear preference is the November-to-February window well before this, so a March trip is arriving as that better season closes. The sea is 27.9C. The record: a dew point of 18C, 11.1 hours of sun, a 17.6 kph wind and AQI 139.
TheFirstOfTwoHotSeasons · March · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Mumbai-forum threads rate December as one of the best months on the calendar, weather-wise - part of the November-to-February window regulars point to as the pleasant, dry season, the antidote to the sticky, stormy stretch that comes before it. Afternoons are still hot and humid, though posters say not too bad, and nights and early mornings turn genuinely pleasant. The record backs the 'not too bad' read on humidity more than the 'pleasant' one on heat: 32.2C days feeling like 35C, 19.4C nights, essentially none at one day for the whole month, and a 26.9C sea. The number forum chat skips past: AQI runs 154 here, one of the worst months of Mumbai's year for air, the trade-off for the dry season's still, cloud-free air.
MarineDriveDecember · December · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
India-forum threads put the comfortable travel window at November through February, with November described as better than the tail of September and the start of peak tourist season - so book ahead. Mumbai's own November record is the payoff: 34.3C days and 21.7C nights, humidity around 67 percent, ten hours of sun a day, a 28.5C sea, and almost no precipitation at all, under two days on average, as the year turns toward winter. One trade-off comes with the calm: November carries some of the city's worst air of the year, with an AQI near 172, so plan outdoor sightseeing for mornings rather than the hazy afternoon.
MarineDriveRegular · November · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Year-round notes are on Mumbai's overview. Add your own note from Mumbai's card on the map.

Mumbai climate normals — May

Daytime high34°C / 93°F🔥 sweltering
Nighttime low27°C / 80°F
Feels like (high)40°C / 104°F
Sea temperature32°C / 89°F♨️ bath-warm
Rainfall40 mm / 1.6 in🌦 some rain
Rainy days4 days
Humidity75%💦 very humid
Dew point25°C / 77°F
Sunshine11.4 h/day
Daylight13 h
Wind19 km/h / 12 mph
Air quality (US AQI)80🙂 moderate

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in Mumbai in May

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

Quietthe editor's quiet month, Summer vacation (north & east) in India

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for Mumbai's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Fair weatherMumbai's weather peaks December–February, best around January.

JFMAMJJASOND

Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather

Where is Mumbai?

Loading map…

Mumbai in May — FAQ

Is May a good time to visit Mumbai?
May in Mumbai: sweltering, a little rain, with muggy air — a gamble, with 40°C afternoons. It ranks #7 of 12 months for Mumbai on SeasonMap's comfort score (62/100).
What is the weather like in Mumbai in May?
In May, Mumbai averages a daily high of 33.9°C and a low of 26.9°C, with about 39.9 mm of rain over roughly 4.3 rainy days.
What is the air quality in Mumbai in May?
Mumbai has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 80 in May.