Været i Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep) i august

Regulars are specific this marks the commencement of the rainy season here, though the weather stays genuinely stable through most of the month, only turning less predictable right at the very end, the true best season running October through March by comparison. Our row backs that hot, genuinely wet read, 30.1C reading as a scorching 37C, over 27.1C nights feeling 32C, with 59.2mm of rain across 8 days and humidity at 77 percent. Regulars are consistent daytime highs commonly land in the mid-to-high 30s Celsius with genuine humidity to go with it, bright sunny days still the norm despite the approaching wet season. The sea sits at a bath-warm 30.7C. The record: 11.1 hours of sun, a 15.1 kph wind and AQI 61.

January is inside the season regulars recommend for these islands, and their trip reports still carry one warning: the ferry. One January crossing back to Port Blair met high waves and a boat full of sea-sick passengers without ever being cancelled, and the standing advice is to take the tablets before boarding rather than after. Ferries stop only for cyclone alerts. Our row shows a steady month otherwise - 27.8C by day and 25.8C at night, a two-degree range, with 48.8mm of rain across 6.6 days and a 28.2C sea. The 23.2 kph wind is what the strait feels. The record: humidity 74 percent, 10 hours of sun and AQI 65.

February sits in the middle of the Andamans' peak run, November to February, which is also when the weather is at its most settled - pleasantly warm rather than punishing. Havelock is the busiest island of the group and Radhanagar the busiest beach on it: white sand, turquoise water, changing rooms and showers, and a sunset regulars rate above any other in the islands. The timing note that recurs is to get there early, because afternoon and evening showers do turn up even in the dry months, and our row's 2.6 precipitation days is small but not zero. The record: 28.3C days that feel like 32C, 25.8C nights, 10.7 hours of sun, a 28.4C sea and AQI 77.

Havelock Island forum threads are consistent that September is still peak monsoon here, with rough seas that can make beach activities and swimming inadvisable on bad days, and several beach shacks and restaurants staying closed for the season. The typical rain pattern described was intense but short - hard rain most days but usually only for an hour or two before clearing to sun - rather than a constant all-day downpour, though experiences varied and some visitors reported longer wet stretches. Forum consensus was that September sits at the tail end of the wettest period, with conditions gradually easing as the month progresses toward October.