Het weer in Port Blair (Andamans) in mei

Regulars are specific this counts as peak season here, October and November the widely agreed best window, calm seas making this genuinely good for water sports and general sightseeing. Our row backs that hot, genuinely wet read, 30.4C reading as a hot 34C, over 25.4C nights feeling 28C, with a substantial 178.9mm of rain across 16.6 days and humidity at 80 percent. Regulars are honest the northeast monsoon can still reach the islands this month, real rain a genuine possibility, though the typical pattern is a burst of rain followed by sunshine again rather than a washed-out day. The sea sits at a bath-warm 29.7C. The record: 9.8 hours of sun, a 22.6 kph wind and AQI 45.

Regulars describe mornings and evenings as noticeably cooler than the hot, humid days, with light cotton clothing, shorts and a hat standard advice, and are confident there's little real chance of rain interrupting a trip this month. Our row shows a wetter picture than that confidence suggests, 156.3mm of rain across 10.8 days, alongside real heat, 30C reading as a hot 33C at 77 percent humidity, over 25C nights. Regulars are consistent this sits inside the islands' best overall window, October through April, when conditions are considered most reliable for sightseeing and water activities. The sea holds a warm 29.1C. The record: 9.7 hours of sun, a 25.2 kph wind and AQI 58.

April is the closing month of the Andaman season, which regulars run from October, and it is the hot end of it: mid to high thirties by day, high twenties at night, bright and humid, with evenings that come good. Our row reads 32.5C over 26C and turns that into 40C and 31C once the humidity is counted. Their advice is about shade and breeze rather than timing - in direct sun it burns, in shade with air moving it is fine. Being the tail of the season it is also the cheap end, with deals on hotels and transport before the May to September monsoon closes the sea. The record: 65.9mm across 8.5 days, 11.1 hours of sun, a 30.7C sea and AQI 60.

January sits in the middle of the Andamans' good window, October to April, well clear of the May-to-September monsoon and its rough seas. What regulars add is a pricing line that runs through the month: peak season is roughly the 15th of December to the 15th of January, and a booking after that date can cost around twenty percent less for weather they describe as still pleasant into mid-February. Our row backs the second half as no compromise - 29.8C over a 24.5C night, 54.3mm across 7.8 precipitation days, and a 28.2C sea. For beach rather than town, they send you on to Havelock. The record: feels-like 33C, humidity 74 percent, 10 hours of sun, a 23.7 kph wind and AQI 62.