Best Time to Visit Chennai
The best time to visit Chennai is January to March, when the average temperature is 24–28°C and rainfall is low for Chennai, at 6–16 mm a month.
Chennai weather by month
The wettest month in Chennai is November with 292 mm of rain, and the warmest is May at an average 32°C. The coolest is January at 24°C.
| Month | Average temperature | Rainfall | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°C / 75°F | 16 mm | Best |
| February | 26°C / 78°F | 6 mm | Best |
| March | 28°C / 83°F | 15 mm | Best |
| April | 31°C / 87°F | 26 mm | Hot |
| May | 32°C / 89°F | 55 mm | Hot |
| June | 31°C / 87°F | 68 mm | Hot |
| July | 30°C / 85°F | 108 mm | Hot |
| August | 29°C / 84°F | 132 mm | Hot |
| September | 28°C / 83°F | 145 mm | Rainy |
| October | 27°C / 81°F | 264 mm | Wet |
| November | 26°C / 78°F | 292 mm | Wet |
| December | 24°C / 76°F | 126 mm | Rainy |
How we pick the best months
- Best: an average temperature of 15–28°C and low rainfall for Chennai: under 150 mm, and no more than 110 mm, a quarter above Chennai's median month (never set below 60 mm).
- If no month qualifies, we show the three driest months that average 10–30°C instead.
- Wet: 150 mm of rain or more. Rainy: more than 110 mm. Hot: 29°C or more on average. Cool: under 15°C. Cold: under 5°C.
Averages cover day and night, so afternoons are warmer than the figure shown. Weather is only one reason to pick a month: school holidays, festivals and prices matter too.
Search flights to Chennai
Picked a month? Compare fares to Chennai (MAA) for your dates.
Book a hotel in Chennai
Find hotels in Chennai
Hotels, hostels & more · Trip.com
Where these numbers come from
Monthly averages for January 2001 – December 2020 from the NASA POWER project, for the area around Chennai International (MAA) at 12.99, 80.17. The model covers a grid about 50 km across, so a coastal or hilly spot can run a degree or two different. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) Project funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program.