Salem climate
Salem is warmest in April, with average highs of 37 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 19 °C. October is the wettest month (178 mm) and January the driest (6.5 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Salem averages 964 mm of rain and 363 days above 25 °C.
India · population 917,414 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month April 37 °C
- Coldest month January 19 °C
- Driest month January 6 mm
- Wettest month October 178 mm
- Least cloud March 32 % cloud
- Hottest on record May 41 °C
- Coldest on record December 14 °C
What to expectSalem through the year
Salem has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 30 °C in January to 37 °C in April, a swing of 6.9 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 363 days a year reach 25 °C, 276 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in May.
Rain is strongly seasonal. October averages 178 mm against 6 mm in January — 27 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30.3 °C | 6 mm | 44 % |
| February | 33.0 °C | 7 mm | 33 % |
| March | 36.0 °C | 18 mm | 32 % |
| April | 36.8 °C | 57 mm | 48 % |
| May | 36.2 °C | 95 mm | 64 % |
| June | 33.4 °C | 92 mm | 85 % |
| July | 32.4 °C | 84 mm | 90 % |
| August | 32.2 °C | 110 mm | 88 % |
| September | 32.0 °C | 139 mm | 80 % |
| October | 30.6 °C | 178 mm | 76 % |
| November | 29.2 °C | 124 mm | 70 % |
| December | 28.6 °C | 53 mm | 58 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30.3 °C | 18.9 °C | 24.4 °C | 35.6 °C | 14.4 °C | 31 | 17 | 0 |
| February | 33.0 °C | 20.5 °C | 26.5 °C | 37.7 °C | 15.6 °C | 28 | 27 | 0 |
| March | 36.0 °C | 23.1 °C | 29.3 °C | 40.1 °C | 17.1 °C | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| April | 36.8 °C | 25.4 °C | 30.7 °C | 41.0 °C | 21.4 °C | 30 | 30 | 0 |
| May | 36.2 °C | 25.6 °C | 30.3 °C | 41.1 °C | 22.9 °C | 31 | 30 | 0 |
| June | 33.4 °C | 24.3 °C | 28.2 °C | 39.6 °C | 21.9 °C | 30 | 28 | 0 |
| July | 32.4 °C | 23.6 °C | 27.5 °C | 37.9 °C | 21.6 °C | 31 | 27 | 0 |
| August | 32.2 °C | 23.4 °C | 27.3 °C | 36.3 °C | 21.6 °C | 31 | 27 | 0 |
| September | 32.0 °C | 23.4 °C | 27.3 °C | 37.8 °C | 21.3 °C | 30 | 25 | 0 |
| October | 30.6 °C | 22.9 °C | 26.3 °C | 37.4 °C | 19.0 °C | 31 | 20 | 0 |
| November | 29.2 °C | 21.4 °C | 25.0 °C | 35.7 °C | 15.6 °C | 29 | 8 | 0 |
| December | 28.6 °C | 19.3 °C | 23.8 °C | 34.3 °C | 14.3 °C | 30 | 6 | 0 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6 mm | 2 | 12 h/day | 44 % | 65 % | 12 km/h |
| February | 7 mm | 2 | 12 h/day | 33 % | 56 % | 12 km/h |
| March | 18 mm | 3 | 12 h/day | 32 % | 50 % | 12 km/h |
| April | 57 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 48 % | 56 % | 10 km/h |
| May | 95 mm | 14 | 13 h/day | 64 % | 63 % | 11 km/h |
| June | 92 mm | 16 | 13 h/day | 85 % | 71 % | 15 km/h |
| July | 84 mm | 15 | 13 h/day | 90 % | 71 % | 16 km/h |
| August | 110 mm | 16 | 13 h/day | 88 % | 72 % | 15 km/h |
| September | 139 mm | 16 | 12 h/day | 80 % | 74 % | 11 km/h |
| October | 178 mm | 19 | 12 h/day | 76 % | 78 % | 9.4 km/h |
| November | 124 mm | 13 | 12 h/day | 70 % | 78 % | 11 km/h |
| December | 53 mm | 6 | 11 h/day | 58 % | 74 % | 12 km/h |
How Salem compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | 37 °C | 19 °C | 964 mm | 363 |
| Kumarapalayam · India | 38 °C | 20 °C | 854 mm | 364 |
| Erode · India | 38 °C | 20 °C | 793 mm | 364 |
| Karur · India | 38 °C | 20 °C | 710 mm | 364 |
| Kallakurichi · India | 38 °C | 19 °C | 973 mm | 362 |
Where Salem ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The warmest places in Asia in March | 22ndof 50 | 36 °C |
| The warmest places in Asia in February | 25thof 50 | 33 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Salem.
QuestionsCommon questions about Salem’s climate
When is the best time to visit Salem?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, November, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, April is the warmest month and January the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Salem get?
In April, the warmest month, daily highs average 37 °C. About 276 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 19 °C in January, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.
Which month is wettest in Salem?
October, averaging 178 mm over 19 days with rain. The driest month is January with 6 mm. The year as a whole averages 964 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Salem rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.