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Manila, the capital of the Philippines, sits on the coast of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, on a low-lying delta plain at approximately 14.60°N, 120.98°E. It has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Aw/Am) — hot and humid year-round — with the year divided into a dry season and a rainy season governed by the monsoons, and it lies squarely in the path of the western Pacific's typhoons.
The hottest period comes in the dry season's late months, around April and May, with highs around 34–35°C and high humidity that makes the heat feel oppressive. The southwest monsoon (habagat) then brings the rainy season from around June to October or November, with warm temperatures near 31–32°C but heavy, frequent downpours, thick cloud and high humidity; this is also the peak of typhoon season, when storms can bring destructive wind and severe flooding to the low-lying city.
There is no true winter, but the dry season from December to February is the coolest and most comfortable time, with highs around 30–31°C and slightly lower humidity as the cooler, drier northeast monsoon (amihan) prevails. Nights are mild and pleasant, and the clearer, drier weather of these months makes them comfortably the best time to visit.
Manila is very wet, receiving on the order of 2,000 mm of rain a year, overwhelmingly concentrated in the southwest-monsoon months from June to October — July and August are typically the wettest, when monsoon rains are frequently enhanced by passing typhoons, dumping enormous amounts of rain and causing widespread flooding. The dry season from December to May sees comparatively little. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Typhoons are the defining hazard of Manila's climate: the Philippines is one of the most typhoon-exposed nations on Earth, and while many storms strike elsewhere in the archipelago, those that reach Luzon during the June-to-November season can combine with the monsoon to produce catastrophic rainfall and flooding across the densely populated, low-lying capital. The rest of the year, the alternation of the wet habagat and dry amihan monsoons sets the rhythm of the seasons.
To follow any single measurement in Manila more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.