By Harry Nara · Last updated
November, and then February into March. November gives you the driest half of the year with the cleanest air on the calendar, mild afternoons near 23°C, and Día de Muertos at the start of it. February is the driest month of all at two wet days, and March brings three weeks of jacaranda purple across the whole city. What the season names hide is that April is the hottest month of the entire year at 28°C, hotter than anything the rains produce, and it sits at the peak of the ozone season. The dry season is not uniformly the good season. The rains, from May to October, are better than their reputation: clear mornings, an afternoon storm that usually passes within the hour, the greenest landscape of the year and the lowest prices.
Mexico City Month by Month
| Month | Temperature | Rainy Days | Crowds | Budget / Day | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8–22°C | 3 days | Low | $40–150 | Culture Seekers & Food Lovers |
| February Best | 10–24°C | 2 days | Medium | $45–160 | Art Lovers & Culture Seekers |
| March Best | 11–26°C | 4 days | High | $50–170 | Photographers & Festival Lovers |
| April | 13–28°C | 7 days | Medium | $45–155 | Culture Seekers & Families |
| May | 14–27°C | 11 days | Medium | $40–150 | Food Lovers & Culture Seekers |
| June | 14–26°C | 16 days | Low | $35–140 | Nature Lovers & Photographers |
| July | 13–25°C | 22 days | Low | $35–140 | Food Lovers & Nature Lovers |
| August | 13–25°C | 21 days | Low | $35–135 | Nature Lovers & Solo Travellers |
| September | 13–24°C | 18 days | Medium | $40–155 | Culture Seekers & Festival Lovers |
| October | 12–23°C | 10 days | High | $50–175 | Festival Lovers & Photographers |
| November Best | 10–23°C | 4 days | Peak | $55–185 | Culture Seekers & Photographers |
| December Best | 8–22°C | 1 day | High | $50–180 | Families & Culture Seekers |
How to Choose Your Month
November. Four wet days, afternoons at 23°C, nights at 10°C, and air that is back to its annual best. The first three days are Día de Muertos and are the busiest and most expensive of the year, but from about the 5th the crowds leave and the weather stays. The second half of November is one of the best stretches of the year and almost nobody plans for it.
The 1st and 2nd of November, which are fixed and do not move. Book accommodation months rather than weeks ahead, because the Centro, Roma and Condesa fill early and price like Christmas. Note that the city parade is a separate, modern event whose date the city government announces in the autumn, so do not assume it falls on the 2nd.
June to early September. Hotel rates soften across Roma, Condesa and Polanco rather than only at the budget end, and there is no single expensive week until the Grito in mid-September. The rain arrives as a predictable afternoon storm, so the cost is your afternoons rather than your trip.
November to January, which are the three cleanest months of the year. Avoid April and May, when strong sun and stagnant dry air drive ground-level ozone to its annual peak and the city declares environmental contingencies in bad episodes. The ozone season runs from roughly mid-February to mid-June.
August and September, after three or four months of rain have done their work. The hills around the city are green rather than the dusty brown of March, and a storm scrubs the haze so that Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl appear on washed mornings. The volcanoes are more visible in the rainy season than in the dry one, which is the reverse of what most visitors expect.
August, which is the quietest month in the capital because Mexican families travel elsewhere, or the middle two weeks of November once Día de Muertos has emptied out. Both give you the major museums without queues. February is the third option and the driest of the three.
Worst Time to Visit Mexico City
April, the hottest month of the year and the peak of the ozone season.
The dry season sounds like the safe half of the calendar and April is the month that proves otherwise. It averages 28°C, which is hotter than July, hotter than August and hotter than anything the rains produce. The rains have started as well, at seven wet days, so it is neither reliably dry nor comfortably cool. It also sits at the peak of the ozone season alongside May, when strong sun and stagnant dry air push ground-level ozone to its annual worst and the city restricts driving during bad episodes.
When it is still worth going: Semana Santa empties Mexico City rather than filling it. Residents leave for the coast and for family in other states, traffic lightens, the Centro calms, and you get a version of the capital that is almost impossible to see at any other time. Check opening hours rather than assuming them, because a lot of independent businesses close for the week.
Mexico City Season by Season
Dry Season
Six months with almost no rain in them. December averages a single wet day in the whole month, and the season carries 76mm against the 771mm that falls between May and October. Afternoons sit around 24°C and nights drop to about 10°C, which at more than 2,200 metres arrives faster than the daytime figure suggests. Buildings here are rarely heated, so a courtyard restaurant in January is properly cold.
The season has a line through the middle of it. November, December and January are the cleanest air of the year and the most reliable weather. From roughly mid-February the ozone season begins and runs to mid-June, and the haze that hides the volcanoes builds through the afternoon.
It holds both of the city’s largest occasions: Día de Muertos on the 1st and 2nd of November, and the Guadalupe pilgrimage on the 12th of December, which is the largest annual religious gathering in the Americas.
Wet Season
Ninety-one percent of the year’s rain falls in these six months, 771mm of it, and July and August each average more than twenty wet days. Stated that way it sounds like a season to avoid, and for most trips it is not.
The reason is the shape of the day rather than the total. Mornings open clear through most of the season, the storm lands somewhere between three and six in the afternoon, and it is often finished within the hour. A trip built around clear mornings and indoor afternoons loses very little, and the city looks better for it: the valley is green, the air is at its cleanest of the year, and the volcanoes reappear on washed mornings.
It is also cooler than the late dry season. The wet-season average high of 25°C sits below April’s 28°C, which surprises people who assume the rains are the hot half of the year. They are what ended it.
Events Worth Planning Around
The dated reasons to pick one month over another. Each has its own page with where to watch, what it costs and how to get there.
- Zona MACO Mexico CityWednesday 3 February to Sunday 7 February 2027Latin America’s largest art fair, and a week of free satellite shows that outnumber it
- El Grito de IndependenciaWednesday 15 September to Thursday 16 September 2027A president rings a bell, and the largest crowd of the Mexican year shouts the answers back
- Día de Muertos in Mexico CityMonday 1 November to Tuesday 2 November 2027Two fixed days of vigil that most visitors confuse with a parade invented for a film
- Día de la Virgen de GuadalupeSaturday 11 December to Sunday 12 December 2027Millions arrive on foot, many having walked for days, and it is devotion rather than a festival
Seasonal Guides
Browse Every Month
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to visit Mexico City?
November for the best combination of weather, air and events, then February and March. November runs four wet days with afternoons near 23°C and the cleanest air of the year, and it opens on Día de Muertos. February is the driest month on the calendar at two wet days. March brings the jacarandas, which turn the city purple for about three weeks and cannot be booked because the timing shifts year to year.
What is the hottest month in Mexico City?
April, at an average high of 28°C, and this catches people out because it sits inside the dry season. It is hotter than July, hotter than August, and hotter than anything the rainy season produces. The temperature range across the whole year is only about five degrees, so the calendar here is divided by rain rather than by heat, and April is the peak of the hot part rather than the start of it.
Is the rainy season a bad time to visit Mexico City?
No, and it is better than its reputation in several ways. Mornings open clear through most of the season, the storm arrives in the afternoon and usually passes within the hour, and the valley is green rather than dusty. The air is at its cleanest of the year because rain removes particulates, rates are at their lowest from June to early September, and it is cooler than April. What you give up is dependable afternoons.
When is Día de Muertos and how far ahead should I book?
The 1st and 2nd of November, fixed, with the 1st for children who have died and the 2nd for adults. Book months rather than weeks ahead: it is the most expensive and most crowded week of the year alongside Christmas, and hotels in the Centro, Roma and Condesa fill early. The city parade is a separate modern event created in 2016 whose date is announced in the autumn, so confirm it rather than assuming it falls on the 2nd.
Does the altitude in Mexico City affect visitors?
Enough to plan your first day around. The city sits at more than 2,200 metres, which is high enough to shorten your breath on stairs and to make one drink behave like two. Keep the first day flat, drink more water than feels necessary, and leave the uphill sections of Chapultepec and the pyramids at Teotihuacán until you have been in the city for a couple of days.
When is air quality worst in Mexico City?
April and May. The ozone season runs from roughly mid-February to mid-June and peaks in those two months, when strong sun and stagnant dry air drive ground-level ozone and the city declares environmental contingencies in bad episodes, restricting driving when it does. November to January are the cleanest months. The rainy season is also good, because rain takes particulates out of the valley.
What is the worst time to visit Mexico City?
April, the hottest month of the year and the peak of the ozone season. The dry season sounds like the safe half of the calendar and April is the month that proves otherwise. It averages 28°C, which is hotter than July, hotter than August and hotter than anything the rains produce. The rains have started as well, at seven wet days, so it is neither reliably dry nor comfortably cool. It also sits at the peak of the ozone season alongside May, when strong sun and stagnant dry air push ground-level ozone to its annual worst and the city restricts driving during bad episodes.
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