Kota vs Indore weather: a month-by-month comparison

Kota vs Indore weather comes up for students from Madhya Pradesh deciding where to study, for families visiting, and for travellers on the Rajasthan to Malwa route. The two cities are not far apart, but they sit in different landscapes. Kota lies on the low plains of the Chambal valley in Rajasthan’s Hadoti region. Indore is on the Malwa plateau, higher up, and that height shows clearly in the numbers: Indore has cooler nights all year and a much cooler monsoon, while Kota has one of the hottest summers in central India.

This comparison uses the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Climatological Tables 1991-2020 for Kota (station 42452) and Indore (station 42754). They are long-term averages, not a forecast.

Month by month: Kota vs Indore

Month	Kota max / min	Indore max / min	Kota rain	Indore rain
January	23.2 / 11.2 C	26.2 / 10.3 C	5.7 mm	7.0 mm
February	27.1 / 14.3 C	29.4 / 12.6 C	8.2 mm	2.4 mm
March	33.3 / 19.8 C	34.5 / 16.9 C	2.7 mm	2.7 mm
April	39.3 / 25.7 C	38.7 / 21.3 C	8.4 mm	3.5 mm
May	42.6 / 30.0 C	40.4 / 24.6 C	9.7 mm	13.4 mm
June	40.3 / 29.5 C	36.4 / 24.4 C	80.3 mm	147.3 mm
July	34.3 / 27.0 C	30.2 / 22.8 C	296.7 mm	310.1 mm
August	32.2 / 25.8 C	28.6 / 22.0 C	269.6 mm	258.1 mm
September	33.9 / 25.5 C	30.6 / 21.1 C	108.7 mm	167.2 mm
October	34.6 / 22.3 C	32.8 / 18.2 C	18.9 mm	28.7 mm
November	30.1 / 16.9 C	30.4 / 14.7 C	3.8 mm	11.0 mm
December	25.7 / 12.6 C	27.6 / 11.4 C	3.6 mm	3.7 mm
Year	33.1 / 21.8 C	32.1 / 18.4 C	816.2 mm	955.1 mm

Max and min are IMD’s mean daily maximum and minimum temperatures; rain is the mean monthly total.

Winter: warmer afternoons in Indore

From December to March, Indore’s afternoons are warmer than Kota’s: 26.2 C against 23.2 C in January, and 27.6 C against 25.7 C in December. Nights are similar, about 10 to 11 C in January in both cities, with Indore slightly cooler. The coldest night of an average January is about 5.7 C at Indore and 7.4 C at Kota. Both cities are dry and sunny in winter, and neither gets much fog: about 6 days a year at Indore and 3 at Kota. See Kota winter weather and Kota weather in January.

Summer: Kota is hotter, especially at night

By April the advantage swings to Indore. Kota’s May mean maximum is 42.6 C against 40.4 C, and the gap at night is much bigger: Kota’s May mean minimum is 30.0 C, Indore’s 24.6 C. The hottest day of an average May reaches about 46.1 C at Kota and 43.7 C at Indore. Both cities are dry and windy before the monsoon, and Indore is actually the windier of the two, with a mean wind speed of 12.6 km/h in June against 11.1 km/h at Kota. See Kota heatwave and Kota wind.

Monsoon: Indore is cooler and starts earlier

The monsoon usually reaches Malwa before Hadoti, so Indore’s June rain (147.3 mm) is almost twice Kota’s (80.3 mm), and June days are about 4 degrees cooler there. In July and August, rainfall is similar in both cities, but Indore stays much cooler, with mean maximums of 30.2 C and 28.6 C against 34.3 C and 32.2 C at Kota. Indore is cloudier and more humid, with 08:30 IST relative humidity of 90 percent in August against 80 percent at Kota. September is wetter in Indore too, 167.2 mm against 108.7 mm.

For Kota, the monsoon means hot, humid breaks between showers; our Kota wet bulb temperature guide explains why they feel so heavy. See also Kota monsoon and Kota weather in July.

Post-monsoon

October is warm in both cities, a little warmer in Kota by day (34.6 C against 32.8 C) and noticeably warmer at night (22.3 C against 18.2 C). Indore cools faster into November evenings. For Kota, see Kota weather in October.

Storms and wind

Indore records about 30 thunder days a year against about 22 at Kota, with a peak in June as the monsoon arrives. Hail is rare in both: IMD’s tables show no hail days for Indore in 1991-2020 and about 0.4 a year at Kota. Dust storms are more a feature of Kota’s pre-monsoon season, when hot westerly winds sweep the Rajasthan plains. See Kota thunderstorms and Kota dust storm.

Light rain, visibility and calm air

Indore has more days with some rain: about 69.8 days a year with at least 0.3 mm against 55.6 at Kota, and about 45.8 rainy days (2.5 mm or more) against 38.6. Most of the difference comes in June, September and October, when Indore’s monsoon is active for longer.

Neither city is very foggy. Morning visibility below 1 km is recorded on about 6.4 days a year at Indore and 8.3 at Kota, mostly in December and January. Kota has more calm mornings, about 102 a year against 71 at Indore, which is one reason smoke and dust linger near the ground on Kota’s winter mornings. Squalls are rare in both. See Kota fog, Kota air quality and Kota rainfall.

Practical tips

• Students from Indore arriving in Kota from April to June should expect hotter nights than at home and plan for a fan or cooler, plenty of water and early-morning study walks. See Kota weather for students.
• Monsoon travel: heavy rain affects both states; check IMD district warnings and allow for road delays.
• Packing: for Kota in summer, more sun protection; for Indore in the monsoon, a light layer for cool, damp evenings. See what to pack for Kota.

Summary

• October to March: both are pleasant; Indore has warmer winter afternoons.
• April to June: Kota is hotter, with much warmer nights.
• July to September: Indore is cooler and wetter early and late in the season.

For a neighbouring Madhya Pradesh comparison, see Kota vs Bhopal weather; within Rajasthan, see Kota vs Udaipur weather.

More comparisons: Kota vs Hyderabad weather, Kota vs Ahmedabad weather and Kota vs Jodhpur weather.