The Climate of
French Guiana
French foreign legion barracks, Camopi
Climate Map
Climate map of French Guiana
What is the climate of French Guiana like?
French Guiana is an overseas department of France on the north coast of South America, bordered on the west by Suriname and on the south and east by Brazil. Situated between 2° and 6°N, it has an equatorial type of climate. French Guiana consists of a small, low swampy coast called "terres basses," varying from 10 to 30 km (6–19 mi) in width, and a vast, barely explored interior, the “terres hautes,” with grassy plateaus, equatorial forests (which cover 90% of the land area), and mountains.
Cayenne on the coast is representative of the large area of lowland part of the country. The lowlands have a typical hot, wet, equatorial type of climate with constant, high humidity. The temperature is uniform on the coast: the mean annual temperature is 26°C (80°F) year-round. During the rainy season the winds keep between North and East, and during the dry season between South and East.
Here the main rainy season is from December to June; the months August to October are fairly dry, especially towards the east. This is the principal climatic difference between French Guiana and Suriname and Guyana. Otherwise temperature and humidity remain high throughout the year and there is little difference between the lowlands in all these countries. Cayenne is rather wetter, taking the year as a whole, than Georgetown in Guyana and Paramaribo in Suriname. Annual rainfall has a range of 3,500 to 4,000 millimeters (140 to 160 inches).
Only a small area in the south of the country consists of upland plateau where the temperature is a little cooler and humidity is a little lower.
| Climate data for Cayenne (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.2 (84.6) | 29.6 (85.3) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.9 (85.8) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.8 (87.4) | 31.6 (88.9) | 32.1 (89.8) | 32.2 (90.0) | 31.5 (88.7) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.5 (86.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2) | 26.3 (79.3) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.6 (79.9) | 26.6 (79.9) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.6 (79.9) | 26.7 (80.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.5 (74.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.9 (73.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 451.2 (17.76) | 309.4 (12.18) | 334.3 (13.16) | 448.4 (17.65) | 579.4 (22.81) | 411.4 (16.20) | 245.7 (9.67) | 143.6 (5.65) | 55.7 (2.19) | 63.3 (2.49) | 133.4 (5.25) | 340.5 (13.41) | 3,516.3 (138.44) |
| Source: Meteo France | |||||||||||||
Written by Richard Powell. Last updated 2023 January 1References
- E. A. Pearce, Charles Gordon Smith, (1990) The Hutchinson World Weather Guide, John Murray Press. ISBN 1859863426
- Timothy L. Gall, (ed.), (2003), Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Eleventh Edition, Thomson Gale
- Hugh Chisholm, (ed.), (1911), Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh edition, Cambridge University Press
The Climate of
French Guiana
In summary:
French Guiana has a tropical equatorial climate. It is hot and humid all year round. The rainy season is from December to June, and there is a "dry" season, with lower rainfall between July and November.