The Climate of
Guyana
View of the Potaro River, looking south
Climate Map
Climate map of Guyana
What is the climate of Guyana like?
Guyana is situated on the Atlantic coast of South America between 1° and 8°N. It is about as large as Britain. It is bordered by Venezuela on the west, by Brazil on the south, and by Suriname on the east.
Guyana has a tropical climate with almost uniformly high temperatures and humidity, and much rainfall. Seasonal variations in temperature are slight. Guyana has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, open for most of the year to the influence of the moist northeast trade winds. Inland the country rises, to a plateau with the highest mountain over 2,750 meters (9,000 feet), it is surrounded by isolated hills. Twice a year the whole area comes under the influence of the intertropical belt of cloud and rain which meteorologists call the intertropical convergence.
The lowlands have a typical hot, wet, equatorial type of climate with constant, high humidity. This area is often very sultry and oppressive, and there is very little change from day to day. Temperatures rarely rise above 32°C (90°F) or fall below 21°C (70°F). The average annual temperature in the capital city of Georgetown is 27°C (81°F).
Wet days alternate almost equally with dry days. The nights are particularly oppressive but during the day the regular sea breeze brings some relief on the coast. Temperatures never rise to very high levels and so are not dangerous; but the heat and humidity can be draining to the unacclimatized visitor. Sunshine amounts are moderately large; from four to five hours a day in the wetter months and as much as eight hours a day during the drier seasons.
Georgetown is representative of the coastal area and the lowlands. Temperatures in Georgetown are quite constant, with an average high of 32°C (89°F) in the hottest month (October), and an average high of 29°C (85°F) in January, the coolest month. Humidity averages 70 percent year-round. In more mountainous parts of the country, daytime temperatures can be a little lower and night temperatures are much cooler, so that the climate is less uncomfortable.
| Climate data for Georgetown (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.6 (85.3) | 29.9 (85.8) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.5 (86.9) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.2 (86.4) | 31.0 (87.8) | 31.3 (88.3) | 31.6 (88.9) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.5 (86.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.6 (79.9) | 26.8 (80.2) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.1 (80.8) | 27.6 (81.7) | 28.1 (82.6) | 28.2 (82.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.3 (81.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.9 (73.2) | 21.8 (71.2) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.4 (72.3) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.0 (73.4) | 21.8 (71.2) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.3 (73.9) | 22.9 (73.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 238.9 (9.41) | 126.7 (4.99) | 100.2 (3.94) | 142.0 (5.59) | 287.0 (11.30) | 303.1 (11.93) | 281.8 (11.09) | 166.9 (6.57) | 92.2 (3.63) | 69.2 (2.72) | 196.8 (7.75) | 276.3 (10.88) | 2,281.1 (89.81) |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Rainfall is heaviest in the northwest and lightest in the southeast and interior. Average annual rainfall ranges from about 1,500 millimeters (60 inches) in the savannah regions to 2,300 millimeters (90 inches) on the coast and in elevated parts of the interior. Areas on the northeast sides of mountains that catch the trade winds can reach as much as 3,500 millimeters (140 inches) of precipitation annually.
Although rain falls year-round, about 50 percent of the annual total occurs during the summer rainy season, which extends along the coast from May to late July and inland from April to September. Coastal areas have a second rainy season from November to January. Rain generally falls in heavy afternoon showers or thunderstorms. Cloudy days are rare; Most days include four to eight hours of sunshine from morning to early afternoon.
In the savannah regions of the interior, rainfall may be slightly less and there is a tendency for a single rainy season from April to September (see the climate for Lethem), although some rain occurs in other months. Humidity is lower during the drier months.
| Climate data for Lethem (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 32.8 (91.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 33.6 (92.5) | 33.1 (91.6) | 31.6 (88.9) | 31.5 (88.7) | 31.3 (88.3) | 32.3 (90.1) | 33.8 (92.8) | 34.5 (94.1) | 34.3 (93.7) | 33.1 (91.6) | 32.9 (91.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.4 (83.1) | 28.8 (83.8) | 28.7 (83.7) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.3 (81.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.6 (85.3) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.5 (83.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.9 (75.0) | 24.1 (75.4) | 23.8 (74.8) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.7 (74.7) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.0 (75.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 16.2 (0.64) | 25.4 (1.00) | 43.9 (1.73) | 108.5 (4.27) | 310.4 (12.22) | 305.4 (12.02) | 292.7 (11.52) | 171.6 (6.76) | 98.3 (3.87) | 68.3 (2.69) | 51.7 (2.04) | 39.7 (1.56) | 1,532.1 (60.32) |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Written by Richard Powell. Last updated 2024 July 16References
- 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
- Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, (1993), Guyana and Belize: country studies. Claitor's Pub. Division. ISBN 084440778X
- Hugh Chisholm, (ed.), (1911), Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh edition, Cambridge University Press
The Climate of
Guyana
In summary:
The climate is tropical and humid. The average temperature at Georgetown is 27°C (81°F); there is little seasonal variation in temperature or humidity.
Rainfall averages 2300 mm (90 in) a year along the coast, falling in two wet seasons—May to July and November to January—and 1500 mm (60 in) in the southwest, where there is a single wet season, extending from April to September.