Climate of Kiribati

Climate of Kiribati

Where is the country of Kiribati located? The Republic of Kiribati has been an independent country in Oceania since 1979. Kiribati is located in the Pacific Ocean and consists for the most part of three archipelagos. In total, Kiribati covers more than 3.5 million square kilometers, of which only 811 square kilometers consists of land area. Kiribati is a fairly flat country. The highest point is 81 meters high, but the vast majority of the land area is not far above sea level. This makes Kiribati vulnerable to tidal waves, which can be caused by hurricanes, among other things. Temporary sea level rises can also cause flooding. In Kiribati, it is the northernmost islands that can be affected by a hurricane. A striking fact is that Kiribati is located in the western, eastern, southern and northern hemispheres. According to the Köppen climate classification, most of Kiribati has a tropical rainforest climate (type Af). This climate type is associated with fairly high monthly precipitation sums and high temperatures during all days of the year. The eastern islands have a tropical savanna climate, thanks to lower rainfall.

Rain

The course of rainfall is quite uneven across Kiribati. Due to its location around the equator, Kiribati has to deal with a fairly fickle supply of depressions, rain fronts and rain showers. In general, the more easterly, the less precipitation. Particularly in the second half of the year, there can be quite a few dry days. On Christmas Island (Christmas Island) there is on average only 37 millimeters of rain during the driest month of October. In the capital South Tarawa this month has a long-term average of more than one hundred millimeters. The wettest months are around the turn of the year. Again, there can be quite a few differences per location.

Temperature

The tropical climate of Kiribati is accompanied by fairly even temperatures. The average daily temperature is about 27-28 degrees throughout the year, with minimums 24-25 degrees Celsius and maximum temperatures about 30-31 degrees Celsius. It hardly gets warmer than 32-33 degrees and there is no coolness in Kiribati. You will search in vain for phenomena such as frost, snow or hail throughout Kiribati. However, variations in relative humidity can cause a difference in how people perceive the temperature.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Maximum temperature Minimum temperature Hours of sunshine per day Days of rainfall per month Water temperature
January 30℃ 25℃ 7 20 28℃
February 31℃ 25℃ 7 19 28℃
March 31℃ 25℃ 8 20 28℃
April 31℃ 25℃ 7 19 29℃
May 31℃ 25℃ 7 18 29℃
June 31℃ 25℃ 6 17 29℃
July 31℃ 25℃ 6 19 29℃
August 31℃ 25℃ 6 19 29℃
September 31℃ 25℃ 6 18 29℃
October 31℃ 25℃ 6 19 29℃
November 31℃ 25℃ 6 18 29℃
December 31℃ 25℃ 6 20 29℃

Best time to visit Kiribati

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Kiribati? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. The Republic of Kiribati consists of several archipelagos that lie in the Pacific Ocean. These islands are located both around the equator and around the 180th meridian. To prevent two different dates occurring within one country, the international date line at Kiribati has been moved a long way to the east, up to the 150th degree of longitude. Kiribati has a tropical climate with a fairly large difference in precipitation patterns spread over the 3.5 million kilometer area. The temperatures are almost the same everywhere and have few variations within a calendar year. It is continuously tropical warm with maximum temperatures around 29 to 32 degrees Celsius and nighttime temperatures around 23 to 27 degrees throughout the year.

Best months

Based on the amounts of precipitation per month, the period from May to October is the best time to travel to the western islands of Kiribati. These are the Gilbert Islands. July is a little wetter, but you won’t be able to avoid rain showers in any month on the Gilbert Islands. The best months or the driest months are September and October. The Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands are drier, so you can actually visit those archipelagos all year round. The second half of the year, especially the period from July to November, is drier and therefore even more suitable. From November to mid-May, there is a chance that the southern islands will be affected by tropical cyclones that occur in the region. Because of its location around the equator, the chance that islands of Kiribati will be completely hit by a hurricane is quite small.

Kiribati