Galapagos Weather
The Galapagos weather is
pretty
reasonable all year round - the islands are, after all, on the equator,
so it is never freezing cold.
The climate does vary throughout the year and the weather may
affect your decision on when to visit the Galapagos Islands, especially
if you will be taking a cruise.
In general, the Galapagos
climate is
divided into two seasons, the warm wet season from January
to May or June, and the cool dry season from June or July to December.
The
seasons are not exactly fixed and weather conditions are changeable
around the ends of the seasons. Note that the "wet" season is
still drier than many places in the world. See the foot of
the page for monthly temperatures and rainfall.
Temperatures in the warm wet season are
around 30°C with sunny days interrupted by short but heavy
cloudbursts of rain. The sea is warm, 20°C to
25°C,
and relatively calm. This part of the year is good for
lounging on a cruise boat if you are a sun worshipper and
don't plan to hike up volcanoes. Also good for keen
snorkellers and swimmers.
The cool dry season is
more comfortable for hiking or manual work on volunteer projects, at
around 22°C. Days
are often overcast though not usually with any rainfall down on the
coast. Up in the highlands the garúa mist
hangs about as a kind of permanent
dampness, and sometimes descends to the coast as well. The
sea gets choppy, at its worst in late August
and September, and much cooler (down to about 18°C, much lower
in cold currents) so
snorkellers may need a wetsuit.
January
brings hot, mostly sunny weather with the odd cloudburst and warm
relatively calm seas. This is high season in the Galapagos
Islands.
February's
air and sea temperatures are high, seas are calm. Short,
heavy
rain showers on otherwise sunny days.
March
has hot, humid, sunny weather between cloudbursts. Warm, calm
seas make for pleasant Galapagos cruising.
April
sees hot sunny days interrupted by heavy but short showers of rain.
Seas are calm and warm.
May
weather is still hot with occasional rain, not quite as much sunshine
and the sea
has a little more swell, though it's still warm for snorkelling.
June
in the Galapagos Islands is warm rather than scorching, still a few
rainshowers and starting to be overcast and maybe misty at times.
Seas are still warm but the wind is picking up and the sea
has a
bit of a swell.
July's
weather is warm but cloudy and windy. Seas are choppier and
starting to cool off with the cold waters brought in by the Humboldt
Current.
August
brings cooler, cloudy, windy but mostly dry days and cool, choppy seas,
especially
towards the end of the month.
September sees
rough seas, but many of the Galapagos cruise boats are out of action
for low season maintenance anyway. Cool but comfortable air
temperature with little sunshine, overcast and windy days but little
rain.
October's
warm days are windy and overcast but mostly dry. The sea is
not as rough,
though
still choppy and cool.
November is
slightly warmer and less windy than October, but still overcast with
cool choppy seas. Little rain.
December's
air and sea temperatures are starting to go up, as are the prices for
the Galapagos Christmas season. Seas are calmer and there is
slightly more sunshine interspersed with some rain, which causes
vegetation to start greening up again.
Although there is
wildlife to be seen all year round, the Galapagos
wildlife behaviour calendar will help you choose a time of
year with the wildlife highlights that interest you.
In years with an extreme
El
Niño event (a weather phenomenen where the usual trade winds
reverse), rainfall in the Galapagos can be up to ten times the usual
level and "normal" weather patterns may not apply. Wildlife
populations and activity are also affected in El Niño years.
| |
Av. Air Temp F
|
Av. Sea Temp F
|
Hrs sunshine
|
Av rainfall "
|
Wind Factor
|
Jan
|
70-84
|
74
|
5.3
|
1.5
|
2
|
Feb
|
74-86
|
76
|
7.5
|
2.1
|
1
|
Mar
|
74-88
|
76
|
6.0
|
3.0
|
1
|
Apr
|
72-86
|
76
|
7.5
|
3.0
|
1
|
May
|
72-82
|
74
|
5.2
|
2.7
|
2
|
Jun
|
66-78
|
74
|
4.4
|
2.2
|
2
|
Jul
|
64-76
|
68
|
2.8
|
1.1
|
3
|
Aug
|
64-74
|
62
|
3.3
|
0.7
|
4
|
Sep
|
62-76
|
60
|
2.9
|
0.5
|
4
|
Oct
|
64-77
|
70
|
3.8
|
0.5
|
3
|
Nov
|
66-78
|
72
|
3.5
|
0.8
|
3
|
Dec
|
68-80
|
74
|
4.0
|
1.5
|
2
|
Sources: Temperatures: INGALA; Wind/Sun: GalapagosCharters.com
Wind factor: 1 = negligible, 7 = moderate
Note that there are substantial variations between islands and across
the more than 7000 square kilometres of the achipelago.
Useful
Spanish Vocabulary about the weather in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador:
Las Islas Galápagos: The Galapagos Islands
clima: weather
ola: wave
garúa: cool, damp mist often found in the Galapagos Islands
July - December
Galapagos
Weather Calendar
Climate calendar and monthly weather notes for the Galapagos Islands
Website www.ecuadortravelsite.org, text and photos by Sarah Clifford.
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