CLIMATE OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION: MAIN CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The climate of the Caribbean region of Colombia is generally warm, falling within the category of tropical climate. However, it has some area that escapes this classification, especially in the Sierra Nevada areas.

Likewise, in the Department of La Guajira, there are some semi-desert areas. The Caribbean Sea is what lends its name to this Colombian region.

The Caribbean region located in the north of the country, bordering the aforementioned sea and Venezuela. It is made up of 8 Departments and has different orographic variants: from the great majority plains, to the mountainous systems of Santa Marta.

Climates of the Caribbean region

This region is the hottest in all of Colombia due to its location and its generally flat terrain.

The main climate is tropical, with a minimum of 25º in its waters. During most of the year, temperatures are close to 30 degrees.

However, there are exceptions to this climatology. On the other hand, it is one of the driest areas in the country, with an average of between 500 and 2000 mm. yearly.

Tropical climate

It is characterized by warm temperatures for most of the year, without frosts at any time.

Thus, they do not usually fall below 20º during winter, while in the summer they easily exceed 30º.

These conditions also cause that during certain months (August, September and October) the region is hit by hurricanes and tropical storms.

This seasonality is also maintained when we talk about rainfall. Thus, from May to October is when the majority of rainy days are concentrated, with averages of between 70 and 178 mm / month.

While the rest of the months only presents rain indices between 1.0 and 25 mm / month.

This climate is the one that has given rise to the characteristic mangroves of the region, as well as the appearance of a tropical dry forest and a tropical humid forest.

Desert climate

This climate is only found in the La Guajira peninsula. The temperature there is very high during most months, although the proximity of the sea softens them slightly.

This causes a very arid and dry environment, which is why cactus species adapted to the weather conditions have appeared.

Rainfall in that area is very scarce, generally occurring in September. These rains are so rare that the original inhabitants of the region, the Wayúu, consider it a god, calling it Juya.

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

Due to its high altitude and its location close to the coast, the Sierra Nevada contains all possible thermal floors.

In this way, the thermometers are located at 0º or less in the peaks, while in the lower zone they can perfectly reach 30.

Part of the responsibility for this weather is the trade winds that usually blow in the area.

In the Sierra there are two different periods of rain, one from May to June and the other from September to November. Thanks to this abundance of water, up to 22 rivers are born there.

References

1. Operational Oceanography. Caribbean Climatology. Obtained from cioh.org.co
2. Wikipedia. Guajira Peninsula. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org
3. IDEAM. Caribbean Precipitation. Obtained from ideam.gov.co
4. Baker, Flora. A slice of the Caribbean in Colombia. Retrieved from goseewrite.com
5. Blue Planet. Rain levels in Colombia. Obtained from Comunidadplanetaazul.com