The climate in Mauritius

Climate zone: tropics

The climate in Mauritius is very warm, with an annual average of 27 degrees, but has few truly tropical and sticky months. It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 25 degrees. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Rodrigues. The coldest is Plaines Wilhems. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from October to November. Most precipitation falls in March.

Temperature records of the last 69 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1954 to January 2023 was reported by the St. Brandon Raphael Island weather station. In January 2020, the record temperature of 35.6 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 4 weather stations in Mauritius , was recorded in 2017 with an average temperature of 24.7 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 23.2 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 27.6 °C.

The coldest day in these 69 years was reported by the Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 12.4 °C in September 2013. Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport lies at an altitude of 57 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1974 with an average temperature of 26.1 °C. In Mauritius, it is usual to have about 1.1 degrees more at 27.2 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in February 1987. With 26.7 mm per day, the Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 69 years.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1997 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 2 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1997 to 2022, there were only these 2 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Rodrigues Island, Seewoosagur Ramgoolamort). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was March 2016 at 28.0 °C. August 2005 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 21.3 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 24.2 °C in the years after 1997 and about 25.0 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 26 years, it has increased by about 0.8 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 2 weather stations in Mauritius. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level.