The climate in Belize

Climate zone: tropics

High humidity and hot temperatures make the weather in Belize pleasant at times but also tropical humid. It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 29 degrees. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Corozal. The coldest is Belize. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from February to May. Most precipitation falls from June to October.

Temperature records of the last 68 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1955 to January 2023 was reported by the Lord's Bank weather station. In March 2003, the record temperature of 37.3 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 2 weather stations in Belize , was recorded in 1958 with an average temperature of 29.2 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 28.2 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 68 years was reported by the Lord's Bank weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 12.5 °C in January 2001. Lord's Bank lies at an altitude of five meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1978 with an average temperature of 23.5 °C. In Belize, it is usual to have about 1.6 degrees more at 25.1 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in October 2000. With 33.2 mm per day, the Lord's Bank weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 68 years.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1998 - 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 1 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1998 to 2022, there were only these 1 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Lord's Bank). 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 August 2019 at 29.7 °C. December 2010 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 22.2 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 26.7 °C in the years after 1998 and about 27.2 °C in the last years before 2022. It has therefore increased only slightly by about 0.5 °C over the past 25 years. This trend only applies to the selected 1 weather stations in Belize. 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. There are 2 stations in Belize itself. In one case, a nearby weather station from a neighboring country was used to obtain more accurate values.