Costa Rica climate — normals and trends
Costa Rica (Brazil) has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 23.3 °C and it receives 1,430 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is September (24.9 °C on average) and the coldest is June (20.9 °C). Rainfall peaks in January.
Costa Rica averages 0 frost days, 122 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 178 rainy days per year.
Costa Rica has warmed by +1.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.15 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 40.4 °C (on 4 October 2020) and the coldest 1.4 °C (on 18 July 1975).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
Costa RicaMato Grosso do Sul
- coords
- -18.54°, -53.13°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
23.3°C
Average daily high
28.8°C
Average daily low
19.0°C
Annual rainfall
1,430mm
Sunshine / day
10.3h
Mean relative humidity
70%
Average peak wind
12.8km/h
Seasonal range
4.0°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
0 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
122 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
178 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.0 cm
Average feels-like high
31.4 °C
Average feels-like low
20.0 °C
Average peak gust
30.5 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
163 d/yr
Solar radiation
18.9 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.3 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.47 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
40.4 °C
4 October 2020
Coldest day
1.4 °C
18 July 1975
Wettest day
164 mm
28 January 1960
Windiest day
32.8 km/h
15 September 1956
Strongest gust
73.1 km/h
8 September 2015
Hottest feels-like
41.4 °C
3 November 1994
Coldest feels-like
-3.5 °C
18 July 1975
Sunniest day
13.0 h
18 December 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.6 °C | +1.2 °C | 169 mm | -82 mm |
| Feb | 29.4 °C | +0.8 °C | 162 mm | -56 mm |
| Mar | 30.1 °C | +1.4 °C | 97 mm | -89 mm |
| Apr | 28.5 °C | 0.0 °C | 86 mm | -6 mm |
| May | 28.0 °C | +0.9 °C | 18 mm | -27 mm |
| Jun | 27.2 °C | +0.2 °C | 21 mm | +2 mm |
| Jul | 27.5 °C | -0.2 °C | 0 mm | -15 mm |
| Aug | 29.6 °C | -0.4 °C | 9 mm | -8 mm |
| Sep | 33.8 °C | +2.5 °C | 6 mm | -52 mm |
| Oct | 31.2 °C | +0.9 °C | 69 mm | -62 mm |
| Nov | 31.1 °C | +1.9 °C | 106 mm | -68 mm |
| Dec | 29.1 °C | +0.6 °C | 171 mm | -52 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Costa Rica?
Costa Rica has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 23.3 °C and it receives 1,430 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Costa Rica?
The hottest day measured in Costa Rica between 1940 and 2025 was 4 October 2020, reaching 40.4 °C.
What is the coldest day in Costa Rica?
The coldest day measured in Costa Rica between 1940 and 2025 was 18 July 1975, at 1.4 °C.
Does it snow in Costa Rica?
Almost never: Costa Rica sees virtually no snow, with about 0 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Costa Rica warmed?
Yes: Costa Rica warmed by +1.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Costa Rica?
The wettest day measured in Costa Rica between 1940 and 2025 was 28 January 1960, with 164 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Costa Rica?
The windiest day measured in Costa Rica between 1940 and 2025 was 15 September 1956, with winds reaching 32.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Costa Rica?
The warmest month in Costa Rica is September (24.9 °C on average); the coldest is June (20.9 °C).
How much does it rain in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica receives on average 1,430 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 178 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica gets on average 10.3 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,760 hours per year over 1940-2025.
Are there tropical nights in Costa Rica?
Yes: Costa Rica has on average 163 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Costa Rica?
In Costa Rica, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 41.4 °C on 3 November 1994, and the lowest was -3.5 °C on 18 July 1975.
Compare Costa Rica with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Costa Rica