Costa Rica climate — normals and trends
Costa Rica (Mexico) has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 24.5 °C and it receives 564 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 July (29.2 °C on average) and the coldest is January (19.1 °C). Rainfall peaks in August.
Costa Rica averages 0 frost days, 191 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 67 rainy days per year.
Costa Rica has warmed by +1.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.13 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 41.4 °C (on 15 June 1998) and the coldest 4.1 °C (on 4 February 2011).
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 RicaSinaloa
- coords
- 24.59°, -107.39°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
24.5°C
Average daily high
29.7°C
Average daily low
20.2°C
Annual rainfall
564mm
Sunshine / day
10.9h
Mean relative humidity
75%
Average peak wind
13.8km/h
Seasonal range
10.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
0 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
191 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
67 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.0 cm
Average feels-like high
32.9 °C
Average feels-like low
22.8 °C
Average peak gust
30.2 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
180 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.9 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.1 °C
since 1940
+0.1 °C per decade · r² = 0.46 · 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
41.4 °C
15 June 1998
Coldest day
4.1 °C
4 February 2011
Wettest day
138 mm
13 September 1993
Windiest day
73.3 km/h
31 July 1948
Strongest gust
141.1 km/h
13 September 1993
Hottest feels-like
47.9 °C
27 August 1981
Coldest feels-like
1.2 °C
4 February 2011
Sunniest day
13.3 h
13 June 2023
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 | 25.1 °C | -0.1 °C | 6 mm | -18 mm |
| Feb | 26.8 °C | +0.9 °C | 0 mm | -9 mm |
| Mar | 27.2 °C | 0.0 °C | 0 mm | -5 mm |
| Apr | 28.8 °C | -0.6 °C | 1 mm | -1 mm |
| May | 31.4 °C | 0.0 °C | 5 mm | +5 mm |
| Jun | 32.8 °C | +0.2 °C | 19 mm | +9 mm |
| Jul | 33.1 °C | 0.0 °C | 139 mm | +36 mm |
| Aug | 33.2 °C | +0.8 °C | 186 mm | +20 mm |
| Sep | 33.3 °C | +1.3 °C | 155 mm | +7 mm |
| Oct | 32.7 °C | +1.1 °C | 52 mm | +1 mm |
| Nov | 31.6 °C | +2.3 °C | 0 mm | -24 mm |
| Dec | 28.4 °C | +2.2 °C | 16 mm | -7 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 hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 24.5 °C and it receives 564 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 15 June 1998, reaching 41.4 °C.
What is the coldest day in Costa Rica?
The coldest day measured in Costa Rica between 1940 and 2025 was 4 February 2011, at 4.1 °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 +1.1 °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 13 September 1993, with 138 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 31 July 1948, with winds reaching 73.3 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Costa Rica?
The warmest month in Costa Rica is July (29.2 °C on average); the coldest is January (19.1 °C).
How much does it rain in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica receives on average 564 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 67 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica gets on average 10.9 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,979 hours per year over 1940-2025.
Are there tropical nights in Costa Rica?
Yes: Costa Rica has on average 180 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 47.9 °C on 27 August 1981, and the lowest was 1.2 °C on 4 February 2011.
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