Climatology
This page presents Bosnia and Herzegovina's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s size, varying topography and unique landscape, results in the country being characterized by several distinct climate types: temperate continental in the northern and central regions, colder climates for the sub-mountainous and mountainous, and an Adriatic climate and modified Adriatic climate along its coast. The country’s climate varies from a temperate continental climate in the northern Pannonian lowlands along the Sava River and in the foothill zone, to an alpine climate in the mountain regions, and a Mediterranean climate in the coastal and lowland area of the Herzegovina region in the south and southeast. These climate characteristics are influenced by the Adriatic Sea as well as local topography, particularly the Dinarides Mountains, which are located along the coast and run from the northwest to the southeast parallel to the coast.
BiH receives a relatively large amount of sun in its southern region, as compared to its northern zones. The country also has a particularly rich biodiversity (one of the largest in Europe). This is due in part to the three distinct geological and climatic regions: the Mediterranean region, the Euro Siberian-Bore American region, and the mountainous Alpine-Nordic region. Historically, temperatures during the winter months (November to February) range from -6.0°C to 6.2°C and during the summer (May to September) from 9.8°C to 24.7°C. Rainfall is largely constant throughout the year, however the seasonal onset and distribution of rainfall over the past two decades has reportedly been disrupted, causing unexpected flooding and periods of drought, along with high temperatures.