Climatology
This page presents Indonesia'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.
Indonesia’s climate is largely hot and humid, with rainfall occurring mostly in low-lying areas and mountainous regions experiencing cooler temperatures. The cities of Jakarta, Ujung Padang, Medan, Padang, and Balikpapan have an average minimum temperature of 22.8°C and a high of 30.2°C. Humidity in Jakarta varies between 61% to 95% and average rainfall amounts to 218.4 millimeters (mm) per month. The “wet” season occurs between November and April, leaving May through October typically dry. Indonesia experiences drier conditions during El Nino events and wetter conditions during La Nina events. Indonesia lies across the range of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the northeast and southeast trade winds penetrate the doldrums. Strong ascending motion, overcast skies, strong squalls, heavy rainfall and severe local thunderstorms with variable intensities are characteristics of this zone.