Explore historical and projected climate data, climate data by sector, impacts, key vulnerabilities and what adaptation measures are being taken. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Kiribati.
This page presents high-level information for Kiribati's climate zones and its seasonal cycle for mean temperature and precipitation for the latest climatology, 1991-2020. Climate zone classifications in the map below use observed, historical data (sourced from the Climate Research Unit [CRU]) and are derived by applying the Köppen-Geiger climate classification methodology. This classification divides climate into five primary climate groups, which are divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five primary groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). All climates, except for those in the E group are assigned a seasonal precipitation sub-group (second letter). It is important to understand the different climate contexts that exist within a country as well as the surrounding region when analyzing current climates and projected change. Climate classifications are identified by hovering your mouse over the legend. A narrative overview of Kiribati's country context and climate is provided following the visualizations.
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Kiribati is a nation of 32 coral atolls and one raised limestone island, located in the central Pacific Ocean. The country contains three major island groups: the Gilbert group in the west, the central Phoenix group, and the Line group in the east. These islands have a total land area of 811 square kilometers (km2), and occupy a vast economic exclusion zone of approximately 3.6 million square kilometers. Kiribati’s coral atolls are very low-lying, with a maximum elevation of 3 to 4 meters (m) above sea level.
As an atoll country, Kiribati is almost entirely dependent upon imported food and fuel. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Because of narrow islands, the entire population and most infrastructure is concentrated along the coast making it directly exposed to the impacts of climate change. Kiribati had an estimated population of 113,000 in 2020, of which over half lived on the island of South Tarawa, where the capital Tarawa is located.
Kiribati is amongst the most vulnerable nations to climate change on Earth. As an extremely isolated and very low-lying island nation, Kiribati faces considerable risk from climate variability and sea-level rise. The potential risk of permanent inundation, and land and marine ecosystem degradation link climate change intrinsically with development.
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