Climatology
This page presents Latvia'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.
Main drivers of climate conditions in Latvia are Latvia’s location in northwest of the Eurasian continent, distance from Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga and relief of the territory of Latvia. Over the 1981-2010 normal period, the annual average air temperature is from +5.2 till +5.3°C in Alūksne and Vidzeme Uplands to +7.3 till 7.4°C in the coastal territories of the Baltic Sea, clearly illustrating the impact of continentality, proximity to the Baltic Sea and positive relief forms on the climatic conditions and the spread of their manifestations within the territory of Latvia. Air temperature has a seasonal nature – February being the coldest month with average air temperature -3.7°C and July being the warmest with +17.4°C. Annual precipitation amount in Latvia over the 1981-2010 normal period is from 590-670 mm in the Zemgale region to 770-870 mm in western parts of Vidzeme and Kurzeme Uplands. The least amount of precipitation is observed during the spring season, when the activity of the cyclones that were dominant during the autumn and winter seasons has ended, while the convective processes typical for the summer season have not yet begun. The highest amount of precipitation is observed in the summer season. On average, in Latvia there are 17 heavy precipitation and 4 very heavy precipitation days a year and the average annual maximum one-day precipitation amount is 34 mm. The highest recorded daily amount of precipitation is 160 mm.