Climatology
This page presents Vanuatu'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.
Vanuatu’s climate varies with latitude, from wet tropical in the northern islands, which receive over 4,000 millimeters (mm) of annual rainfall to the dryer subtropical in the southern extremes of the archipelago, where annual average rainfall measures 1,500 mm. Average temperatures range from 21°C to 27°C, and unlike many of the Pacific island nations, seasonal temperatures in the capital city of Port Vila exhibit high variability with summertime highs exceeding 30°C and minimum temperatures often reaching below 20°C. Seasonal and interannual variations in climate are driven by changes associated with El Niño, which affect every aspect of the climate in the Pacific. Cyclones are common during the warm months of November to April, although two recent cyclonic events were experienced outside of the traditional cyclonic season.