Riohacha, Colombia climate

BWh Hot desert

Riohacha has a remarkably steady tropical climate (Hot desert, Köppen BWh). The hottest month is May with an average daily high near 92°F, while the coldest is January averaging around 74°F at night. Precipitation totals about 16 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — October alone averages 3.8 inches while January barely receives 0.01 inches.

☀️ Summers

Hot

Highs near 92°F in May.

❄️ Winters

Mild

Lows near 74°F in January.

🌧️ Rain

Fairly dry

About 16 in of rain a year.

Wettest in October

⛅ Sky & trend

Partly cloudy

A roughly even mix of sun and cloud.

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Hours of sunshine per day

Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)

Riohacha climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	91	92	93	92	92	92	92	92	91	90	90	91
Avg temp (°F)	82	84	85	86	86	85	85	85	84	83	83	83
Avg low (°F)	74	75	77	79	80	79	78	78	77	77	76	75
Precipitation (in)	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.3	1.7	1.4	1.8	2.3	1.8	3.8	2.3	0.4

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°F)	91	92	93	92	92	92
Avg temp (°F)	82	84	85	86	86	85
Avg low (°F)	74	75	77	79	80	79
Precipitation (in)	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.3	1.7	1.4

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	92	92	91	90	90	91
Avg temp (°F)	85	85	84	83	83	83
Avg low (°F)	78	78	77	77	76	75
Precipitation (in)	1.8	2.3	1.8	3.8	2.3	0.4

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	23	25	35	54	67	62	58	61	69	70	59	35
Relative humidity (%)	71	67	67	72	78	78	76	79	82	83	82	76
Wind speed (mph)	9.4	10.0	9.8	8.3	6.1	5.8	6.3	5.7	5.0	5.1	6.4	8.3

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	23	25	35	54	67	62
Relative humidity (%)	71	67	67	72	78	78
Wind speed (mph)	9.4	10.0	9.8	8.3	6.1	5.8

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	58	61	69	70	59	35
Relative humidity (%)	76	79	82	83	82	76
Wind speed (mph)	6.3	5.7	5.0	5.1	6.4	8.3

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 23 years of daily observations at Simon Bolivar, a weather station, about 152 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →