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The climate of Bonaire
The island of Bonaire is part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean.
Since Sunday 10 October 2010 Bonaire has officially been a Dutch
municipality. This means Bonaire has the warmest climate of the
Netherlands. According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification
Bonaire has a tropical savannah climate (Type Aw). Temperatures are
reasonably constant all year round. Maximum temperatures are 30-32
degrees Celsius which are reached quite early in the day. As soon as
the evening falls temperatures drop to 23-25 degrees Celsius. Because
of the influence of the Caribbean Sea and a north east trade wind
there is little variation in temperatures. During the winter these two
elements warm the land while during the summer they offer a cooling
effect. However, do not take this too literally; it never really gets
cold on Bonaire. Temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius are hardly ever
recorded. Wintry conditions such as snow and subzero temperatures are
simply impossible here.
Rain
Many internet sites describe Bonaire’s climate as tropical-arid. This
means it has a dry climate with tropical temperatures. Temperatures
are indeed continuously around tropical values. However, the climate
isn’t really dry. The Flamingo Airport weather station records about
500 millimeters of rain per year. This is an average though. Some
years get less precipitation, about 300-400 millimeters. It may also
happen that the total amount of precipitation in one year exceeds
1,000 millimeters. Especially when a hurricane comes close or there is
one or more tropical depressions the amount of rain will increase.
Most of the rain falls during the last quarter of the year. October,
November and December get about half of the total annual amount of
rain. February, March, April, May and June are the driest months.
These months get less than 50 millimeters of rain per month. However,
during some months there is no rainfall at all which makes nature
crave for water.
Sun
Bonaire is a sunny island that gets about 8-9 hours of sunshine per
day. On an annual basis this means about 3,000 hours of sunshine which
is very sunny. The blue skies are often mixed with clouds; a beautiful
sight over the azure blue sea. About one third of the time skies are
cloudy. Chances of cloudy skies all day long are highest in the period
from September till December.
Diving destination
Bonaire has a beautiful underwater world which attracts many divers
and snorkelers every year. The temperature of the sea is 26.8 degrees
Celsius on average; it hardly ever drops below 25 degrees Celsius.
This makes for ideal conditions for tropical fish. If you would like
to go diving in autumn you should bear in mind that the sea is rougher
because of tropical depressions.
Humidity figures
Bonaire doesn’t get a lot of rain. However, humidity figures are
reasonably high with an average of 76%. The difference between the dry
months and the most humid months is only a few percent. The reason the
moist air doesn’t grow into showers is because the island is small and
the lack of differences in altitude. Most of the rainy clouds pass
Bonaire to cause rain on the mainland. This often is Venezuela.
Hurricanes
From the start of June till December there are chances of hurricanes
and tropical storms in the Caribbean. Bonaire is situated in an area
with a small chance of hurricanes. Some internet sites say that
tropical storms and hurricanes don’t occur here. However, in October
2008 tropical storm Omar caused a lot of damage on Bonaire.
Fortunately, Bonaire usually doesn’t have the risk of getting hit by
this phenomenon. Depressions usually are north of Bonaire and the only
inconvenience is more rain and rough seas.
Winter sun
The pleasant temperatures in combination with a lot of sunshine make
Bonaire an ideal winter sun destination. Especially from February till
April it is very nice to go diving, snorkeling or swimming here. Bear
in mind that the UV-index is still very high during winter.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate
records. They are an average for the island of Bonaire
Please, note that local deviations may occur
More climate information
TextClimate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture
of the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of
time. How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes
can often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra
climate information per month
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
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= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
