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The climate of French Polynesia
French Polynesia is located in Oceania and consists of about 130
islands in the Pacific. Although French Polynesia is largely
autonomous it is officially part of France. Several islands are flat
and several islands are mountainous, such as Tahiti and Bora Bora. The
highest point of French Polynesia is the peak of Mount Orohena on the
island of Tahiti, located at an altitude of 2,241 meters. French
Polynesia enjoys a mixture of tropical climate types. The higher
regions have a subtropical climate because temperatures are not high
enough for a tropical climate. French Polynesia mainly has a tropical
savannah climate with unpredictable weather. During the day
temperatures are between 28-31 degrees Celsius on average the year
round.
Climate information of places and areas in French Polynesia
The climate information given on this page is only brief. Specific
information on weather and climate can be found on the pages per
region or city. The following climate information is available for
French Polynesia:
Precipitation
French Polynesia gets 1,400-2,000 millimeters of annual precipitation,
unevenly spread out over the year. The central westerly islands of
Tahiti and Bora Bora have a distinct dry and wet season. The least
amount of precipitation can be recorded from June till October. After
this both the intensity and the amount of precipitation increase. The
easterly, northerly and southerly located islands do not show these
large monthly fluctuations with regard to precipitation. Almost all of
the rain falls in the form of showers. Especially on the islands
without mountains showers will pass quite rapidly. On the islands with
higher mountains, such as Tahiti rain may remain stationary for a
while on the windward side. The skies in French Polynesia are almost
always cloudy. You can often see clouds on the horizon which offers a
nice contrast between land, sea and air.
Hurricanes
A large part of French Polynesia is situated in an area where there is
a risk of hurricanes, tropical storms and tropical depressions.
Hurricane season is from the end of October till June. During
hurricane season there is a risk of hurricanes or bad weather because
of tropical depressions in the vicinity. This applies for all of the
islands except the Marquesas Islands.
Climate figures
Throughout French Polynesia different climate figures and
different temperatures can be recorded. The figures below apply to
Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, and cannot be seen as an
average for the country. Please visit the individual pages for climate
information on other places and regions in French Polynesia and use
these as a reference.
More climate information
Climate 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. The information below is an average for
Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. For more information please
go to the individual pages for climate information on other places and
regions in French Polynesia and use these as a reference.
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
