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Venezuela Climate
Although the country lies wholly within the tropics,
its
climate varies from tropical humid to alpine, depending on
the
elevation, topography, and the direction and intensity of
prevailing winds. Seasonal variations are marked less by
temperature than by rainfall. Most of the country has a
distinct
rainy season; the rainy period (May through November) is
commonly
referred to as winter and the remainder of the year as
summer.
The country falls into four horizontal temperature
zones
based primarily on elevation. In the tropical zone--below
800
meters--temperatures are hot, with yearly averages ranging
between 26° C and 28° C. The temperate zone ranges between
800 and
2,000 meters with averages from 12° C to 25° C; many of
Venezuela's
cities, including the capital, lie in this region. Colder
conditions with temperatures from 9° C to 11° C are found
in the
cool zone between 2,000 and 3,000 meters. Pastureland and
permanent snowfield with yearly averages below 8° C cover
land
above 3,000 in the high mountain areas known as the
páramos.
Average yearly rainfall amounts in the lowlands and
plains
range from a semiarid 430 millimeters in the western part
of the
Caribbean coastal areas to around 1,000 millimeters in the
Orinoco Delta. Rainfall in mountainous areas varies
considerably;
sheltered valleys receive little rain, but slopes exposed
to the
northeast trade winds experience heavy rainfall. Caracas
averages
750 millimeters of precipitation annually, more than half
of it
falling from June through August.
Data as of December 1990
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