🇬🇪Georgia

Georgia extends between 41° and 44°N in the South Caucasus on the eastern Black Sea coast, spanning approximately 69,700 km² with extraordinary topographic diversity. The Greater Caucasus mountains form the northern border with Russia (Shkhara at about 5,200 m is the country's highest peak, and Kazbek rises to about 5,050 m) while the Lesser Caucasus defines the southern border and the Likhi Range bisects the interior.

The humid Kolkheti lowland on the Black Sea coast around Batumi and Poti is separated by the Likhi Range from the drier Mtkvari or Kura River basin encompassing Tbilisi and Telavi, producing a remarkable east–west climate divide. The Black Sea Kolkheti region experiences humid subtropical Cfa climate and is among the wettest areas of Europe, the central plains and hills display humid continental Dfb or oceanic Cfb conditions, the Kura basin around Tbilisi and Kakheti is humid subtropical Cfa with continental and semi-arid influences and true semi-arid steppe on the Iori Plateau in the southeast, and the high Caucasus supports tundra and glacial ET–EF zones.

Tbilisi in the Kura basin sees January highs of 7°C with nights around −1°C and July highs of 32°C with 540 mm of annual rainfall peaking in late spring. Batumi on the Black Sea coast displays humid subtropical conditions with daily means of about 5°C in January and 23°C in July with 2,520 mm of precipitation, the wettest city in Georgia and the Caucasus. Kutaisi in the western Kolkheti lowland sees January highs of 10°C with nights of 4°C and July highs of 29°C with about 1,500 mm of rainfall.

Mestia in upper Svaneti at 1,500 m elevation has cold winters with deep snow, while Stepantsminda below Mount Kazbek averages 5°C annually. The high Caucasus ridges support numerous glaciers including Adishi, Lekhziri, and Tviberi, and Georgian glaciers have lost more than a third of their area since 1960.

Major climate events include the severe 2015 Tbilisi flash floods that damaged the Vere River gorge with numerous fatalities, recurrent severe Caucasus avalanches, the 2014 Devdoraki glacier collapse and debris flow, intensifying Black Sea coastal storms, and accelerating glacier retreat across the high Caucasus.

Our archive covers 4 Georgian cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The hottest July afternoons are in Rustavi, with average highs around 32.5°C, while Tbilisi has the coldest January nights, with average lows near −3.6°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 2.1°C.