Jamaica
4 cities
Climate overview
Jamaica lies between 17° and 19°N as a Caribbean country of roughly 10,991 km² in the Greater Antilles, about 145 km south of Cuba. The island is dominated by a rugged mountainous interior (the Blue and John Crow Mountains in the east rising to Blue Mountain Peak at 2,256 m, the central Cockpit Country karst plateau, and the Dry Harbour Mountains) surrounded by narrow coastal lowlands including Kingston, Montego Bay, and Negril.
The climate is tropical maritime, ranging from tropical rainforest (Köppen Af) on the wet windward northeast coast at Port Antonio and Annotto Bay and the eastern mountain slopes, transitioning to tropical savanna (Aw) on the leeward south coast around Kingston and the dry Liguanea Plain.
Kingston has highs of 31°C in January and 33°C in July, with nights of 23–26°C, and about 800 mm of rainfall split into two seasons peaking in May and September through November. Montego Bay records highs of 30°C in January and 33°C in July (nights 22–25°C) with 1,140 mm annually, while Port Antonio on the wet northeast windward coast sees highs of 28°C and 31°C (nights 19–22°C) with about 3,100 mm and no real dry season.
Negril on the west coast is hot year-round, and the Blue Mountains receive more than 5,000 mm with a much cooler summit. Jamaica sits squarely in the Atlantic hurricane belt and has been struck repeatedly: Hurricane Charlie in 1951, Allen in 1980, the severe Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988 that made a direct Category 3 landfall and caused widespread destruction, Ivan in 2004, Dean in 2007, Sandy in 2012, Beryl in July 2024 which grazed the island as a Category 4 storm, and Melissa in October 2025, a Category 5 landfall and the strongest hurricane on record to strike Jamaica.
Recurrent prolonged droughts, coral bleaching as Caribbean seas warm, and rising sea levels that erode the beaches tourism depends on are all climate concerns.
Our archive covers 4 Jamaican cities with daily ERA5 reanalysis data going back to 1940. The hottest July afternoons are in Portmore, with average highs around 31°C, while Spanish Town has the coldest January nights, with average lows near 22.4°C. Comparing the last decade against the 1940–1970 baseline, mean temperatures across these cities have risen by about 1.5°C.
How the climate has shifted in Jamaica
Average across 4 cities with full ERA5 coverage: 1940–1970 baseline vs the last decade (2016–2025).
- Annual mean temperature
- 25.8°C→27.3°C
- Days above 30°C per year
- 62 days→153 days+91
- Frost days per year
- 0 days→0 days+0
- Tropical nights (≥20°C) per year
- 363 nights→365 nights+2
Warmest year in the record so far: 2024.
What's unusual right now
From a snapshot of the world's largest cities updated each hour. Today's mean temperature compared with each city's long-term average for the same calendar date (ERA5 climatology, 1940 onward). Last 30 days uses each city's rolling daily-mean vs its monthly average. Not a global ranking.
Warmer than usual