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Galapagos Islands weather
 Despite
their tropical location, the islands are surrounded by relatively cold
waters brought northwards by the Humboldt Current. The Galapagos has two
main seasons, each of which has an effect on the flora and fauna: the
warm and wet season from January to June and the cool and dry (garua)
season, from July to December. During the garua season, cooler waters
from the Humboldt Current are driven to the Galapagos by the southeast
trade winds, with an average sea temperature of 22°C (71°F).
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As a result, there is warm tropical air passing over cool
water. The moisture evaporating from the sea is concentrated in
an inversion layer (300 to 600 m above sea level) and the higher parts of
the islands, which intercept this layer, receive precipitation in the form
of garua (mist rain). While lowland areas remain dry though cool.
During the
warm season the southeast trade winds diminish in strength and warmer waters
from the Panama Basin flow through the islands. The average sea temperature
rises to 25° C (77°F).
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 Warmer waters cause the cool season inversion layer to
break up, and the
Galapagos Islands
experience a more typical tropical climate with blue skies and occasionally
heavy showers. In some years, the flow of warm water is much greater than
normal, and an "El Niño" year results. Surface water temperatures are higher
and rainfall can increase greatly. Life on land blossoms but
seabirds
and sea life, which depend on the more productive, cooler waters, may
experience dramatic breeding failures
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Month
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Avg.High(°F)
|
84
|
86
|
88
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86
|
82
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78
|
76
|
74
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76
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77
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78
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80
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Avg.Low(°F)
|
70
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74
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74
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72
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72
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68
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66
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64
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62
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64
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66
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68
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Water.Temp.(°F) |
74
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76
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76
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76
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74
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74
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72
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66
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68
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70
|
72
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74
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Rainfall(Inches) |
1.5
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2.1
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3.0
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3.0
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2.7
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2.2
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1.1
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0.7
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0.5
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0.5
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0.8
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1.5
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