Land and Resources, Climate

Colombia lies almost entirely in the Torrid Zone, a meteorological term denoting the areas of the earth’s surface between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. The climate, however, varies with the elevation. The low regions along the coast and the deep Patia and Magdalena river valleys are torrid, with average annual temperatures of 24° to 27°C (75° to 80°F). From about 500 to 2,300 m (about 1,500 to 7,500 ft) the climate is subtropical, and from about 2,300 to 3,000 m (about 7,500 to 10,000 ft) it is temperate. Above about 3,000 m (about 10,000 ft) is the cold-climate zone, where temperatures range from -18° to 13°C (0° to 55°F). Seasonal variations are slight. In Bogota the average high temperature in January is 20°C (68°F), and in July the average high is 19°C (65°F). The highs for the same months in Barranquilla are 32°C (89°F) and 33°C (91°F).

Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogota the annual rainfall averages about 1,060 mm (about 42 in), and in Barranquilla it averages about 800 mm (about 32 in). Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Cordillera Oriental.