Climate of Uruguay

The climate of Uruguay is humid subtropical (Cfa according to the Köppen climate classification). It is fairly uniform nationwide, since the country is located entirely within the temperate zone. Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare. As would be expected by its abundance of water, high humidity and fog are common. The absence of mountains and others weather barriers makes all locations vulnerable to high winds and rapid changes in weather as fronts or storms sweep across the country. Weather is sometimes humid.

Temperature and rainfall

Seasons are fairly well defined, and in most of Uruguay spring is usually damp, cool, and windy; summers are warm; autumns are mild; and winters are chilly and uncomfortably damp. Northwestern Uruguay, however, is farther from large bodies of water and therefore has warmer summers and milder and drier winters than the rest of the country. Average highs and lows in summer (January) in Montevideo are 28 and 17 °C (82.4 and 62.6 °F), respectively, with an absolute maximum of 43 °C (109.4 °F); comparable numbers for Artigas in the northwest are 33 and 18 °C (91.4 and 64.4 °F), with the highest temperature ever recorded (42 °C / 107.6 °F). Winter (July) average highs and lows in Montevideo are 14 and 6 °C (57.2 and 42.8 °F), respectively, although the high humidity makes the temperatures feel colder; the lowest temperature registered in Montevideo is −4 °C (24.8 °F). Averages in July of a high of 18 °C (64.4 °F) and a low of 7 °C (44.6 °F) in Artigas confirm the milder winters in northwestern Uruguay, but even here temperatures have dropped to a subfreezing −4 °C (24.8 °F).

Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, and annual amounts increase from southeast to northwest. Montevideo averages 950 millimeters (37.4 in) annually, and Artigas receives 1,235 millimeters (48.6 in) in an average year. As in most temperate climates, rainfall results from the passage of cold fronts in winter, falling in overcast drizzly spells, and summer thunderstorms are frequent.

Winds

High winds are a disagreeable characteristic of the weather, particularly during the winter and spring, and wind shifts are sudden and pronounced. A winter warm spell can be abruptly broken by a strong pampero, a chilly and occasionally violent wind blowing north from the Argentine pampas. Summer winds off the ocean, however, have the salutary effect of tempering warm daytime temperatures.

Institutions

The Uruguayan National Directorate of Meteorology (Spanish: Dirección Nacional de Meteorología) is the leading institution in climatological matters. Since 1951 Uruguay is member of the World Meteorological Organization.^[1]

In May 2010 took place the 4th General Meeting of Global Environment Facility. As a consequence there will be an observatory specialized in climate change in Uruguay, a new experience at world scale.^[2]

See also

• Climate

References

1. ^ WMO
2. ^ "Climate change, the Uruguayan way (Spanish)". EL PAIS. 4 November 2010. http://www.elpais.com.uy/10/11/04/pciuda_526420.asp. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 

External links

• National Directorate of Meteorology (in Spanish)