The Climate of Cyprus

The climate of Cyprus is Mediterranean with long dry and hot summers and mild to cool winters. In fact Cyprus is the hottest of all the islands situated in the Mediterranean Sea.

The summers in Cyprus can very hot inland where the temperature readings up to 104 F (40 C) are not uncommon. Coastal areas are, however, a little less hot due to proximity to sea. Winters, on the other hand can be quite cool both at the inland and coastal locations. For instance at Nicosia, an inland station, the high for the hottest month, July, is 97 F (36 C) and the low is 70 F (21 C). At Larnaca, which lies on the coast, the corresponding figures for July are 90 F (32 C) and 72 F (22 C) respectively. Coast has an added advantage of strong breeze in summer which makes the weather quite tolerable. The coolest month at Nicosia is January while at Larnaca it is February. The high temperature in January at Nicosia is 57 (14 C) and low is 41 (5 C). At Larnaca, the coolest month, February, records 63 F (17 C) and 43 F (6 C) respectively. The best time to visit Cyprus, however, is spring and fall. At Nicosia, April records a high of 73 F (23 C) and a low of 50 F (10 C) which is equivalent to Central European summer. Larnaca has temperatures of 72 F (22 C) and 52 F (11C) for April. October at Nicosia records temperatures of 81 F (27 C) and 59 F (15 C) which compare favorably with the June of Rome. Larnaca has 81 F and 61 F respectively.

Irene Hurricane

The rainfall at both Nicosia and Larnaca is scanty.The total annual rainfall at the former station is 14 inches (345 mm) while at the later it is 13 inches (320 mm).The rain falls, at both stations, mostly in winter while the summer months are practically dry. The total of May to October is only 0.4 inches (10 mm) at Larnaca with June, July and August recording nil rainfall. At Nicosia the situation is more or less the same with the month of July recording only 0.04 inch (1 mm) of rain. This clearly shows the extreme dryness from which Cyprus suffers during summer months. The dryness accompanied by cloudless skies makes the mid day sun very hot indeed and the people used to colder climates should, at best, avoid Cyprus in these months. The winters record some rain. The rainiest month at Nicosia is January while at Larenac it is December. January at Nicosia records 3 inches (76 mm) of rain while December at Larnaca has 3.2 inches (80 mm).

From the above discussion regarding the climatic data of Nicosia it follows that the summers at Cyprus are quite hot, best avoided if possible and winter are quite cool. The best season to visit this island is spring and fall when the temperatures are mild and pleasant.

The Climate of Cyprus