East Timor Climate – July 2026 Update
Top 5 Cities: Dili, Baucau, Maliana, Suai, and Lospalos
Summary
East Timor recorded modest warmth during July 2026, keeping temperatures slightly above long-term historical baselines without matching the unprecedented global heat seen elsewhere. While global land temperatures surged to near-record levels, local conditions across the nation remained comparatively mild during the southern hemisphere winter, with seasonal dry conditions expected to persist over the coming months.
This month in numbers
East Timor recorded an average temperature of 22.97°C during July 2026, standing 0.4°C above the 1961-1990 baseline and ranking as the 24th warmest on record. Globally, conditions were far hotter, with global land temperatures averaging 15.8°C, a 1.6°C anomaly that marked the 3rd warmest July on record.
What changed
Over the three-month period from May to July 2026, East Timor averaged 23.61°C, sitting 0.4°C above baseline and ranking as the 25th warmest such period in 87 years of data. By contrast, the global May-July land average reached 14.34°C, registering a 1.5°C anomaly as the 2nd warmest May-July season globally. On a comparative scale across 232 tracked regions, East Timor ranked 228th for its monthly anomaly (+0.37°C) and 229th for its 12-month rolling anomaly (+0.56°C), placing it in the bottom 10 globally for relative warmth. Longer term, the country has warmed by +0.80°C since the 1961-1990 period, with 2025 averaging 25.01°C to become the 5th warmest year on record.
What’s driving change?
Local climate variations in the tropical nation are strongly influenced by and broader shifts in ENSO, which regulate seasonal rain and cloud cover across the archipelago. Furthermore, because waters, East Timor's surrounding maritime environment acts as a thermal buffer, keeping local temperature anomalies subdued while global land averages break records.
Looking ahead
Seasonal climate forecasts suggest that typical dry season patterns and neutral tropical sea surface conditions will keep regional thermal anomalies relatively muted over the next few months.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
At a Glance
Temperature – Average
Climate Map – Global
Source: NOAA Climate at a Glance (countries & continents) · Met Office (UK) · US states & climate regions. Anomalies are vs the 1961–1990 baseline. See methodology.
Typical Climate – East Timor
Köppen Aw · TropicalEast Timor has a tropical climate (Köppen Aw: Tropical savanna (dry winter)), with only modest temperature variation through the year, but a pronounced wet and dry season. November is typically the warmest month, averaging 26.4°C, while July is the coldest at 23.3°C. Annual precipitation averages around 1276mm, concentrated mostly in the wet season.
Monthly climate normals (2016–2025) - bar colour and height show average temperature, the shaded area shows average monthly precipitation.
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (precipitation: GPCC (DWD); frost: World Bank CCKP).
Long-Term Trends
Combined Timeline – East Timor
Precipitation, Sunshine, Frost and Snow are converted to standard deviations from their own average so they can share an axis with Temperature.
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (precipitation: GPCC (DWD); frost: World Bank CCKP).
Heatwave Days – East Timor
Warm Spell Duration Index (WSDI) - days in a 6+ day run above the local 90th-percentile temperature for that time of year.
Data: World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal (ERA5-derived). Refreshed roughly 1-2x/year, ~7-8 months behind present.
Year-on-Year Trends
The 4byo Climate Helix – East Timor
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (precipitation: GPCC (DWD); frost: World Bank CCKP).
Monthly Temperature – East Timor
Latest month is provisional and may be revised by the data provider in the next update cycle.
Background lines show the last 40 years (plus the record year and its opposite, wherever they fall).
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (precipitation: GPCC (DWD); frost: World Bank CCKP).
Records – East Timor
Our World in Data / NOAA (precipitation: GPCC (DWD); frost: World Bank CCKP) - Anomalies vs 1901-2000 mean
Shifting Seasons
Wet / dry seasonsKöppen Aw · TropicalEast Timor doesn't have a warm/cold cycle - its monthly temperature range is only 3.2°C across the year - but it does have a strong wet/dry cycle (the wettest month gets 27× as much rain as the driest). So we track how the wet season has shifted instead.
Monthly precipitation climatology. A “wet month” exceeds the baseline monthly mean (dashed gold line). Biggest month-to-month shift: Dec (+52 mm, +32%).
Data: Our World in Data / NOAA (precipitation: GPCC (DWD); frost: World Bank CCKP).
Emissions & Energy
Explore
Explore Climate Data
Data Sources
Data Sources for East Timor
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) - see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
Country-level temperature anomaly, sourced from Copernicus ERA5 and Hadley HadCRUT5.
Annual country and global CO₂ emissions, from the Global Carbon Project.
Monthly rainfall - Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (DWD) preferred, World Bank CCKP/CRU TS fallback where GPCC lacks direct coverage.
Frost Days and Heatwave Days (Warm Spell Duration Index), ERA5-derived. World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.
Monthly snow water-equivalent, Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (DWD).
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in East Timor changing?
East Timor is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The headline panel also shows the long-term trend rate per decade and the warmest and coolest years on file.
What is the climate like in East Timor?
East Timor has a tropical climate (Köppen Aw: Tropical savanna (dry winter)), with only modest temperature variation through the year, but a pronounced wet and dry season. November is typically the warmest month, averaging 26.4°C, while July is the coldest at 23.3°C. Annual precipitation averages around 1276mm, concentrated mostly in the wet season.
Where does the climate data for East Timor come from?
Climate data for East Timor comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the East Timor climate data cover?
The East Timor climate profile covers Dili, Baucau, Maliana, Suai and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for East Timor
How often is the East Timor climate update refreshed?
The East Timor climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.
What counts as a Heatwave Day on the East Timor climate page?
Heatwave Days use the Warm Spell Duration Index (WSDI) - the WMO/ETCCDI-standard heatwave measure: days that are part of a run of 6 or more consecutive days above the local 90th-percentile temperature for that calendar day. The 90th-percentile threshold varies by time of year (a hot day in January is judged differently to one in July) but is fixed to the 1961-1990 baseline for every year shown - it does not shift as the climate warms, which is why Heatwave Days trend upward over time.
Does the East Timor climate page include frost and snow data?
Yes. Frost Days (days with a minimum temperature below 0°C, World Bank CCKP) and snow water-equivalent (GPCC) are shown alongside temperature and precipitation, each measured against the 1961-1990 baseline where a like-for-like historical comparison is available.