Jamaica Climate
Top 5 Cities: Kingston, Montego Bay, Spanish Town, Portmore, and Mandeville
This month in numbers
Jamaica experienced its 8th warmest April on record, with an average temperature of 25.82°C, an anomaly of +1.1°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. The period of February–April 2026 was the 3rd warmest on record for Jamaica, with an average temperature of 25.59°C, an anomaly of +1.5°C. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April for land temperatures, and the February–April period was also the 2nd warmest on record for global land temperatures.
What changed
Jamaica's recent warmth is part of a broader trend, with the latest three-month anomaly of +1.5°C placing it 129th out of 234 regions globally for warming. This follows a year where 2025 was the 2nd warmest on record for the island, at 26.72°C, just shy of the 2024 record of 26.74°C. The long-term trend for Jamaica shows a warming of +1.38°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline.
What’s driving change?
The continued unusual warmth in the Tropical North Atlantic Ocean is a significant factor, implying severe weather activity for the Greater Antilles, including Jamaica, as early as April. This aligns with the broader global warming trend, where . In February 2026, Jamaica's coastline experienced significant damage from a powerful cold front, leading to cracked roads, broken seawalls, and dangerous wave surges. The current ENSO state is Neutral, with an anomaly of +0.11°C for February–April 2026, but forecasts indicate a likely transition to El Niño by May–July 2026, with probabilities rising to 79% by June–August and 87% by July–September. El Niño typically brings drier conditions to the Caribbean and Atlantic basin and suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity.
Looking ahead
The evolving El Niño phase suggests a drier period for Jamaica in the coming months, with a suppressed Atlantic hurricane season.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Jamaica
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.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Jamaica changing?
Jamaica 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 trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Jamaica come from?
Climate data for Jamaica 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 Jamaica climate data cover?
The Jamaica climate profile covers Kingston, Montego Bay, Spanish Town, Portmore and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Jamaica
How often is the Jamaica climate update refreshed?
The Jamaica 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.