Venezuela Climate
Top 5 Cities: Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, Barquisimeto, and Maracay
This month in numbers
Venezuela experienced its 5th warmest February–April on record, with an average temperature of 26.82°C, a significant +1.2°C above the 1961–1990 baseline. April 2026 alone saw an average temperature of 26.46°C, ranking as the 17th warmest April in 86 years of records. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C, while the February–April period also ranked as the 2nd warmest globally, at +1.2°C above the baseline.
What changed
The consistent warmth over the past three months places Venezuela among the regions experiencing notable temperature increases. The country's long-term trend shows a warming of +1.00°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline, with 2025 being the warmest year on record. Venezuela's 1-month anomaly for April 2026 ranks 198th out of 234 regions, while its 3-month anomaly ranks 162nd, indicating that while the country is experiencing significant warming, other regions globally are seeing even more extreme temperature shifts.
What’s driving change?
The current climate in Venezuela is being influenced by a combination of factors. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a Neutral phase, though the NOAA CPC forecast indicates a 61% chance of El Niño developing by May–July and a 79% chance by June–August. Historically, El Niño events in the Amazon basin, which includes parts of Venezuela, are associated with warmer and drier conditions, leading to drought stress and increased fire seasons. This aligns with the 1 drought event recorded for Venezuela between September 2025 and May 2026, representing 100% of the annual total for this type of event, an unusual concentration. Similarly, a wildfire event occurred from April 25 to May 3, 2026, also representing 100% of the annual total, which is an unusual concentration for the region. These events contribute to the ongoing dryness and increased risk of wildfires, which have been particularly prevalent in the early months of 2024 and 2026. The country has also been experiencing an energy crisis due to low water levels at the Guri Dam, which relies on hydropower, exacerbated by the ongoing drought. Additionally, an oil spill originating from Trinidad and Tobago in early May 2026 has caused serious environmental damage to Venezuela's coastlines, threatening mangroves and wetlands. More information on active extreme weather events can be found at Extreme Weather tracker and the ENSO state at ENSO tracker.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Venezuela
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 Venezuela changing?
Venezuela 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 Venezuela come from?
Climate data for Venezuela 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 Venezuela climate data cover?
The Venezuela climate profile covers Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, Barquisimeto and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Venezuela
How often is the Venezuela climate update refreshed?
The Venezuela 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.