Climate and average weather in Cartago

In Cartago, the weather is humid, warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around April.

Best: early January to late December

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Cartago typically varies from 18°C to 26°C, and is rarely below 17°C or above 28°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while November is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Cartago for warm-weather activities is from early January to late December.

Hottest
Feb
26°
Coldest
Nov
18°
Wettest
Apr
517 mm
Driest
Jan
291 mm
Rain / yr
4758 mm
352 wet days
Daylight
11.7–12.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
915 m
4.7°N
Clearest
Jan
81% cloud

Cartago weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early January to late December.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Cartago, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Cartago stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is February, with an average high of 26°C and low of 18°C; the coolest is November, with an average low of 18°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights year-round.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2618
Feb2618
Mar2618
Apr2518
May2518
Jun2518
Jul2618
Aug2618
Sep2618
Oct2518
Nov2518
Dec2518

Average hourly temperature in Cartago

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on February afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in November, near 18°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Cartago weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 18°29128.411.83.8
Feb26° / 18°33426.311.83.6
Mar26° / 18°43530.2123.5
Apr25° / 18°51729.712.13.4
May25° / 18°47730.512.23.4
Jun25° / 18°35129.312.33.4
Jul26° / 18°29329.312.23.5
Aug26° / 18°31729.712.23.5
Sep26° / 18°39729123.4
Oct25° / 18°47530.411.93.4
Nov25° / 18°50629.411.83.5
Dec25° / 18°36529.611.73.6

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Cartago gets about 4758 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, and that barely changes with the seasons — rain is spread fairly evenly through the year.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 517 mm over about 30 wet days; January is the driest, with 291 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 10 · 99%Jan 26 · 91%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan9228
Feb9426
Mar9730
Apr9930
May9831
Jun9729
Jul9529
Aug9630
Sep9729
Oct9830
Nov9829
Dec9530

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Cartago collects about 4758 mm of rain across 352 wet days — roughly 397 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 517 mm, while January is the driest at just 291 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 32% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350400450500550600JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec291334435517477351293317397475506365
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan29128
Feb33426
Mar43530
Apr51730
May47731
Jun35129
Jul29329
Aug31730
Sep39729
Oct47530
Nov50629
Dec36530

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Cartago, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around December 9 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around March 14. The clearest month is January, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 11% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 15 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around December 8. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 100% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 2 · 12%May 21 · 0%partly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan1189
Feb1090
Mar496
Apr199
May0100
Jun0100
Jul199
Aug199
Sep199
Oct199
Nov199
Dec793

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. Close to the equator, Cartago barely changes through the year: days stay near 12 h 18 min of light in every season.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.86:206:06
Feb11.86:236:14
Mar12.06:146:12
Apr12.16:016:07
May12.25:536:06
Jun12.35:566:12
Jul12.26:026:17
Aug12.26:036:12
Sep12.05:575:59
Oct11.95:525:45
Nov11.85:555:42
Dec11.76:085:52

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Cartago gets about 0 sunny days a month gloomy — and it barely shifts through the year, holding between 0 and 1 days every month. Clear skies here are a flat line, not a season.

05JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgloomyJan 51 daysMar 140 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb0Gloomy
Mar0Gloomy
Apr0Gloomy
May0Gloomy
Jun0Gloomy
Jul0Gloomy
Aug0Gloomy
Sep0Gloomy
Oct0Gloomy
Nov0Gloomy
Dec0Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

Cartago is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.

The stickiest month is January, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 91% of the time. Even in January, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 0% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmuggyhumid
Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan9911
Feb9892
Mar8911
Apr6931
May4942
Jun4951
Jul9910
Aug10900
Sep13870
Oct15850
Nov10900
Dec8910

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Cartago is steady company: average speeds sit near 3 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmJun 21 · 3 km/hMar 22 · 2 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan3calm
Feb3calm
Mar2calm
Apr3calm
May3calm
Jun3calm
Jul3calm
Aug3calm
Sep3calm
Oct3calm
Nov3calm
Dec3calm

Best time to visit Cartago

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Cartago throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late December, Cartago is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. In Cartago it holds close to 3.8 all year, so any month is about as good as another for general outdoor tourist activities.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDectravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitation

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan3.8fair
Feb3.6fair
Mar3.5poor
Apr3.4poor
May3.4poor
Jun3.4poor
Jul3.5fair
Aug3.5poor
Sep3.4poor
Oct3.4poor
Nov3.4poor
Dec3.6fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. In Cartago it holds close to 3.6 all year, so any month is about as good as another for hot-weather activities.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitation

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Cartago, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

Cartago packs about the same all year — highs hold near 26°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In February, Cartago sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 18°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes. About 26 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Cartago by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cartago peaks around February 21 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 11 (extreme).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeFeb 21UV 15Dec 16UV 11
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec11Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Cartago

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in February the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan86
Feb86.5
Mar86.5
Apr86
May8.56.5
Jun86
Jul86
Aug86
Sep86
Oct86
Nov7.56
Dec7.55.5

Air quality in Cartago by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Cartago is worst in March — around 35 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (July, 19 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMar 1534 µg/m³Jul 1519 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan28Moderate
Feb32Moderate
Mar35Moderate
Apr30Moderate
May24Moderate
Jun21Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep25Moderate
Oct23Moderate
Nov22Moderate
Dec26Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Cartago is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Cartago banks about 4,310 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around February.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan369
Feb337
Mar368
Apr354
May368
Jun357
Jul370
Aug369
Sep351
Oct358
Nov345
Dec363

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Cartago receives about 3.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — moderate — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 3.4 and 4.3 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.

012345JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmoderatebrightAug 304.3 kWhNov 183.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.0Bright
Feb4.3Bright
Mar4.3Bright
Apr3.8Moderate
May3.6Moderate
Jun3.7Moderate
Jul4.0Bright
Aug4.3Bright
Sep4.2Bright
Oct3.8Moderate
Nov3.4Moderate
Dec3.6Moderate

Where is Cartago?

Cartago sits at 4.7°N, 75.9°W, 915 m above sea level, in Colombia. The nearest listed city is La Virginia, 17 km away.

Topography around Cartago

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Cartago.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cartago has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 191 m around an average of 936 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 886 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,236 m.

The land around Cartago is covered by grassland (43%), trees (27%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 3 km, grassland (55%) and trees (30%) within 16 km, and trees (70%) and grassland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
191 m
16 km
886 m
80 km
5,236 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: La Virginia 17 km · Quimbaya 21 km · Pereira 25 km · Montenegro 27 km · Marsella 29 km · Dosquebradas 29 km · La Unión 32 km · Circasia 34 km

Colombia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 / 240 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 38% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$8,562
2025
Happiness
6.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
74%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
24.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
15.4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 480
Religion
Roman Catholic 64%Protestant 17%none 14%atheist 1%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cartago (4.7464°, -75.9117°, elevation 915 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).