Climate and average weather in Riobamba
In Riobamba, the weather is mild, wet, and mostly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near mild levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around March.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Riobamba typically varies from 3°C to 15°C, and is rarely below 1°C or above 18°C. September is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Riobamba for warm-weather activities is from late July to late September.
- Hottest
- Sep
- 15°
- Coldest
- Jul
- 3°
- Wettest
- Mar
- 205 mm
- Driest
- Aug
- 29 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1382 mm
- 239 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.9–12.1 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 2,777 m
- 1.7°S
- Clearest
- Aug
- 68% cloud
Riobamba is city in Ecuador, capital of the Chimborazo Province.
- Density
- 6,573/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1534
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Riobamba 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 late July to late September.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Riobamba, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Riobamba stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is September, with an average high of 15°C and low of 3°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 3°C and high of 13°C.
Days typically run about 10°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Avg low (°C) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 4 |
| Feb | 14 | 5 |
| Mar | 14 | 5 |
| Apr | 14 | 5 |
| May | 14 | 4 |
| Jun | 13 | 3 |
| Jul | 13 | 3 |
| Aug | 14 | 3 |
| Sep | 15 | 3 |
| Oct | 14 | 4 |
| Nov | 14 | 4 |
| Dec | 14 | 4 |
How hot and cold Riobamba really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -0°C (around July 30), with roughly 17 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Air high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Air low (°C) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| Feb | 14 | 14 | 3 | 5 |
| Mar | 14 | 14 | 4 | 5 |
| Apr | 14 | 14 | 3 | 5 |
| May | 14 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| Jun | 13 | 13 | 1 | 3 |
| Jul | 13 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Aug | 14 | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep | 15 | 15 | 1 | 3 |
| Oct | 14 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| Nov | 14 | 14 | 4 | 4 |
| Dec | 14 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
Average hourly temperature in Riobamba
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 September afternoons, near 15°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 3°C.
Riobamba weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14° / 4° | 134 | 21.7 | 12.1 | 2.9 |
| Feb | 14° / 5° | 157 | 22.7 | 12.1 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 14° / 5° | 205 | 27.6 | 12 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 14° / 5° | 177 | 26.4 | 12 | 2.4 |
| May | 14° / 4° | 115 | 22.2 | 11.9 | 2.8 |
| Jun | 13° / 3° | 74 | 16.9 | 11.9 | 3.1 |
| Jul | 13° / 3° | 49 | 12.4 | 11.9 | 3.5 |
| Aug | 14° / 3° | 29 | 8.1 | 11.9 | 4.2 |
| Sep | 15° / 3° | 49 | 12.2 | 12 | 4.1 |
| Oct | 14° / 4° | 114 | 21.9 | 12 | 3.0 |
| Nov | 14° / 4° | 142 | 23.5 | 12.1 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 14° / 4° | 137 | 23.3 | 12.1 | 2.8 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Riobamba gets about 1382 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 7.7 months, from around Oct 9 to May 29, peaking in March at about 91% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 23.
March is the wettest month by volume, with 205 mm over about 28 wet days; August is the driest, with 29 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 71 | 80 | 89 | 88 | 73 | 55 | 39 | 28 | 41 | 70 | 78 | 75 |
| Rain days | 22 | 23 | 28 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 71 | 22 |
| Feb | 80 | 23 |
| Mar | 89 | 28 |
| Apr | 88 | 26 |
| May | 73 | 22 |
| Jun | 55 | 17 |
| Jul | 39 | 12 |
| Aug | 28 | 8 |
| Sep | 41 | 12 |
| Oct | 70 | 22 |
| Nov | 78 | 24 |
| Dec | 75 | 23 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Riobamba collects about 1382 mm of rain across 239 wet days — roughly 115 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 205 mm, while August is the driest at just 29 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 39% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 134 | 157 | 205 | 177 | 115 | 74 | 49 | 29 | 49 | 114 | 142 | 137 |
| Rain days | 22 | 23 | 28 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 134 | 22 |
| Feb | 157 | 23 |
| Mar | 205 | 28 |
| Apr | 177 | 26 |
| May | 115 | 22 |
| Jun | 74 | 17 |
| Jul | 49 | 12 |
| Aug | 29 | 8 |
| Sep | 49 | 12 |
| Oct | 114 | 22 |
| Nov | 142 | 24 |
| Dec | 137 | 23 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Riobamba, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around June 3 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around October 2. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 32% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around January 7 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around June 2. The cloudiest month is March, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 98% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 32 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| Cloudier (%) | 88 | 93 | 98 | 97 | 91 | 81 | 72 | 68 | 79 | 89 | 92 | 90 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 88 |
| Feb | 7 | 93 |
| Mar | 2 | 98 |
| Apr | 3 | 97 |
| May | 9 | 91 |
| Jun | 19 | 81 |
| Jul | 28 | 72 |
| Aug | 32 | 68 |
| Sep | 21 | 79 |
| Oct | 11 | 89 |
| Nov | 8 | 92 |
| Dec | 10 | 90 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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, Riobamba barely changes through the year: days stay near 12 h 06 min of light in every season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 12.1 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:21 | 6:28 | 6:24 | 6:16 | 6:13 | 6:18 | 6:23 | 6:20 | 6:09 | 5:59 | 5:58 | 6:08 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:27 | 6:31 | 6:25 | 6:14 | 6:09 | 6:12 | 6:18 | 6:17 | 6:09 | 6:01 | 6:02 | 6:14 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12.1 | 6:21 | 6:27 |
| Feb | 12.1 | 6:28 | 6:31 |
| Mar | 12.0 | 6:24 | 6:25 |
| Apr | 12.0 | 6:16 | 6:14 |
| May | 11.9 | 6:13 | 6:09 |
| Jun | 11.9 | 6:18 | 6:12 |
| Jul | 11.9 | 6:23 | 6:18 |
| Aug | 11.9 | 6:20 | 6:17 |
| Sep | 12.0 | 6:09 | 6:09 |
| Oct | 12.0 | 5:59 | 6:01 |
| Nov | 12.1 | 5:58 | 6:02 |
| Dec | 12.1 | 6:08 | 6:14 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Riobamba gets about 1 sunny days a month — gloomy — and it barely shifts through the year, holding between 0 and 3 days every month. Clear skies here are a flat line, not a season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 0 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 0 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 0 | Gloomy |
| May | 0 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 1 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 2 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 1 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 1 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 0 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 0 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
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.
In Riobamba, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Dry (%) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 100 |
| Feb | 100 |
| Mar | 100 |
| Apr | 100 |
| May | 100 |
| Jun | 100 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 100 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 100 |
| Nov | 100 |
| Dec | 100 |
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.
Across the year, average wind speed in Riobamba is typically calm, near 6 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 4.4 months, from around May 20 to Oct 1. The windiest month is July, averaging about 9 km/h (calm).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Oct 2 to May 19, with November the calmest month at about 5 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | calm |
| Feb | 5 | calm |
| Mar | 5 | calm |
| Apr | 5 | calm |
| May | 6 | calm |
| Jun | 8 | calm |
| Jul | 9 | calm |
| Aug | 9 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 5 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Best time to visit Riobamba
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Riobamba throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late September, Riobamba 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. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Riobamba for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | fair | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.9 | poor |
| Feb | 2.6 | poor |
| Mar | 2.3 | poor |
| Apr | 2.4 | poor |
| May | 2.8 | poor |
| Jun | 3.1 | poor |
| Jul | 3.5 | poor |
| Aug | 4.2 | fair |
| Sep | 4.1 | fair |
| Oct | 3.0 | poor |
| Nov | 2.6 | poor |
| Dec | 2.8 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Riobamba rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.
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 Riobamba, by month
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.
Riobamba packs about the same all year — highs hold near 15°C. Across the year the things worth having are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection.
In September, Riobamba sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 3°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Riobamba by month
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 Riobamba peaks around February 19 at about 19 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 15 at about 13 (extreme).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 18 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | Extreme |
| Feb | 19 | Extreme |
| Mar | 19 | Extreme |
| Apr | 16 | Extreme |
| May | 15 | Extreme |
| Jun | 13 | Extreme |
| Jul | 13 | Extreme |
| Aug | 14 | Extreme |
| Sep | 15 | Extreme |
| Oct | 16 | Extreme |
| Nov | 14 | Extreme |
| Dec | 14 | Extreme |
Average hourly UV index in Riobamba
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 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 8.5 | 9 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 7 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.5 | 7 |
| Feb | 9 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 8.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 8.5 | 7 |
| May | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 6.5 |
| Jul | 8 | 6 |
| Aug | 8 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 8 | 6.5 |
| Oct | 8.5 | 7 |
| Nov | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 8 | 6.5 |
Air quality in Riobamba by month
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 Riobamba is worst in September — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (July, 13 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 18 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | Moderate |
| Feb | 21 | Moderate |
| Mar | 21 | Moderate |
| Apr | 19 | Moderate |
| May | 16 | Moderate |
| Jun | 13 | Moderate |
| Jul | 13 | Moderate |
| Aug | 17 | Moderate |
| Sep | 21 | Moderate |
| Oct | 20 | Moderate |
| Nov | 21 | Moderate |
| Dec | 18 | Moderate |
Growing season
Riobamba is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 98 | 0 |
| Aug | 98 | 0 |
| Sep | 99 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
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. Riobamba banks about 0 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 0 |
| Jul | 0 |
| Aug | 0 |
| Sep | 0 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Riobamba receives about 5.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 5.0 and 6.2 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.5 | Bright |
| Feb | 5.4 | Bright |
| Mar | 5.2 | Bright |
| Apr | 5.1 | Bright |
| May | 5.1 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.1 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.3 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.9 | Bright |
| Sep | 6.2 | Intense |
| Oct | 5.8 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.5 | Bright |
| Dec | 5.5 | Bright |
Where is Riobamba?
Riobamba sits at 1.7°S, 78.7°W, 2,777 m above sea level, in Ecuador. The nearest listed city is Guamote, 31 km away.
Topography around Riobamba
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Riobamba.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Riobamba has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 288 m around an average of 2,786 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,033 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,236 m.
The land around Riobamba is covered by artificial surfaces (62%) and cropland (23%) within 3 km, cropland (56%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (32%) within 80 km.
Ecuador travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type A / B
- 120 V · 60 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 43% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $7,125
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.1 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 70%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 45.7
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 20.1
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 466
- Religion
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 Riobamba (-1.6651°, -78.6589°, elevation 2,777 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).