Kiribati weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall across Kiribati, based on 30 years of climate data.

Best: late April to late December

The average temperature in Kiribati is around 27° across the year, though it swings month to month and from region to region. The figures below show the monthly pattern for Tarawa.

Hottest
Sep
28°
Coldest
Feb
26°
Wettest
Mar
221 mm
Driest
Sep
89 mm
Annual avg
27°
year-round
Rain / yr
1780 mm
206 wet days
Largest city
Tarawa
40k people
Cities
1
with climate data

Monthly climate (Tarawa)

Average highs, lows and rainfall through the year for Tarawa, Kiribati's largest city.

MonthHigh / LowRainfallWet days
Jan28° / 26°211 mm17.8
Feb28° / 26°156 mm14.8
Mar28° / 26°221 mm20.5
Apr28° / 26°206 mm22
May28° / 27°143 mm19.8
Jun28° / 27°139 mm19.1
Jul28° / 26°134 mm18.8
Aug28° / 27°112 mm15.6
Sep28° / 27°89 mm13.9
Oct28° / 27°91 mm12.8
Nov28° / 27°93 mm12.9
Dec28° / 27°185 mm17.7

Climate in Tarawa

Full Tarawa forecast

Tarawa is the largest city in Kiribati; its cloud cover, humidity, wind and sunshine are typical of the surrounding region.

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

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

The clearer part of the year begins around May 7 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around November 28. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 29 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around May 6. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 65% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 21 · 64%Jan 11 · 34%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier

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.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHumidity comfort

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 Tarawa is typically light breeze, near 17 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around Dec 12 to May 7. The windiest month is February, averaging about 21 km/h (breezy).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 8 to Dec 11, with July the calmest month at about 15 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyFeb 6 · 21 km/hJul 2 · 15 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan20light breeze
Feb21breezy
Mar20light breeze
Apr18light breeze
May17light breeze
Jun16light breeze
Jul15light breeze
Aug16light breeze
Sep16light breeze
Oct16light breeze
Nov16light breeze
Dec18light breeze

Best time to visit Kiribati

A 0–10 score combining daytime comfort, chance of rain and cloud cover — the sweet spot runs late April to late December.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

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.

Tarawa receives about 5.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 5.6 and 6.5 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmoderatebrightintenseSep 206.5 kWhDec 175.6 kWh

Where is Kiribati?

Kiribati sits around 1.3°N, 173.0°E. The marker shows Tarawa, its largest city, among 1 city with climate data here.

Kiribati travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type I
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,559
2025
Safe drinking water
15%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
7.1
per 100k, 2012
Road deaths
1.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
Religion
Roman Catholic 59%Kiribati Uniting Church 21%Kiribati Protestant Church 8%Church of Jesus Christ 6%

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

Cities in Kiribati