Climate and average weather in Zihuatanejo
In Zihuatanejo, the weather is humid, hot, wet, and mostly clear and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around September.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zihuatanejo typically varies from 19°C to 30°C, and is rarely below 17°C or above 32°C. May is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Zihuatanejo for warm-weather activities is from mid November to mid May.
- Hottest
- May
- 30°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 19°
- Wettest
- Sep
- 341 mm
- Driest
- Apr
- 0 mm
- Rain / yr
- 1234 mm
- 120 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.9–13.1 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 13 m
- 17.6°N
- Clearest
- Mar
- 22% cloud
Zihuatanejo is municipal seat of Zihuatanejo, State of Guerrero, Mexico.
- Founded
- 1520
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Zihuatanejo 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 mid November to mid May.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Zihuatanejo, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Zihuatanejo stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is May, with an average high of 30°C and low of 22°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 19°C and high of 28°C.
Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Avg low (°C) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 19 |
| Feb | 29 | 19 |
| Mar | 29 | 19 |
| Apr | 30 | 20 |
| May | 30 | 22 |
| Jun | 30 | 23 |
| Jul | 30 | 24 |
| Aug | 29 | 23 |
| Sep | 29 | 23 |
| Oct | 29 | 23 |
| Nov | 29 | 21 |
| Dec | 28 | 19 |
How hot and cold Zihuatanejo 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 hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Zihuatanejo feels like about 33°C (around July 25). About 104 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 29 |
| Air high (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 |
| Air low (°C) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 28 | 19 | 19 |
| Feb | 29 | 29 | 19 | 19 |
| Mar | 29 | 29 | 19 | 19 |
| Apr | 30 | 30 | 20 | 20 |
| May | 32 | 30 | 22 | 22 |
| Jun | 33 | 30 | 23 | 23 |
| Jul | 33 | 30 | 23 | 24 |
| Aug | 33 | 29 | 23 | 23 |
| Sep | 32 | 29 | 23 | 23 |
| Oct | 32 | 29 | 23 | 23 |
| Nov | 31 | 29 | 21 | 21 |
| Dec | 29 | 28 | 19 | 19 |
Average hourly temperature in Zihuatanejo
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 May afternoons, near 30°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 19°C.
Zihuatanejo 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 | 28° / 19° | 11 | 1.1 | 11.1 | 7.4 |
| Feb | 29° / 19° | 5 | 0.4 | 11.4 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 29° / 19° | 9 | 0.4 | 11.9 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 30° / 20° | 0 | 0 | 12.4 | 6.7 |
| May | 30° / 22° | 16 | 2.7 | 12.8 | 5.8 |
| Jun | 30° / 23° | 187 | 17.3 | 13 | 4.2 |
| Jul | 30° / 24° | 178 | 20.8 | 13 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 29° / 23° | 231 | 22 | 12.6 | 3.7 |
| Sep | 29° / 23° | 341 | 25 | 12.1 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 29° / 23° | 216 | 22.5 | 11.6 | 4.1 |
| Nov | 29° / 21° | 35 | 6.7 | 11.2 | 6.3 |
| Dec | 28° / 19° | 8 | 1.5 | 11 | 7.4 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Zihuatanejo gets about 1234 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from around Jun 1 to Nov 7, peaking in September at about 85% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Apr 1.
September is the wettest month by volume, with 341 mm over about 25 wet days; April is the driest, with 0 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 56 | 67 | 71 | 83 | 71 | 24 | 5 |
| Rain days | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 7 | 2 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 1 |
| Feb | 2 | 0 |
| Mar | 1 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 10 | 3 |
| Jun | 56 | 17 |
| Jul | 67 | 21 |
| Aug | 71 | 22 |
| Sep | 83 | 25 |
| Oct | 71 | 23 |
| Nov | 24 | 7 |
| Dec | 5 | 2 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Zihuatanejo collects about 1234 mm of rain across 120 wet days — roughly 103 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 341 mm, while April is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 64% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 11 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 187 | 178 | 231 | 341 | 216 | 35 | 8 |
| Rain days | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 7 | 2 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | 1 |
| Feb | 5 | 0 |
| Mar | 9 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 16 | 3 |
| Jun | 187 | 17 |
| Jul | 178 | 21 |
| Aug | 231 | 22 |
| Sep | 341 | 25 |
| Oct | 216 | 23 |
| Nov | 35 | 7 |
| Dec | 8 | 2 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Zihuatanejo, 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 October 29 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around May 31. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 86% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around June 1 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around October 28. The cloudiest month is September, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 78 | 84 | 86 | 81 | 72 | 32 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 39 | 73 | 77 |
| Cloudier (%) | 22 | 16 | 14 | 19 | 28 | 68 | 79 | 83 | 86 | 61 | 27 | 23 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 78 | 22 |
| Feb | 84 | 16 |
| Mar | 86 | 14 |
| Apr | 81 | 19 |
| May | 72 | 28 |
| Jun | 32 | 68 |
| Jul | 21 | 79 |
| Aug | 17 | 83 |
| Sep | 14 | 86 |
| Oct | 39 | 61 |
| Nov | 73 | 27 |
| Dec | 77 | 23 |
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. The longest day, around June 17, brings about 13 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 10 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 12 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.9 | 12.4 | 12.8 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 12.6 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:24 | 7:19 | 7:00 | 6:34 | 6:18 | 6:15 | 6:23 | 6:32 | 6:38 | 6:43 | 6:57 | 7:14 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:27 | 6:43 | 6:52 | 6:58 | 7:07 | 7:18 | 7:21 | 7:08 | 6:43 | 6:19 | 6:06 | 6:11 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.1 | 7:24 | 6:27 |
| Feb | 11.4 | 7:19 | 6:43 |
| Mar | 11.9 | 7:00 | 6:52 |
| Apr | 12.4 | 6:34 | 6:58 |
| May | 12.8 | 6:18 | 7:07 |
| Jun | 13.0 | 6:15 | 7:18 |
| Jul | 13.0 | 6:23 | 7:21 |
| Aug | 12.6 | 6:32 | 7:08 |
| Sep | 12.1 | 6:38 | 6:43 |
| Oct | 11.6 | 6:43 | 6:19 |
| Nov | 11.2 | 6:57 | 6:06 |
| Dec | 11.0 | 7:14 | 6:11 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Zihuatanejo averages about 13 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 25 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 6.8 months, from around Nov 4 to May 29. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 23 sunny days (brilliant).
The greyest month is September, down near 1 sunny days — about 96% fewer than the February peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 21 | 22 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 20 |
| Sky | Bright | Brilliant | Brilliant | Bright | Bright | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Bright | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | Bright |
| Feb | 22 | Brilliant |
| Mar | 24 | Brilliant |
| Apr | 21 | Bright |
| May | 18 | Bright |
| Jun | 5 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 2 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 1 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 6 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 17 | Bright |
| Dec | 20 | Bright |
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 Zihuatanejo, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 7.7 months, from around May 13 to December 31. The muggiest month is June, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around January 1 to May 12, and February is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 34% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 4 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Comfortable (%) | 17 | 29 | 30 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Humid (%) | 46 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 32 |
| Muggy (%) | 34 | 19 | 15 | 23 | 43 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 46 | 55 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 78 | 92 | 95 | 97 | 90 | 46 | 6 |
| Miserable (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 17 | 46 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 6 | 29 | 47 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 8 | 30 | 47 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 5 | 24 | 47 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| May | 1 | 8 | 26 | 43 | 22 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 78 | 1 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 92 | 1 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 95 | 1 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 97 | 1 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 90 | 2 |
| Nov | 0 | 1 | 7 | 46 | 46 | 1 |
| Dec | 1 | 6 | 32 | 55 | 6 | 0 |
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 Zihuatanejo is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 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 | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 6 | calm |
| May | 6 | calm |
| Jun | 5 | calm |
| Jul | 5 | calm |
| Aug | 5 | calm |
| Sep | 5 | calm |
| Oct | 5 | calm |
| Nov | 5 | calm |
| Dec | 5 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Zihuatanejo
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Zihuatanejo sits in the eastern Pacific hurricane zone; the season peaks August–September.
Zihuatanejo's monsoon runs June–October, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Zihuatanejo
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zihuatanejo throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around early May, Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid November to mid May, with a peak score in the second week of January.
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) | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 6.3 | 7.3 |
| Rating | good | good | good | good | good | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | good | good |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.5 | good |
| Feb | 7.4 | good |
| Mar | 7.2 | good |
| Apr | 6.7 | good |
| May | 5.8 | good |
| Jun | 4.2 | fair |
| Jul | 3.8 | fair |
| Aug | 3.7 | fair |
| Sep | 3.5 | fair |
| Oct | 4.1 | fair |
| Nov | 6.3 | good |
| Dec | 7.3 | good |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Zihuatanejo for hot-weather activities is from mid November to late May, with a peak score in the last week of February.
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 Zihuatanejo, 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.
Zihuatanejo packs about the same all year — highs hold near 30°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes and sun protection.
In May, Zihuatanejo sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection.
Sea temperature near Zihuatanejo
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 30°C and coldest in March near 27°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Comfort | Tropical | Warm | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | Tropical |
| Feb | 28 | Warm |
| Mar | 27 | Warm |
| Apr | 27 | Warm |
| May | 28 | Tropical |
| Jun | 29 | Tropical |
| Jul | 30 | Tropical |
| Aug | 30 | Tropical |
| Sep | 30 | Tropical |
| Oct | 30 | Tropical |
| Nov | 29 | Tropical |
| Dec | 29 | Tropical |
UV index (midday) in Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo peaks around March 24 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 10 at about 7 (high).
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) | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Level | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | High |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | Very high |
| Feb | 11 | Extreme |
| Mar | 12 | Extreme |
| Apr | 12 | Extreme |
| May | 11 | Extreme |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 10 | Extreme |
| Aug | 11 | Extreme |
| Sep | 11 | Extreme |
| Oct | 9 | Very high |
| Nov | 7 | High |
| Dec | 7 | High |
Average hourly UV index in Zihuatanejo
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 March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 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) | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.5 | 4 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 5 |
| Mar | 7.5 | 6 |
| Apr | 8 | 6 |
| May | 8 | 6 |
| Jun | 8.5 | 6 |
| Jul | 8 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 8 | 5.5 |
| Sep | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Oct | 7 | 4.5 |
| Nov | 6 | 2.5 |
| Dec | 6 | 2.5 |
Air quality in Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo is worst in May — around 61 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 7.5× the cleanest month (February, 8 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) | 10 | 8 | 10 | 31 | 61 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Good |
| Feb | 8 | Good |
| Mar | 10 | Good |
| Apr | 31 | Moderate |
| May | 61 | Unhealthy |
| Jun | 16 | Moderate |
| Jul | 16 | Moderate |
| Aug | 13 | Moderate |
| Sep | 13 | Moderate |
| Oct | 13 | Moderate |
| Nov | 11 | Good |
| Dec | 10 | Good |
Growing season
Zihuatanejo 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 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 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 | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 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. Zihuatanejo banks about 5,544 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 424 | 391 | 441 | 450 | 500 | 492 | 510 | 505 | 474 | 482 | 444 | 431 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 424 |
| Feb | 391 |
| Mar | 441 |
| Apr | 450 |
| May | 500 |
| Jun | 492 |
| Jul | 510 |
| Aug | 505 |
| Sep | 474 |
| Oct | 482 |
| Nov | 444 |
| Dec | 431 |
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.
Zihuatanejo receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.7 and 7.5 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around Feb 8 to Jun 11. The brightest month is April, averaging about 7.4 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is September, down near 4.8 kWh/m² — roughly 35% less than the April peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 5.1 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5.1 | Bright |
| Feb | 6.0 | Bright |
| Mar | 6.9 | Intense |
| Apr | 7.5 | Intense |
| May | 7.1 | Intense |
| Jun | 5.5 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.6 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.3 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.8 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.9 | Bright |
| Nov | 5.0 | Bright |
| Dec | 4.9 | Bright |
Where is Zihuatanejo?
Zihuatanejo sits at 17.6°N, 101.6°W, 13 m above sea level, in Mexico. The nearest listed city is Petatlán, 32 km away.
Topography around Zihuatanejo
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Zihuatanejo.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Zihuatanejo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 578 m around an average of 96 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,040 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,828 m.
The land around Zihuatanejo is covered by trees (60%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, water (46%) and trees (37%) within 16 km, and trees (55%) and water (35%) within 80 km.
Mexico travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type A / B
- 120 / 127 V · 60 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 54% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $13,889
- 2025
- Happiness
- 7.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 43%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 24.9
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 12.8
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Very low
- EF EPI 440
- 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 Zihuatanejo (17.6434°, -101.5521°, elevation 13 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).