Tropical rainforest climate

Worldwide zones of Tropical rainforest climate (Af).

A tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, is a tropical climate usually (but not always) found along the equator. Regions with this climate typically feature tropical rainforests, and is designated by the Köppen climate classification as "Af."

Distribution

Upland rainforest in Borneo. Sabah, Malaysia

A tropical rainforest climate is usually found at latitudes within five degrees North and South of the equator, which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The climate is most commonly found in Southeast Asia, Central Africa and South America. However, tropical rainforest microclimates are found in many other regions (e.g. far North Queensland), while not everywhere along the equatorial region there is a tropical rainforest climate (see also Equatorial dry zone).

Some of the places that have this climate are indeed uniformly and monotonously wet throughout the year (e.g., the northwest Pacific coast of South and Central America, from Ecuador to Costa Rica, see for instance, Andagoya, Colombia), but in many cases the period of higher sun and longer days is distinctly wettest (as at Palembang, Indonesia) or the time of lower sun and shorter days may have more rain (as at Sitiawan, Malaysia).

Additionally, while tropical rainforest climates are typically located near the equator (hence the alternate name “equatorial climate”), there are a number of instances where the climate is found some distance away from the equator. For instance, Santos, Brazil and Fort Lauderdale, USA are not only far removed from the equator, but are actually located just outside the tropics. Yet both of these cities feature a tropical rainforest climate, albeit with noticeably cooler and warmer periods of the year.

Climatic Characteristics

• The latitude usually comes under the Doldrums Low Pressure belt all the year and therefore there are almost no distinct seasons.
• The midday sun is always near the vertical and it is overhead twice a year, at the equinoxes.
• Average daily temperatures are typically at around 26.9°C (80.3°F) throughout the year. Extensive cloud cover and heavy rainfall prevent diurnal temperatures from rising much over 33°C (91.4°F.)
• The diurnal temperature change is usually between 3°C and 7°C which is greater than the annual temperature range of 2°C
• Rainfall is heavy and is usually convectional.

Notable cities with Tropical rainforest climates

Africa

• Entebbe, Uganda
• Mbandaka, DR Congo
• Moroni, Comoros

Americas

• Belém, Brazil
• Bluefields, Nicaragua
• Boa Vista, Brazil
• Bocas Town, Panama
• Esmeraldas, Ecuador
• Fort Lauderdale, United States
• Hilo, United States
• Georgetown, Guyana
• Iquitos, Peru
• Leticia, Colombia
• Medellín, Colombia
• Paramaribo, Suriname
• Pucallpa, Peru
• Rio Branco, Brazil
• Salvador, Brazil

Asia/Pacific

• Apia, Samoa
• Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
• Banjarmasin, Indonesia
• Biak, Indonesia
• Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Georgetown, Malaysia
• Innisfail, Australia
• Johor Bahru, Malaysia
• Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Kuching, Malaysia
• Medan, Indonesia
• Padang, Indonesia
• Palembang, Indonesia
• Pekanbaru, Indonesia
• Singapore
• Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, Sri Lanka
• Tabubil, Papua New Guinea

Examples

Apia, Samoa
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     450   30 23     380   29 24     350   30 23     250   30 23     260   29 23     120   29 23     80   29 23     80   28 23     130   28 23     170   29 23     260   30 23     370   29 23 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [1]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     18   86 73     15   84 75     14   86 73     9.8   86 73     10   84 73     4.7   84 73     3.1   84 73     3.1   82 73     5.1   82 73     6.7   84 73     10   86 73     15   84 73 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Paramaribo, Suriname
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     200   30 22     140   30 22     150   30 22     210   31 22     290   30 23     290   31 22     230   31 22     170   32 23     90   32 23     90   33 23     120   32 23     180   30 22 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [2]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     7.9   86 72     5.5   86 72     5.9   86 72     8.3   88 72     11   86 73     11   88 72     9.1   88 72     6.7   90 73     3.5   90 73     3.5   91 73     4.7   90 73     7.1   86 72 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Mbandaka, DR Congo
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     80   31 19     100   32 20     150   32 20     140   31 20     130   31 20     110   30 19     100   30 17     100   29 17     200   30 19     210   30 19     190   30 19     120   30 19 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [3]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.1   88 66     3.9   90 68     5.9   90 68     5.5   88 68     5.1   88 68     4.3   86 66     3.9   86 63     3.9   84 63     7.9   86 66     8.3   86 66     7.5   86 66     4.7   86 66 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Biak, Indonesia
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     250   29 25     240   28 25     250   29 25     200   29 25     250   29 25     230   29 25     250   28 25     240   29 25     220   29 25     180   29 25     190   30 25     230   29 25 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [4]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     9.8   84 77     9.4   82 77     9.8   84 77     7.9   84 77     9.8   84 77     9.1   84 77     9.8   82 77     9.4   84 77     8.7   84 77     7.1   84 77     7.5   86 77     9.1   84 77 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Kuching, Malaysia
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     466   30 23     445   29 23     465   30 23     251   32 23     347   33 24     310   32 23     184   31 23     326   32 23     208   32 23     307   32 23     482   32 24     516   30 23 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: Monthly Statistical Bulletin Sarawak
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     18   87 73     18   84 74     18   87 73     9.9   90 74     14   91 74     12   89 73     7.2   88 74     13   89 73     8.2   90 74     12   89 74     19   89 74     20   87 74 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

See also

• Tropics
• Köppen climate classification