Weather and Climate in the Island Gran Canaria

In Gran Canaria it is possible to spend the holidays throughout the year and enjoy the beach and the sun. Most of the hotels also open throughout the year; there is practically no main and side season due to the change of the weather. Only if in nearly the whole of Europe there are christmas and easter holidays, it gets very crowded on the island. In Gran Canaria it gets never too cold in the Winter and too hot in the summer. There is a very balanced climate in the island so that there are no bigger changes in the temperatures within the year.

This gets clear by looking at the adjacent graph with the day and night temperatures. The temperatures change during the day and the night within a margin of less than 10°C. And also throughout the year, the temperatures oscilate within a margin of less than 10°C. The temperatures are almost always within the pleasant margin between 20°C and 30°C. Thus, during the day, there is never an unbearable heat so that one can only cope with it by being in the water. Even in the winter, the temperatures are so warm during the day that one can pleasantly take a sunbath.

But during the cold season, one has to be aware that it can get a little cold when the sun disappears behind some clowds. If then some wind is added, it can get soon cold on the beach. But Gran Canaria is not only a bathing island but also a hiking paradise. Those who want to make some hiking tours in Gran Canaria should consider that the temperatures decrease when the altitude increases. If down the coast there are 22°C, at a height of 1000 m, the temperatures are below 15°C. Then it is advantageous to have a light coat and long trousers.

The same applies to the tours into the Massif Central or to the souther Canyon: here, there are clearly cooler temperatures that many times are noticed when it is too late, most of the times by leaving the air-conditioned car or bus. Once I noticed such a cold wind at the Roque Nublo that I could only stay some few minutes outside. the highest mountain Pico de las Nieves is almost 2000 m high. On such an altitude there are approximately 10-20°C less than down at the coast. Thus, also in this tour one should wear some long clothes!

Gran Canaria is, of course, a bathing paradise. The sea water temperatures ar ealmost throughout the year about 20°C; Additionally, there are so many sunshine hours that one has much time for sunbathing. Those who look at the rainfall table will notice that Gran Canaria is a very dry island. During the summer months, statistically, there are no rainfalls at all.

By the way, the upper Graphs apply to the south of the island. Many times, the climate on the island is split in two and it is dominated by the north-east trade wind that continuously blows some cool winds from north-eastern direction to the island. The trade wind clowds are of an altitude of approximately 1600 m so that they accumulate at the Massif Central, release their humidity and fall at the other side (in the south west) as dry and hot wind back to the valley. There are some detailed explanations about this phenomenon in our page about the Climate fo the Canarian islands.

This means for the vacationer that in the south and the south-west there is always a better climate than in the north-east. there is more sun and almost no rain. The landscape is scant and dry. Those who make an excursion in the north-east of the island will experience a totally different Gran Canaria: plants, trees and bushes sprawl everywhere, the agriculture booms. Here, the trade wind clowds release a lot of humidity, there are optimal conditions for the nature.

Thus, in Gran Canaria there is practically throughoput the year a balanced and very pleasant climate. The only exception is when the Levante blows some hot air from the Sahara to the island. Then it gets terribly hot and the air is full of sand particles falling on the car fronts and deckchairs. In all may holiday in the Canarian islands I experienced thisphenomenon once. On such a day, the best is to stay in the hotel in order to change from the pool to the air-conditioned room.

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Copyright: Patrick Wagner, www.tourist-guide.biz