For travelers who do not like rain, Cape Verde is a perfect destination. The Cape Verde Islands are among the 20 driest countries in the world. A combination of atmospheric conditions creates a particularly mild climate. Rain falls only a few days a year and the average temperature is between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius throughout the year.
Rainfall Cape Verde
Cape Verde is called ‘Cabo Verde’ in Portuguese, which means green cape. On a number of islands of the archipelago, there is a scarcity of green due to the minimal rainfall. This is the case on the islands that have a relatively flat landscape and where a desert-like microclimate prevails, such as Sal and Boavista. On the other hand, there is more rain on the mountainous islands such as Santo Antao and Sao Nicolau and they are very green.
Over the past few years, less than 400 millimeters of rain per year have fallen on Cape Verde. The number of millimeters that fall per year has been stable over the past few years. The amount of rain that falls in Cape Verde is well below half of what falls for example in Northwest Europe. The graph below shows the rainfall in millimeters per year from 1990 to 2015 for the countries of Cape Verde, the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain (Northwest Europe). The data comes from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.
So there falls very little rain in Cape Verde. As there are mainly some semi-tropical showers, you cannot compare the amount of rainfall in millimeters with, for example, Northwest Europe. When it rains in Cape Verde, they are short and heavy downpours. That is why the number of days a year with rain is very minimal.
How dry is Cape Verde?
The Cape Verde Islands are among the countries where the least rainfall falls in millimeters per year. According to TheGlobalEconomy.com, FAO (2014), Cape Verde occupies the 20th place in countries with the least rainfall.
| Positie | Land | Regenval in millimeter per jaar |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Egypt | 51 |
| 2. | Libya | 56 |
| 3. | Saudi Arabia | 59 |
| 4. | Qatar | 74 |
| 5. | United Emirates | 78 |
| 6. | Bahrain | 83 |
| 7. | Algeria | 89 |
| 8. | Mauritania | 92 |
| 9. | Jordan | 111 |
| 10 | Kuwait | 121 |
| 11. | Oman | 125 |
| 12. | Niger | 151 |
| 13. | Turkmenistan | 161 |
| 14. | Yemen | 167 |
| 15. | Uzbekistan | 206 |
| 16. | Tunisia | 207 |
| 17. | Iraq | 216 |
| 18. | Djibouti | 220 |
| 19. | Iran | 228 |
| 20. | Cape Verde | 228 |
The average rainfall in 2014 was 1,115 millimeters, the largest in Colombia (3,240 millimeters) and the least rainfall in Egypt (51 millimeters).
Climate Cape Verde
What kind of weather can you expect during your holiday in Cape Verde? View the extensive weather information and what the best travel period is to visit the Cape Verde Islands: Cape Verde weather and climate ►
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