Cyprus Climate

Cyprus is the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean. It has a typical Mediterranean climate but its proximity to the land-mass of southwest Asia makes it one of the hottest parts of the Mediterranean in midsummer. This applies particularly to the central plain and the coastal regions. The island is mountainous and the two main mountain masses, the Kyrenia range in the north and the Troödos mountains rising to nearly 2,000 m/over 6,000 ft, have a cooler and wetter climate which supports excellent pine forests.

Summers are hot or warm, depending on altitude, and almost completely rainless from late May to mid-September. During this period the weather is constant from day to day and almost completely cloudless. The rest of the year is more changeable, with the heaviest rainfall and greatest chance of disturbed weather in the midwinter months. Temperatures in winter are generally mild except in the mountains where, above 1,000 m/3,300 ft, snow becomes frequent and on the summit of Troodos it may lie for four to five months. During this time skiing is possible. Disturbed winter weather rarely lasts more than a few days. During spring and autumn settled weather may last for two or three weeks, with brief interruptions of stormy wet weather.

Cyprus is a very sunny island even in winter. The average number of daily hours of sunshine ranges from six in midwinter to twelve or thirteen in midsummer. For those who find high Temperatures unpleasant, the best time to visit Cyprus is in the spring, when the weather is generally sunny and warm and the island is colourful with flowering plants. In late summer and autumn the island appears scorched and dry after the long summer drought. Although hardy northerners may be tempted to swim on a sunny day in winter, they will find the sea around Cyprus to be rather chilly from December until early May.