Timor-leste
Weather locations in Timor-leste
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Timor-leste illustrated weather map
3 mapped locations
Only locations with a verified coordinate are marked. The complete location list is below.
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Climate of Timor-leste
Country climate guideTimor-Leste occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, its southern half, in the Lesser Sunda islands of the Malay archipelago, between about 8°S and 10°S and close to the Australian coast. It also holds the Oecusse enclave on the north coast. The land is mountainous and young, uplifted by the collision of the Australian plate, so the interior is a range of steep ridges rather than plains. The capital, Dili, sits on the north coast.
Main climate types
The country is classified as tropical savanna climate with a pronounced monsoon cycle: a long, dry, cool season from about May to November and a heavy wet season from about December to March. This belongs to the Australian monsoon, which pushes north into the archipelago in the southern summer. On the high ground the temperature drops several degrees and the cloud is more persistent, and the coastal strip in the south-west is the driest part of the island.
Temperatures
There is no winter, but there is a cool season. Dili, on the coast at sea level, averages about 26 °C in January and about 23 °C in August, so the whole annual range is only about 4 °C. Highs are usually 28 °C to 31 °C and nights rarely fall below 20 °C. In the mountains, above 1,000 metres, temperatures are several degrees lower, and July and August mornings can drop to about 12 °C.
Rainfall
Rain is strongly seasonal and terrain-driven. Dili receives roughly 1,000 mm to 1,200 mm a year, with most of it falling between December and March. The mountains of the interior, especially the southern slopes facing the wet-season winds, take much more, and the district of Baucau on the north coast is among the wetter places on the island. Water supply during the dry season, from about May to November, is the country's main environmental challenge.
When to go
The dry season, from about May to September or October, is the best time to travel, when days are clear, humidity is lower and mountain roads are passable. It is also when the coffee harvest brings the inland districts to life. The wet season from December to March brings heavy rain, landslides and difficult conditions on some coastal roads.