Climate Zone Map

Sri Lanka climate zones

The most common zone is Aw, tropical savannah, covering 54% of the land in 1991 to 2020.

World map of Köppen-Geiger climate zones, 1991 to 2020Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Period shown on the map
80%

Köppen-Geiger classes are based on 30-year averages of temperature and rain, not on the weather on any one day.

Key

A: Tropical

  • Af Tropical rainforest
  • Am Tropical monsoon
  • Aw Tropical savannah

B: Arid

  • BWh Hot desert
  • BWk Cold desert
  • BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)
  • BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)

C: Temperate

  • Csa Hot-summer Mediterranean
  • Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean
  • Csc Cold-summer Mediterranean
  • Cwa Humid subtropical with dry winter
  • Cwb Subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cwc Cold subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cfa Humid subtropical
  • Cfb Temperate oceanic
  • Cfc Subpolar oceanic

D: Cold (continental)

  • Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsc Subarctic with dry summer
  • Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter
  • Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwc Subarctic with dry winter
  • Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter
  • Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
  • Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
  • Dfc Subarctic (boreal)
  • Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter

E: Polar

  • ET Tundra
  • EF Ice cap (frost)

How to read the map. Each colour is a Köppen-Geiger climate class. The first letter is the major group (A tropical, B arid, C temperate, D cold, E polar); the other letters say how dry it is and how warm or cold. Tap anywhere to see the class under that spot in 1901 to 1930, 1991 to 2020 and, under three emissions scenarios, 2071 to 2099. The codes and names are always given in words, because colour alone is hard to tell apart for some people.

Climate zones in Sri Lanka, 1991 to 2020

Share of Sri Lanka's classified land in each Köppen-Geiger zone in 1991 to 2020. Zones under 0.05% are left out. The 77,067 map cells used cover 99% of the country's outline (about 65,581 km²).

Aw Tropical savannah54%
Af Tropical rainforest29%
Am Tropical monsoon16%
Cfb Temperate oceanic1.5%

By major group: A (tropical) 99%, C (temperate) 1.5%.

Aw, tropical savannah, is the main climate of Sri Lanka, covering 54% of its classified land in 1991 to 2020, with Af (tropical rainforest) next at 29%. In plain terms, tropical savannah means hot all year, with a clear dry season. Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), 10% of its land is projected to be in a different zone by 2071 to 2099, with the biggest gain going to Am (tropical monsoon).

How Sri Lanka's zones have changed and may change

Each row compares a map with 1991 to 2020. "Share in a different zone" is the share of the country's area whose class is different from 1991 to 2020. Future rows are model projections under an emissions scenario, not forecasts.

MapShare in a different zoneDifferent major groupBiggest gainBiggest loss
1901 to 1930 (past)20%1%Aw +9.3 percentage pointsAm -5.3 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions)9.5%0.4%Am +5.7 percentage pointsAw -4 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road)10%0.7%Am +7.3 percentage pointsAw -4.5 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions)13%1.2%Am +10 percentage pointsAw -6.2 percentage points

For the past row, the comparison runs the other way: the 1901 to 1930 map against 1991 to 2020.

Zone shares by map

Zone1901 to 19301991 to 2020SSP1-2.6 (2071 to 2099)SSP2-4.5 (2071 to 2099)SSP5-8.5 (2071 to 2099)
Aw Tropical savannah44%54%50%49%47%
Af Tropical rainforest32%29%28%27%26%
Am Tropical monsoon21%16%22%23%26%
Cfb Temperate oceanic2.5%1.5%1.1%0.8%0.3%

Percentages are of the country's classified land in each map. A dash means under 0.05%.

Cities in Sri Lanka and their climate zones

City1991 to 20202071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5
ColomboAf Tropical rainforestAf Tropical rainforest

Zones found in Sri Lanka

All countries · All climate zones

Data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0; country outlines from Natural Earth. In 1901 to 1930 the most common zone was Aw. See data sources and licences.

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