Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Tunja Colombia

The climate in Tunja is cool and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 41°F to 63°F and is rarely below 33°F or above 67°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Tunja for warm-weather activities are from mid to late June and from mid December to early March.

The temperature in Tunja varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.

In Tunja, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Tunja begins around June 4 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around September 22.

The clearest month of the year in Tunja is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 21% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 22 and lasts for 8.4 months, ending around June 4.

The cloudiest month of the year in Tunja is April, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 92% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Tunja varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.7 months, from March 15 to December 6, with a greater than 51% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Tunja is October, with an average of 23.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 3.3 months, from December 6 to March 15. The month with the fewest wet days in Tunja is January, with an average of 8.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Tunja is October, with an average of 23.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 78% on May 8.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Tunja experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Tunja. The month with the most rain in Tunja is October, with an average rainfall of 7.2 inches.

The month with the least rain in Tunja is January, with an average rainfall of 1.4 inches.

The length of the day in Tunja does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 26 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 48 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 27 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:38 AM on May 24, and the latest sunrise is 32 minutes later at 6:10 AM on February 3. The earliest sunset is at 5:33 PM on November 10, and the latest sunset is 38 minutes later at 6:11 PM on July 17.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Tunja during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Tunja, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Tunja experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from May 14 to September 27, with average wind speeds of more than 4.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Tunja is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.6 months, from September 27 to May 14. The calmest month of the year in Tunja is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Tunja is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Tunja throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Tunja for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid to late June and from mid December to early March, with a peak score in the last week of December.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Tunja for hot-weather activities is from early to mid March.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Tunja typically lasts for 10 months (305 days), from around February 10 to around December 11, rarely starting after April 7, or ending before August 13.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Tunja should appear around January 23, only rarely appearing before January 20 or after January 28.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from July 26 to September 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Tunja is August, with an average of 5.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from October 19 to December 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Tunja is November, with an average of 4.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tunja are 5.535 deg latitude, -73.368 deg longitude, and 9,199 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tunja contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,450 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 9,256 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,288 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (12,802 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tunja is covered by grassland (58%), cropland (19%), and trees (17%), within 10 miles by grassland (43%) and cropland (31%), and within 50 miles by trees (52%) and grassland (24%).