The Big Island has 8 of the world’s 13 climate sub-zones under the Köppen classification, and 4 of its 5 major zones. That is the real number. The widely repeated claim that Hawaiʻi has 10, 11, or 12 comes from miscounting a map where several colors are the same Köppen zone. We counted them properly, and the answer holds at 8.
What makes 8 worth caring about is how close together they sit. On a single hour’s drive you can pass from the tropics of the Hāmākua Coast to the desert at Kua Bay to the temperate rainforest at Volcano Village, and the polar tundra on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa is in view above all of it. Below, we walk through each of the 8 and where you can stand in it.
Table of contents
Table of Contents
The real count of 8 also puts to rest one of the most repeated false claims about Hawaiʻi:
Hawaii has (10, 11 or 12) of the world’s 13 climate zones
That number is wrong. It comes from a misunderstanding of how climate is classified, and sometimes from a lazy reading of a map. Here is how the real count of 8 breaks down.
There are 8 climate zones on the Big Island
Packing 8 climate zones into 4,028 square miles is unusual: most places many times that size never span the same range. The count itself depends on which classification system you use, and the most widely used is the Köppen scheme (Wikipedia or explained in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences). It sorts the planet into five major climate zones, splits those into 13 sub-zones, and splits those again into finer groups.
Following the Köppen climate classification scheme, Hawaiʻi has 4 out of the 5 major climate zones in the world and 8 out of 13 of the sub-zones.
We marked these zones on the map below, which is based on work by J. Juvik in the 20th-anniversary report for the Mauna Loa Observatory [source]. The map lists 10 different climate zones, but only 8 are distinct under the Köppen system. Temperate “summer dry” and “summer cool” both belong to the temperate dry climate, and tropical “winter dry” and “summer dry” both belong to the tropical dry climate.
Climate map of the Big Island showing 10 different climate zones. Only 8 are independent under the Köppen system. Temperate “summer dry” and “summer cool” both belong to the temperate dry climate. Tropical “winter dry” and “summer dry” both belong to the tropical dry climate
Which climate zones are NOT on the Big Island?
There are only five climate zones that you can not find on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. These are:
- Winter dry (temperate climate)
- Winter dry (continental climate)
- Summer dry (continental climate)
- Continuously wet (continental climate)
- Polar ice caps (polar climate)
You can read more about both these missing climate zones, and the 8 climate zones that can be found on Hawaiʻi, below:
The 13 climate zones of the world
You can find all five major climate zones and the 13 sub-zones they are split into below. We also list whether each climate zone can be found in Hawaiʻi, along with the color that identifies it on our climate map.
Humid Tropical climate
In these climates all months average warmer than 64° F (18° C) and annual precipitation is greater than 1500 mm. There are 3 sub-zones in this climate type, and their designation is based on the seasonal distribution of rainfall:
- Continuously wet. No dry season, at least 60 mm of rainfall in the driest month. Color on the map
- Monsoon. Short dry season but sufficient moisture to keep the ground wet throughout the year. Color on the map
- Dry. Distinct dry season. One month with precipitation less than 60 mm. This zone can be split into “summer-dry” and “winter-dry”. Color on the map for “winter-dry”, color on the map for “summer-dry”
Example of this climate zone on the Big Island: the tropical Hāmākua Coast.
Dry (arid and semi-arid) climate
In this climate the annual evaporation exceeds annual precipitation. The two main sub classes refer to the dominant vegetation types: steppe and desert.
- Dry arid (desert) is a true desert climate where evaporation rates are at least twice as high as the precipitation. It covers 12% of the Earth’s land surface. Color on the map
- Dry semi-arid (steppe) is a grassland climate that covers 14% of the Earth’s land surface. It receives more precipitation than the desert climate. Color on the map
Example of this climate zone on the Big Island: Kua Bay, our favorite white sand beach on the island.
Temperate climate
The average temperature of the coldest month is between 64° F (18° C) and 27° F (-3° C), and the average temperature of the warmest month is greater than 50° F (10° C). The main subdivisions include:
- Winter dry. At least 10 times as much precipitation in the wettest month of summer as in the driest month of winter (not in Hawaiʻi).
- Summer dry. At least three times as much rain in the wettest month of winter as in the driest month of summer. The driest month should have less than 30 mm precipitation. On our map it is divided into a warm and a cool climate. Color on the map for the cool climate. Color on the map for the warm climate
- Continuously wet. At least 30 mm precipitation in the driest month. The difference between the wettest and driest month is less than for the above two climates. Color on the map
Example of this climate zone on the Big Island: Volcano Village, whose temperate rainforests make you feel like you stepped into Jurassic Park.
Continental (cold) climate (not in Hawaiʻi)
Continental climates have warm to cool summers and cold winters. The average temperature of the warmest month is greater than 50° F (10° C), while the coldest month is less than 27° F (-3° C). The main subdivisions are the same as those for the temperate climate:
- Winter dry. At least 10 times as much precipitation in the wettest month of summer as in the driest month of winter (not in Hawaiʻi).
- Summer dry. At least three times as much rain in the wettest month of winter as in the driest month of summer. The driest month should have less than 30 mm precipitation (not in Hawaiʻi).
- Continuously wet. At least 30 mm precipitation in the driest month. The difference between the wettest and driest month is less than for the above two climates (not in Hawaiʻi).
We don’t like cold winters much, and we are not sorry to report that the Big Island has no continental climate zone.
Polar climate
Polar climates are characterized by average temperatures below 50° F (10° C) during every month of the year. This climate can be split into two sub-climates:
- Polar tundra. Permanently frozen soil to depths of hundreds of meters with an average temperature between 32° F (0° C) and 50° F (10° C) during the warmest month. Color on the map
- Polar ice caps. Surface permanently covered by snow and ice. Average monthly temperature is below 32° F (0° C) during the whole year (not in Hawaiʻi).
Surprise! We do have a polar tundra climate on the Big Island, on the summits of both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
Here is another piece of trivia: during roughly the last 180,000 years, Mauna Kea went through three glacial periods when its summit was capped with ice. The most recent, the Mākanaka glaciation, ended about 13,000 years ago.
Weather on the Big Island
So what do all these climates mean for your visit to the Big Island? Mostly good news: you will find warm weather year-round. It can be rainy if you spend time on the east coast, or cool at night at higher elevations, but that is about it.
Read more about the local weather in our guide: “weather on the Big Island, explained!”
How we counted: a note on the Köppen system
The conclusion that there are 8 of the 13 total climate zones on the Big Island is based on the most common use of the Köppen climate classification system. It is the most widely used and understood classification, but not the only one. The Köppen system itself has also changed over time (Wilcock et al. 1968).
The Köppen system is a 3-tier classification with 5 main climates in the first tier (listed above, sometimes with a 6th, “highland”). These 5 main climates split into 13 climate zones, and that is the count we use when we say the Big Island has 8 of the world’s 13. Those 13 zones can be subdivided again into 28 (or 30) finer zones, which we have not used here.