Caribbean Sea Water Temperature: Current & Historical Data for Coastal Resorts

The water temperature in the Caribbean Sea today ranges from 72°F (22°C) in San Antonio Del Golfo (Venezuela) to 84°F (29°C) in Manzanillo (Costa Rica).

Yes, it is possible to swim in the Caribbean Sea, with warm water temperatures year-round, making it ideal for swimming.

The highest water temperature in the Caribbean Sea occurs in August, reaching 93°F (34°C), while the lowest is in March, dropping to 70°F (21°C).

No, the Caribbean Sea is slightly warmer than the Gulf of Mexico, as its average annual water temperature is 82°F (28°C), while the Gulf of Mexico's is 75°F (24°C).

The Caribbean Sea washes Jamaica, Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Sint Maarten, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Colombia, Venezuela, and Haiti.

The most popular beach destinations on the Caribbean Sea are Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Cancun (Mexico), Playa del Carmen (Mexico), Cozumel (Mexico), Providenciales (Turks and Caicos Islands), Tulum (Mexico), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Saint John (United States Virgin Islands), Tortola (British Virgin Islands), Saint Thomas (United States Virgin Islands).

The Caribbean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean basin, bounded from the west and south by Central and South America, from the north and east by the Greater and Lesser Antilles. In the northwest, through the Yucatan Strait, it is connected to the Gulf of Mexico, in the southwest - with the Pacific Ocean through the artificial Panama Canal.

The sea is located on the Caribbean lithospheric plate and, being one of the largest seas of the transition zone, is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of different ages. The youngest of these runs through the Lesser Antilles from the Virgin Islands in the northeast to Trinidad off the coast of Venezuela. This arc was formed by the collision of the Caribbean Plate with the South American Plate and includes active and extinct volcanoes such as Montagne Pele, Quill, and the volcanoes of Morne Trois Pitons National Park.

The coastline of the sea is heavily indented, the shores are mountainous in places, in places low (Caribbean lowland). In shallow water areas there are various coral deposits and numerous reef structures. There are several bays on the continental coast (western and southern parts of the sea).

The hydrological regime of the sea is distinguished by a high degree of homogeneity. Annual fluctuations in average monthly water temperatures on the surface do not exceed 3 ° C - from 25 to 28 ° C. Over the past 50 years, the Caribbean Sea has gone through three stages: cooling down to 1974, a cold phase with peaks in 1974-1976 and 1984-1986, and then heating from 1986 at a rate of 0.6 ° C per year. Almost all temperature extremes were associated with the El Niño and La Niña phenomena. The salinity of sea water is about 36.0 ‰, its density is 1.0235-1.0240 kg / m³. On the surface, the water is bluish green and green.

The Caribbean Sea has a tropical climate influenced by trade winds. Average monthly air temperatures in winter vary from +23 in the north to +27 ° C on the southern coast of the sea. In summer, the average monthly temperature everywhere is about +28 ° C. Cloudiness is 4-5 points.