Climate

Georgia’s climate is warm and pleasant. It is determined in big part by the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, which keep cold northern winds away from Georgia and the Black Sea. Winters are short and mild.

The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the country’s small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly separating Eastern and Western parts of the country. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia’s climate and protects the country from the penetration of colder air masses from the north. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the south as well.

Much of western Georgia lies within the northern periphery of the humid subtropical zone with annual precipitation ranging from 1000–4000 mm. (39–157 inches). The climate of the region varies significantly with elevation and while much of the lowland areas of western Georgia are relatively warm throughout the year, the foothills and mountainous areas experience cool, wet summers and snowy winters (snow cover often exceeds 2 meters in many regions).

Adjara is the wettest region of the Caucasus, where the Mt. Mtirala rainforest, east of Kobuleti receives around 4500 mm (177 inches) of precipitation per year. Midwinter average temperature in West Georgia is 5 C and the midsummer average is 22C.

Eastern Georgia has a transitional climate from humid subtropical to continental. The region’s weather patterns are influenced both by dry, Central Asian/Caspian air masses from the east and humid, Black Sea air masses from the west. The penetration of humid air masses from the Black Sea is often blocked by several mountain ranges (Likhi and Meskheti). Annual precipitation is considerably less than that of western Georgia and ranges from 400–1600 mm (16–63 inches).

The wettest periods generally occur during Spring and Autumn while Winter and the Summer months tend to be the driest. Much of eastern Georgia experiences hot summers (especially in the low-lying areas) and relatively cold winters. As in the western parts of the country, elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic conditions above 1500 meters are considerably colder than in the low-lying areas. The regions that lie above 2000 meters frequently experience frost even during the summer months. The average temperature in summer here is 20-24 degrees of Celsius, in winter 2-4 degrees of Celsius. Humidity is lower.