page_title: Mérida, Mérida
section_title: Climate
hierarchical_section_title: Mérida, Mérida / Geography / Climate
caption_attribution_description: Español: Carretera al Pico El Águila, Mérida, Venezuela
context_page_description: Mérida, officially known as Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the main cities of the Venezuelan Andes. It was founded in 1558 by Captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez, forming part of Nueva Granada, but later became part of the Captaincy General of Venezuela and played an active role in the War of Independence.
  The capital city's population is 204,879 inhabitants, and the metropolitan area, that includes the municipality of Libertador, reaches 345,489 people. The city accounts for 28% of the total population of Mérida State, which has more than 750,000 inhabitants. It is home to the University of Los Andes and the Archdiocese of Mérida. It also has the highest and longest cable car in the world. It is the largest student and tourist center of western Venezuela. The mass transit system is available as a means of tourist transport.
  This city sits on a plateau nestled in the valley of the Chama River, which runs from end to end. The town of Mérida is located at an altitude of 1,600 metres.
context_section_description: Mérida lies between a tropical monsoon climate (Am), bordering on a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cwb), with cooler temperatures than other cities in Venezuela, with dry winters.  Though the emission greenhouse gases has caused a rise in temperatures, this has been less, in relative terms, than in other important cities in Venezuela, with readings that vary between 19 °C and 24 °C (75 °F), with an overall average of 22 °C (72 °F). Precipitation is heavy during the rainy season, from April to November, though the city does receive more sunshine than most cities in the Colombian Andes, since the valley is too narrow for fog to accumulate.
  Venezuela is situated in an inter-tropical zone, so that there is very little temperature variance over the course of a year. The same is true in Mérida—the temperatures recorded in August are normally comparable to those measured under comparable conditions in broad daylight in January.
  On the other hand, given Mérida's location in the interior of the country, far from the maritime coasts and the influence of the ocean, and its high altitude, the temperature variance over the course of a day is relatively high. Between day and night a difference of more than 10 °C (18 °F) can be observed; this difference sometimes reaches more than 20 °C (36 °F). The maximums are reached during the day, and are usually around 24 °C (75 °F), but on rare occasions exceed 30 °C (86 °F). The lower limit of daytime temperatures tends to be around 14 °C (57 °F).
caption: Snowfall road to El Aguila Pico.
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