Belize: Climate & Natural Resources

Belize has a warm, humid climate shaped by the northeast trade winds, with a wetter season running roughly from June through November and a drier stretch from about January to May, though rainfall amounts vary sharply across the country: the north and west receive around 1,350 millimeters a year, while the mountainous south can see more than 4,500 millimeters. Average temperatures stay fairly steady year-round, generally in the mid-70s to low 80s Fahrenheit, or about 24 to 28 degrees Celsius, near the coast. The country lies within the Atlantic hurricane belt and has suffered severe storms, including a 1931 hurricane that devastated Belize City and Hurricane Hattie in 1961, which led to the capital eventually moving to Belmopan.

The terrain ranges from flat, swampy coastal lowlands dotted with lagoons and mangroves to the granite uplift of the Maya Mountains in the south, where Doyle's Delight, at just over 1,100 meters, is the country's highest point. Much of the interior sits on limestone, producing karst features such as sinkholes and underground rivers. Offshore, the Belize Barrier Reef, stretching more than 300 kilometers, is the longest reef in the Western Hemisphere and shelters a string of small islands known as cayes.

Roughly three-fifths of Belize remains forested, supporting hardwoods such as mahogany, cedar, and ironwood, along with wildlife including the Baird's tapir and a notable jaguar population in protected areas like the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Mineral deposits exist but have not been mined commercially, and the country's only confirmed oil find, near Spanish Lookout, began modest production in the mid-2000s. Considerable potential also exists for hydroelectric, solar, and biomass energy. Environmental concerns include deforestation, water pollution from agricultural runoff, and threats to the barrier reef from coral bleaching and rising sea temperatures.