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Climate

High temperatures, heavy rainfall with small seasonal differences, high

humidity, and high average cloud cover provide climatic characteristics of an
equatorial lowland. Temperatures are remarkably uniform. At Georgetown
the daily temperature varies from the mid-70s to the mid-80s °F (mid-20s to
the upper 20s °C). The constant heat and high humidity are mitigated near
the coast by the trade winds.

Rainfall derives mainly from the movement of the intertropical front, or

doldrums. It is heavy everywhere on the plateau and the coast. The annual
average at Georgetown is about 90 inches (2,290 mm), and on the interior
Rupununi Savanna it is about 70 inches (1,800 mm). On the coast a long wet
season, from April to August, and a short wet season, from December to
early February, are sufficiently well marked on the average, but in the
southern savannas the short wet season does not occur. Total annual rainfall
is variable, and seasonal drought can occur in July and August when the
southeast trade winds parallel the coast. Variations in Guyana’s climatic
patterns have a determining effect on tropical crop production.

Plant and animal life

Many plants of the coast, including mangroves and various saltwater

grasses, grow in shallow brackish water and help to protect or extend the
land. The wet savanna behind the coast has coarse tufted grasses and a
wide scattering of palms, notably the coconut, the truli, and the manicole.
High rainforest, or selva, covers about three-fourths of the land area and is of
extraordinary variety and magnificence. Prominent trees include the
greenheart and the wallaba on the sandy soils of the northern edge, the
giant mora and the crabwood on swampy sites, the balata and other latex
producers, and many species such as the siruaballi and the hubaballi that
yield handsome cabinet woods. The interior savanna is mostly open
grassland, with much bare rock, many termite hills, and clumps of ita palm.

All forms of animal life are immensely varied and abundant, though few,
apart from birds and insects, are normally visible. The tapir is the country’s
largest land mammal, and the jaguar is the largest and fiercest of the cats,
which also include the ocelot; monkeys and deer are the most common
animals. Among the more exotic species are the sloth, the great anteater,
the capybara (bush pig), and the armadillo. Birds include the vulture, the
kiskadee, the blue sacki, the hummingbird, the kingfisher, and the scarlet
ibis of the coast and lower rivers and the macaw, the tinamou, the bell-bird,
and the cock-of-the-rock in the forest and savanna. The caiman (a reptile
similar to the alligator) is the most common of the larger freshwater
creatures. The giant anaconda, or water boa, is the largest of the many kinds
of snakes, and the bushmaster is the most vicious. Lizards are numerous and
include the iguana in the lower rivers. Sharks and stingrays are found
offshore. The snapper and the grouper are common ocean fish, and shrimp
abounds in the muddy currents off the coast. The manatee is also common in
Guyanese waters. Among the freshwater fish is the huge piraucu, which
attains lengths up to 14 feet (430 cm).

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