Travel brochures and the internet show images of sunshine, sea, and sand; but when you arrive the clouds are dark and the rain never stops. It pays to check on the weather! And it pays not to make assumptions. A friend froze in Cairo one January because she thought Egypt was permanently hot. Bad weather can also affect your ability to move around as roads get blocked and flights get cancelled. Oceans get churned up and visibility can fall and pollution rise to a level where the sea is not an attractive option.

If you are in the planning stages, a very good website which gives average conditions across all months of the year is at WeatherBase.com. You can also enter the hottest and coldest you are prepared to be and your planned month of travel to get a shortlist of places that normally meet your climate requirements. Of course weather is variable, but especially in places subject to monsoons, typhoons, or hurricanes, you can make some very reasonable assumptions. And lastly when planning, 35C is much more bearable in 15% hunidity than it is in 80%, so watch out for the humidity forecasts too.

If you have made plans, but want to get a forecast for the near future, there are many websites. Most are based in the first world and so their accuracy for obscure locations can be questionable. Often the local country’s meteorological service is the best bet – and here is the site of the World Meteorological Organisation where you can find local bureau forecasts from most countries in the world. It also has apps for iPhone and Android so you can stay informed on the move.

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