Your Time: Time in Los Cristianos: 23:08
11:00 PM, Tue 19th Nov
Sunrise 07:32
Sunset 18:12
Temp feels like:
25ºC (76 ºF)
Length of day:
10h 40m
Pressure:
30" (1019 hpa)
Visibility:
6 miles (10 km)
Wind speed:
2 km/h
Los Cristianos is a resort on the Spanish island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands. High temperatures can be enjoyed year round. Los Cristianos sits on the south coast of Tenerife near Playa De Las Americas. The islands receive a dry, sub-tropical climate with much milder winters than the rest of Spain due to their location, off the west coast of Africa and in the middle of the sea. However you'll find the temperatures much cooler here than in the Western Sahara and Morocco that sit just east of the islands on mainland Africa.
The average temperature throughout the year in Los Cristianos stays around 18°C to 24°C, so it's no wonder the Canary Islands are known for having the best holiday climate in the world.
The amount of sunshine hours is generally very high throughout the year in Los Cristianos. As a whole the Canary Islands receive more than 3000 hours of sunshine across the year, making them the sunniest islands in Europe.
Throughout the year in Los Cristianos the sea temperature is generally high usually hovering between 19°C and 23°C. Los Cristianos also offers a number of water sports opportunities such as windsurfing, scuba diving, jet skiing and banana boat rides. There is even a local port which offers boat trips to the nearby islands of La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma. The area is also renowned for whale watching.
Los Cristianos benefits from its location in Tenerife South. Generally, Tenerife has fantastic weather due to its southerly latitude and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean, but the island also sees regional variation due to its topography. Mount Teide shelters the southern part of Tenerife from wet weather and cold winds, keeping that side sunnier, drier and hotter.
On average the shortest day of the year in Los Cristianos is December 21st with 10:22 hours of daylight, while the longest day of the year is June 20th with 13:55 hours of daylight. Furthermore, July is the sunniest month of the year in Los Cristianos, as the month experiences 10 hours of sunshine each day. On the other hand, the amount of sunshine hours stay around six hours per day from November to January.
Cloud cover in Los Cristianos is generally very low and tends to range from a mostly clear 23% to a partly cloudy 44%.
Furthermore, Tenerife even has its very own Law on the Protection of the Astronomical Quality of the Observatories, which means the skies are protected from a certain degree of pollution and flight paths are diverted to guarantee clean skies.
However, the driest month of the year is usually July where little to no rainfall is expected. Over the entire year, the most common forms of precipitation are drizzle, moderate rain and light rain.
The photo below is of the beautiful beach Playa De Los Cristianos which is protected by the harbour and, as a result, the sea tends to be particularly calm and tranquil.
Spring the months of March and April see an average temperature of 17°C, which is calculated from the average high of 19°C and an average low of 15°C. Tenerife is known as the 'Island of Eternal Spring' due to its consistently warm temperatures. This is partly due to the moderating northeast trade winds which keep conditions pleasant, as does the low level of humidity which remains throughout the whole year.
April, however, is slightly wetter than the summer months about to follow, with around 22mm of rainfall at this time, so don't forget that April Showers are a real occurrence when you're booking your spring holiday!
From May till August Los Cristianos will hit the 20s with the average high temperature peaking in August at 24°C. Night time temperatures usually linger around 20-22°C so you won't feel much difference as night falls.
The sea is warm but refreshing in the low 20s, perfect for scuba diving amongst the islands coral reef. The number of hours of sunshine per day is very high at 11 or 12 hours on average.
The island is always relatively dry; from June till August a total of 9mm of rainfall is expected. Rain usually falls in short showers and does not cause much of a problem. The end of the season is often subject to calimas, spells of hot dry weather blown over from the Sahara by the sirocco wind which often brings sand and dust storms onto the islands.
The best months of the year to go swimming off the coast of Los Cristianos in summer are probably July and August as the sea temperature stays around 22°C to 23°C.
In autumn, which can be described as the months of September and October, the temperarure begins to fall, but only slightly to 22°C and 21°C.
The temperature of the sea water is still high at 23°C so make sure you pack your bikini or swimming trunks.
Hours of sunlight are usually around 10-11 hours at this time of the year, before it drops to 9 hours in November. This means you'll still be set for some lovely long days full of sunshine if you plan to go on holiday in Los Cristianos in autumn.
Light showers are more common in these months of the year after the months of summer dryness, but the levels are so low at only 3-9mm you probably won't need to worry too much about getting soaked.
From November till February, there is a slight drop in the average high temperature . This starts at 21°C in November and falls down to the high teens - 18-19°C in December, January and February.
Night times become refreshingly cool, the average low temperature dropping down to 14°C in December, 11°C in January and 13°C in February. November and December are the wettest months on Tenerife and if they occur, thunderstorms can often be quite violent affairs: thick walls of rain pounding down causing flash floods.
However, showers are usually short-lived. Sunshine does lessen during the winter; in November, January and February only 9 hours of sunshine are to be expected each day - this drops to just 7 in December. However, this average figure is often spread out over whole days of sun interspersed by slightly wet, cloudier days.
Weather Hazards
The Canary Islands are often prone to being affected by the Calima, which is a hot and oppressing dust storm caused by southeasterly winds and high pressure coming from Northern Africa. Calimas mainly occur in the winter, however it is also known to sometimes occur in the summertime.
This type of dust storm is rarely dangerous, however, it can cause poor visibility up to 200m and dust tends to stay in the air, which can trap the heat, which then causes high temperatures and hot winds. One of the most recent dust storms in Los Cristianos and the rest of Tenerife was in August 2013. If you are on holiday in Los Cristianos when there is a Calima always make sure to stay in places shaded from the sun and to be careful of dramatic variations of temperature by wearing suitable clothing and keeping topped up with water.
Heavy rainfall and floods are very uncommon in Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands. However, on December 11th 2013 flash floods hit the island and Los Cristianos in particular was badly affected. Many of the main roads were flooded, meaning many people could not get to and from work. There were over 4000 lightning strikes reported on the island of Tenerife from 8am until 1pm. However, just a day after, once the water had drained away or been manually pumped up, everything was back to normal for locals and tourists.