Temperature in Cuba falls to zero degrees for first time as cold snap grips the Caribbean’s largest island nation

Cuba registered a historic low temperature of zero degrees Celsius on Tuesday, January 3, marking the first time freezing conditions have ever been officially documented on the Caribbean island, according to the country’s Institute of Meteorology (INSMET). A weather station at Indio Hatuey, located in the municipality of Perico in Matanzas province, recorded the temperature early Tuesday morning, setting a new national record. INSMET said the reading marked the first confirmed instance of Cuba reaching the freezing point since meteorological records began.


The previous national low for Cuba, the Caribbean Sea’s largest island country, stood at 0.6 degrees Celsius, recorded at the Bainoa weather station in Mayabeque province on February 18, 1996.


INSMET said unusually cold conditions were felt across the country, with 32 weather stations reporting temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius or lower. The widespread chill was attributed to the strong influence of high-pressure systems combined with an influx of cold air over the island.

The provincial meteorological center of Matanzas reported frost on crops following the temperature drop an extremely rare phenomenon for Cuba’s tropical climate.

According to INSMET, the sharp fall in température Cuba was driven by an intense cold front that pulled a mass of polar air from North America into the Caribbean. The event followed an exceptional cold spell in the United States in late January, which caused multiple hypothermia-related deaths in New York.

The cold wave has also affected parts of the southern United States, with reports over the weekend of cold-stunned iguanas falling from trees in Florida, roughly 145 kilometers from Cuba’s northern coast. Cuba has maintained meteorological records since the mid-19th century, though experts note that data reliability improved significantly during the second half of the 20th century.