Climate of Brazil

Subtropical highland climate in Campos do Jordão.

Tropical climate in João Pessoa.

Subtropical climate in Santa Catarina.

The climate of Brazil varies considerably mostly from tropical North (the equator traverses the mouth of the Amazon) to temperate zones below the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27' S latitude), which crosses the country at the latitude of the city of São Paulo. Brazil has six climatic regions: tropical rainforest, tropical wet and dry, tropical monsoon, semiarid, humid subtropical and subtropical highland.

Temperatures along the equator are high, averaging above 25 °C (77 °F), but not reaching the summer extremes of up to 40°C (104°F) in the temperate zones. There is little seasonal variation near the equator, although at times it can get cool enough for wearing a jacket, especially in the rain.

At the country's other extreme, there are frosts south of the Tropic of Capricorn during the winter (June–August), and in some years there are snowfalls on the high plateau and mountainous areas of some regions. Snow falls more frequently in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná and less frequently in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo. Temperatures in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Brasília are moderate, usually between 15ºC (59°F) and 30°C (86°F), because of their elevation of approximately 1,000 meters (3,281 ft). Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador on the coast have warm climates, with average temperatures of each month ranging from 23 to 27 °C (73.4 to 80.6 °F), but enjoy constant trade winds. The cities of São Paulo, Curitiba, Florianópolis and Porto Alegre have a subtropical climate similar to that of southern United States, and temperatures can fall below freezing in winter.^[1]

Precipitation levels vary widely. Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of between 1,000 and 1,500 mm (39.4 and 59.1 in) a year, with most of the rain falling in the summer (between December and April) south of the Equator. The Amazon region is notoriously humid, with rainfall generally more than 2,000 mm (78.7 in) per year and reaching as high as 3,000 mm (118.1 in) in parts of the western Amazon and near Belém. It is less widely known that, despite high annual precipitation, the Amazon rain forest has a three- to five-month dry season, the timing of which varies according to location north or south of the equator.

High and relatively regular levels of precipitation in the Amazon contrast sharply with the dryness of the semiarid Northeast, where rainfall is scarce and there are severe droughts in cycles averaging seven years. The Northeast is the driest part of the country. The region also constitutes the hottest part of Brazil, where during the dry season between May and November, temperatures of more than 38 °C (100.4 °F) have been recorded. However, the sertão, a region of semidesert vegetation used primarily for low-density ranching, turns green when there is rain. Most of the Center-West has 1,500 to 2,000 mm (59.1 to 78.7 in) of rain per year, with a pronounced dry season in the middle of the year, while the South and most of the East is without a distinct dry season.

General Climate

Although most of Brazil lies in the tropics, more than 60 percent of the population live in areas which are cooled either by altitude, sea winds or polar fronts. While the coastal cities of Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador can get extremely hot, plateau cities such as São Paulo, Brasília and Belo Horizonte have mild climates, and the southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba have mild winters, but while Curitiba has a warm summer, Porto Alegre has a hot summer.

Despite the popular image of the Amazon as a region of blistering heat, temperatures of more than 32°C (90°F) are in fact rare. The annual average temperature in the region is 22-26°C (72-79°F), with not much variation between the warmest and the coldest months. The hottest part of Brazil is the northeast, where temperatures of more than 38°C (100°F) are frequently recorded during the dry season between May and November. Along the Atlantic coast from Recife to Rio de Janeiro, average temperatures range from 23 to 27°C (73-81°F). Inland, on higher ground, temperatures are lower, ranging from 18 to 21°C (64-70°F). South of Rio the seasons are more defined and the range of temperatures significantly wider, with the annual average falling between 17 and 19°C (63-66°F).

Brazil's most intense rain falls around the mouth of the Amazon near the city of Belém, and also in the upper regions of Amazonia where more than 2,000 millimetres (78 inches) of rain fall every year. Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of between 1,000 and 1,500 millimetres (39 to 59 inches) a year, most of it coming between December and April. The driest part of the country is the northeast, where rainfall is irregular and the evaporation rate very high, making it difficult to grow crops.

Climate by region

Southeast Region

Southeast Region.

The latitudinal position around the Tropic of Capricorn, the very uneven topography and disturbed circulation systems greatly influence the climatology of the Southeast and it is quite diverse in temperature. The annual medium temperature ranges from 20 °C (68 °F) as seen on the border between São Paulo and Paraná to 24 °C (75 °F) in the north of Minas Gerais, while in the elevated areas of the Serra do Espinhaço, Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar the average medium temperature can be below 18 °C (64 °F) due to the combined effect of the latitude with the frequency of the polar currents.

In the summer, mainly in the month of January, the normal average temperatures range from 30 to 32 °C (86 to 90 °F) in the valleys of the rivers São Francisco and Jequitinhonha, in the Zona da Mata (Forest Zone) of Minas Gerais, in the coastal lowlands and to the west of the state of São Paulo.

In the winter, the normal average temperatures range from 6 to 20 °C (43 to 68 °F) with minimum absolute from -4 to 8 °C (25 to 46 °F), the lowest temperatures being at the highest elevations. Vast areas of Minas Gerais and São Paulo register occurrences of frosts, after the passage of the polar fronts.

As far as the incidence of rain is concerned, there are two areas with heavy precipitation: one following the coast and the Serra do Mar, where the rains are precipitated by the southerly currents; and the other from the west of Minas Gerais to the Municipal district of Rio de Janeiro, where the rains are brought by the Westerly system. The annual precipitation total in these areas is in excess of 1,500 mm (59.1 in). In the Serra da Mantiqueira these indexes surpass 1,750 mm (68.9 in), and at the summit of Itatiaia, 2,340 mm (92.1 in).

In the Serra do Mar, in São Paulo, it rains on the average more than 3,600 mm (141.7 in). Near Paranapiacaba and Itapanhaú maximum rainfall was measured at 4,457.8 mm (175.50 in) in one year. In the valleys of the rivers Jequitinhonha and Doce the smallest annual pluviometric indexes are recorded at around 900 mm (35.4 in).

The maximum pluviometric index of the Southeast area usually occurs in January and the minimum in July, while the dry period is usually concentrated in the winter, lasting six months in the case of the valleys of the rivers Jequitinhonha and São Francisco, to as little as two months in the Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira.

Charts of selected cities

São Paulo
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     239   27 18     218   28 18     160   27 18     76   25 16     74   23 13     56   22 12     43   22 12     38   23 13     81   24 14     124   24 15     145   26 16     201   26 17 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [1]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     9.4   81 64     8.6   82 64     6.3   81 64     3   77 61     2.9   73 55     2.2   72 54     1.7   72 54     1.5   73 55     3.2   75 57     4.9   75 59     5.7   79 61     7.9   79 63 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Rio de Janeiro
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     114   29 23     104   30 23     104   29 23     137   28 22     86   27 21     81   25 19     56   26 18     51   26 19     86   25 19     89   26 20     97   27 22     170   29 22 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [2]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     4.5   84 73     4.1   86 73     4.1   84 73     5.4   82 72     3.4   81 70     3.2   77 66     2.2   79 64     2   79 66     3.4   77 66     3.5   79 68     3.8   81 72     6.7   84 72 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Belo Horizonte
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     296   28 18     188   28 19     163   28 18     61   27 17     28   26 15     15   25 13     15   24 13     13   26 14     41   27 16     124   27 17     229   27 18     320   27 18 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [3]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     12   82 64     7.4   82 66     6.4   82 64     2.4   81 63     1.1   79 59     0.6   77 55     0.6   75 55     0.5   79 57     1.6   81 61     4.9   81 63     9   81 64     13   81 64 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Vitória
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     142   31 23     81   31 23     112   31 23     89   29 22     81   28 21     66   27 19     79   26 18     56   26 19     79   26 19     127   27 21     170   28 21     196   29 22 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [4]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.6   88 73     3.2   88 73     4.4   88 73     3.5   84 72     3.2   82 70     2.6   81 66     3.1   79 64     2.2   79 66     3.1   79 66     5   81 70     6.7   82 70     7.7   84 72 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Santos
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     284   34 22     240   34 22     277   31 22     177   32 18     151   29 16     112   28 14     106   28 13     93   30 15     137   30 17     178   32 18     162   33 19     226   33 21 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     11   93 72     9.4   93 72     11   88 72     7   90 64     5.9   84 61     4.4   82 57     4.2   82 55     3.7   86 59     5.4   86 63     7   90 64     6.4   91 66     8.9   91 70 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Northeast Region

Northeast Region.

The climatic characterization of the Northeast area is a little complex, and the four systems of circulation that influence the region are denominated Systems of Disturbed Currents of South, North, East and West. The System of disturbed currents of South is represented by the polar masses that reach the area in the spring-summer, acts in the coastal areas until the south of Bahia, bringing frontal and back-frontals rains. In the winter the polar masses reach even the coast of Pernambuco, while the hinterlands regions remain under the influence of the tropical mass.

The system of disturbed currents of North, represented by Convergence Intertropical (CIT), produces rain from the summer to the autumn even in Pernambuco, in the vicinity of the Raso da Catarina. On the other hand, the currents of the East are more frequent in the winter and they usually produce abundant rains in the coastal regions, rarely reaching the scarps of the Plateau of Borborema (800 m/2,625 ft) and of Chapada Diamantina (1,200 m/3,937 ft).

Finally, the system of currents of the West, brought by the lines of Tropical Instability (IT), occur from the end of spring to the beginning of autumn, rarely reaching the states of Piauí and Maranhão.

Temperatures are high, with annual averages between 20 and 28 °C (68 and 82.4 °F), maximums of around 40 °C (104 °F) having been observed in the south of Maranhão and Piauí. The months of winter, mainly June and July, produce minimum temperatures between 12 and 16 °C (53.6 and 60.8 °F) in the coastal regions, much lower in the plateau regions where temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) have been recorded in Chapada Diamantina after the passage of a polar front.

The pluviosity of the area is complex and is source of concern: its annual totals vary from 2,000 mm (78.7 in) to values even lower than 500 mm (19.7 in), as verified in the Raso da Catarina, between Bahia and Pernambuco, and in the depression of Patos in Paraíba. In a general way, the annual medium precipitation in the northeast area is lower than 1,000 mm (39.4 in) - in the city of Cabaceiras, interior of Paraíba, was observed the smallest annual pluviometric index registered in Brazil, 278 mm (10.9 in)/year. Besides it in the interior of this area the rainy period is usually of just two months in the year, sometimes not coming in some years, causing then the denominated regional droughts.

Charts of selected cities

Salvador
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     112   29 23     122   30 24     145   30 24     220   28 23     231   27 23     251   26 22     203   26 21     137   26 21     112   27 22     122   28 22     119   29 23     132   29 23 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [5]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     4.4   84 73     4.8   86 75     5.7   86 75     8.7   82 73     9.1   81 73     9.9   79 72     8   79 70     5.4   79 70     4.4   81 72     4.8   82 72     4.7   84 73     5.2   84 73 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Fortaleza
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     130   30 24     216   30 23     319   29 23     356   29 23     226   29 23     160   29 22     91   29 22     30   29 22     23   29 23     15   30 24     13   31 24     51   31 24 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [6]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.1   86 75     8.5   86 73     13   84 73     14   84 73     8.9   84 73     6.3   84 72     3.6   84 72     1.2   84 72     0.9   84 73     0.6   86 75     0.5   88 75     2   88 75 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Recife
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     104   30 22     145   30 22     259   30 22     312   29 22     390   29 22     392   28 21     304   27 21     213   27 21     122   28 21     68   29 21     48   30 22     66   30 22 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [7]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     4.1   86 72     5.7   86 72     10   86 72     12   84 72     15   84 72     15   82 70     12   81 70     8.4   81 70     4.8   82 70     2.7   84 70     1.9   86 72     2.6   86 72 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

South Region

South Region.

The South region is located below the Tropic of Capricorn, in a temperate zone. It is influenced by the system of disturbed circulation of the South, which produces the rains, mainly in the summer. It is also influenced by the system of disturbed circulation of the West, that brings rains and storms, sometimes hail, producing winds with bursts of 60 to 90 km/h (37.3 to 55.9 mph). Regarding temperatures: the winter is mild and the summer is hot. The annual medium temperatures range from 14 to 22 °C (57.2 to 71.6 °F), and in places with altitudes above 1,100 m (3,609 ft), drops to approximately 10 °C (50 °F). Some parts of the southern region also have an oceanic climate.

In the summer, mainly in January, in the valleys of the rivers Paranapanema, Paraná and Ibicuí-Jacuí, the medium temperature is in excess of 24 °C (75.2 °F), and the medium temperature of the river Uruguay surpasses 26 °C (78.8 °F). The average maximum temperature stays around 24 to 27 °C (75.2 to 80.6 °F) on the elevated surfaces of the plateau and, in the lowest areas, between 30 and 32 °C (86 and 89.6 °F).

In the winter, mainly in July, the medium temperature stays relatively low, oscillating between 10 and 15 °C (50 and 59 °F), except for the valleys of the rivers Paranapanema and Paraná, besides the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina, where the averages are approximately 15 to 18 °C (59 to 64.4 °F). The average maximum temperature is also low, around 20 to 24 °C (68 to 75.2 °F), in the big valleys and in the coast, and 16 to 20 °C (60.8 to 68 °F) in the plateau region. The average minimum temperature varies from 6 to 12 °C (42.8 to 53.6 °F) , and the thermometer frequently registers temperatures near 0|ºC, sometimes even reaching negative indexes, accompanied by frost and snow, in consequence of the invasion of polar masses.

The annual medium pluviosity oscillates from 1,250 to 2,000 mm (49.2 to 78.7 in), except along the coast of Paraná and west of Santa Catarina, where the values are in excess of 2,000 mm (78.7 in), and in the north of Paraná and in a small coastal area of Santa Catarina, which have lower recordings down to 1,250 mm (49.2 in). The maximum pluviometric indexes occur in the winter and the minimum in the summer throughout almost the whole area.

Charts of selected cities

Porto Alegre
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     99   30 20     109   30 21     104   28 19     86   25 16     94   22 13     132   19 11     122   19 11     140   20 11     140   22 13     114   24 15     104   27 17     102   29 19 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [8]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.9   86 68     4.3   86 70     4.1   82 66     3.4   77 61     3.7   72 55     5.2   66 52     4.8   66 52     5.5   68 52     5.5   72 55     4.5   75 59     4.1   81 63     4   84 66 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Florianópolis
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     175   28 21     198   28 22     185   27 21     97   25 18     97   23 16     76   21 13     94   20 12     91   21 14     127   21 15     127   23 17     130   24 18     147   26 20 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [9]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     6.9   82 70     7.8   82 72     7.3   81 70     3.8   77 64     3.8   73 61     3   70 55     3.7   68 54     3.6   70 57     5   70 59     5   73 63     5.1   75 64     5.8   79 68 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Curitiba
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     165   26 16     142   26 16     127   24 15     89   22 13     99   21 10     99   18 8     89   19 8     74   21 9     114   21 11     135   22 12     124   24 14     150   25 15 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [10]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     6.5   79 61     5.6   79 61     5   75 59     3.5   72 55     3.9   70 50     3.9   64 46     3.5   66 46     2.9   70 48     4.5   70 52     5.3   72 54     4.9   75 57     5.9   77 59 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Vacaria
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     170   24 14     170   24 15     140   23 14     114   20 11     130   17 8     132   16 7     142   16 7     165   17 7     165   18 8     145   20 10     124   22 11     130   23 13 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [11]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     6.7   75 57     6.7   75 59     5.5   73 57     4.5   68 52     5.1   63 46     5.2   61 45     5.6   61 45     6.5   63 45     6.5   64 46     5.7   68 50     4.9   72 52     5.1   73 55 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

São Joaquim
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     168   23 13     160   23 13     132   22 12     107   18 9     112   16 7     119   14 6     140   14 6     170   16 6     170   17 7     152   19 8     135   21 10     130   22 12 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [12]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     6.6   73 55     6.3   73 55     5.2   72 54     4.2   64 48     4.4   61 45     4.7   57 43     5.5   57 43     6.7   61 43     6.7   63 45     6   66 46     5.3   70 50     5.1   72 54 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Caxias do Sul
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     145   26 17     152   26 17     206   24 16     132   22 12     109   19 11     152   17 8     155   17 8     178   18 9     203   19 10     173   21 12     140   23 13     170   26 15 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [13]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.7   79 63     6   79 63     8.1   75 61     5.2   72 54     4.3   66 52     6   63 46     6.1   63 46     7   64 48     8   66 50     6.8   70 54     5.5   73 55     6.7   79 59 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

North Region

North Region.

The north area of Brazil embraces a great part of the Amazon Basin, representing the largest extension of hot and humid forest on the planet. The area is cut, of an end to the other, by Ecuador and is characterized by low altitudes (0 to 200 m/0 to 656 ft). There are four main systems of atmospheric circulation that act in the area, they are: system of winds of Northeast (NE) to East (E) of the Atlantic South and Azores, subtropical anticyclones, generally stable in nature; system of winds of West (W) of the mass equatorial continental (mEc); system of winds of North (N) of the Convergence Intertropical (CIT); and system of winds of South (S) of the Polar anticyclone. These last three systems are responsible for variability of the climate and for the rains in the area. With regard to temperatures, the climate is hot, with annual medium temperatures ranging from
24 to 26 °C (75.2 to 78.8 °F).

Regarding the pluviosity, there is not a homogeneity as it occur with the temperature. In the mouth of the river Amazonas, in the coast of Pará and in the western section of the area, the total annual pluviometric index exceeds 3,000 mm (118.1 in) in general. In the direction NO-SE, of Roraima to east of Pará there is less rain, with annual totals in the order of 1,500 to 1,700 mm (59.1 to 66.9 in).

The rainy period of the area occurs in summer & autumn, the exception being Roraima and of the north part of Amazonas, where the maximum pluviometric indexes occurs in winter, due to influence of the climatic conditions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Middle-West Region

Middle-West Region.

Three systems of circulation occur in the Middle-West region: the system of disturbed currents of the West, represented by unstable events during the summer; system of disturbed currents of the North, represented by Convergence Intertropical (CIT), that produces rains in the summer, autumn and winter in the north of the region; and the system of disturbed currents of the South, represented by the polar fronts, invading the area in the winter with great frequency, producing rains of one to three days duration. In the north and south extremes of the region, the annual medium temperature is 22 °C (71.6 °F) and in the Chapadas it varies from 20 to 22 °C (68 to 71.6 °F). In the spring and summer, temperatures are commonly high, the average of the hottest month varying from 24 to 26 °C (75.2 to 78.8 °F). The average of the maximum temperatures of September (hotter month) oscillates between 30 and 36 °C (86 and 96.8 °F).

The people of the westwinter is an interesting season, low temperatures occurring quite frequently. This is caused by the polar invasion, that produces the cold weather which is very common at this time of the year. The medium temperature of the coldest month oscillates between 15 and 24 °C (59 and 75.2 °F), and the average of the minimum temperatures ranges from 8 to 18 °C (46.4 to 64.4 °F). Minimum temperatures are sometimes negative.

The characterization of the pluviosity of the region is almost exclusively due to the system of atmospheric circulation. The annual medium pluviosity varies from 2,000 to 3,000 mm (78.7 to 118.1 in) in the north of Mato Grosso, to 1,250 mm (49.2 in) in the Pantanal mato-grossense.

In spite of this inequality, the region is well provided with rain. Its seasonality is typically tropical, with maximum in the summer and minimum in the winter. More than 70% of the total rain that is accumulated during the year falls from November to March. The winter is excessively dry, because the rains are very rare.

References

1. ^ Subtropical climate in Brazil

2. http://www.brazil.org.uk/brazilinbrief/climate.html

See also

• Brazil
• Geography of Brazil