Weather and Climate of Curitiba, Brazil

December 30, 2019

MarioFreitas-nov-2019-IMG_1797

Photographer: Mario Freitas 
Summary Author: Mario Freitas 

In the landscape pictured above, a dark cloud cover coexists simultaneously with sunlit buildings and a wooded area, resembling some paradoxical paintings by René Magritte. I had no more than a few minutes to shoot this photo, while the intermittent rainy weather that persisted for two days was suddenly replaced by a bright blue sky.

Test insert saAccording to the continental map of the Köppen-Geigen climate classification, my hometown Curitiba in Southern Brazil is surrounded by a region with marine west coast climate (Cfb). The city lies on a 930 m (3,051 feet) plateau, approximately 100 km (60 miles) from the South Atlantic shore.

This category of temperate climate results from air masses that come from the ocean. These weather patterns lack both very warm and very cool fronts and guarantee the absence of an extended dry season. Although its occurrence in Brazilian territory is reduced to a narrow range, there are significative pockets in several South American countries, as well on other continents, including the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, the Pacific coast of Canada and most of Western Europe.

Precipitation is evenly dispersed throughout the year, although in Curitiba we have more sunny days than days without sunshine. In addition, frequent conditions of atmospheric instability provide dramatic changes as shown in the photo. Note many treetops of Paraná pines (Araucaria angustifolia), a native species considered threatened, including the pair at the distant horizon.

Photo taken on November 25, 2019. See also Earth Science Picture of the Day for November 2, 2014.