Climate

Brazil covers various climate zones. In the Amazon basin, it is always warm and it rains throughout the year. The South of Brazil has a subtropical climate. In the extreme southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, it may even snow during an exceptional winter. Because Brazil is located in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite to the ones in Europe and North America: it is summer in Brazil when it is winter in the norther hemisphere.

The largest part of Brazil consists of the coastal areas and the Planalto. In these areas, summer starts in September and ends in May. Although the summer is also Brazil's rain season, it rarely rains all day long. In general, Brazilian rain resembles Europe's summer rain: a shower is heavy but very local while the weather clears up rapidly. In summer, the weather is generally hot. The Brazilian winter lasts from June to September. During the winter, the tempertures may fall towards 19 ºC at night. The weather and the seawater are almost always warm in the Norteast, where famous beach resorts like Fortaleza, Recife and Natal are situated.

The South of Brazil has a subtropical climate: the summers are tropical while the winters are not. Nevertheless, the temperature is most of the time around 18 ºC in winter.