WEATHER LORE FOR HELGA

Sitting astride zero degrees of latitude you’d expect Brazil to have the regular, monotonous weather and climate so typical of equatorial zones. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The variety of climatic characteristics experienced in Brazil really stems from its immense size. One of the largest countries in the world at over 8 million square km, it stretches from approximately 5 degrees north of the equator to around 30 degrees south...

…..from the eastern foothills of the Andes in the west to the Atlantic coast where the estuary of the mighty river Amazon merges with the sea.

I suppose in some ways the Amazon basin, the largest remaining expanse of tropical rainforest and situated within 5 or 10 degrees of the equator, does exhibit some regularity. Average monthly temperatures never vary more than a couple of degrees around the annual mean, and rainfall is heavy and fairly evenly distributed throughout the year.

This climatic type is intimately linked to the dense tropical rainforest that co-exists with it. Water is cycled between the atmosphere and the trees, some of ` it never reaching the surface of the earth, and only a very small proportion ever travels the length of the Amazon to the ocean.

Hence the concern for local, regional and even global climates following the levels of rainforest destruction in recent years.

Compare this with the north east corner of Brazil. Still very close to the equator but suffering under a semi-arid climate with rainfall of great variability. Rainfall here can be as low as 500 mm a year, much less in drought years and the rain, when it comes, falls in torrential storms bringing flash floods.

This quirk of meteorological nature, a coastal area yet so dry, is often overlain by stable sub-tropical air that inhibits rainfall. No wonder the people of the north east are some of the poorest and hard pressed in Brazil…….

…….. and often the first to be attracted to the bright lights and wealth of the cities further south.

Most people live on the south east coast of Brazil, in and around the world famous cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Both cities lie close to the Tropic of Capricorn and have very pleasant climates that vary from sub-tropical to warm temperate.

No surprise then that many flock to these two great cities; a beautiful climate and beautiful beaches for beautiful people who are world masters of the beautiful game.