São Paulo
São Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil, South America, the Americas, and in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. It is an alpha global city, listed by UNESCO as a "City of Film" and the "World Capital of Gastronomy". It is the largest urban area by population outside Asia and the most populous Portuguese-speaking city in the world. Founded in 1554 by Jesuit priests, São Paulo is home to the largest Arab, Italian, and Japanese diasporas in the world, with ethnic neighborhoods like Bixiga, Bom Retiro, and Liberdade, and people from more than 200 other countries.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
3wet-summer
hot and rainy; openmeteo mean 21.5-22.3 °C (Jan-Feb warmest 22.3; Wikipedia summer mean high ~28 °C, low ~19 °C); the wettest months (Jan 7.7, Feb 6.8, Mar 5.4 mm/day); heavy afternoon thunderstorms; no tropical cyclones
- the hot rainy summer — heavy afternoon storms (151.8 mm in 24 hours, Dec 1988); life shifts to the covered/indoor economy
- the wine-harvest and the festival season; the most intense rainfall
dry-winter
mild, dry and cloudy; openmeteo mean 15.5-17.2 °C (Jul coolest 15.5; Wikipedia 12-22 °C); the driest months (Jun-Aug 1.3-2.1 mm/day); frequent polar air masses; occasional frost; the 'veranico' (little summer) in late Aug
- the cool dry winter — the cloudiest season; polar air masses bring chilly days; the 'veranico' brings brief hot dry spells
- the lowest rainfall; the most comfortable outdoor window
shoulder
transitional; openmeteo mean 17.2-20.8 °C; 'autumn and spring are transitional seasons'; variable
- the comfortable shoulder months — the best balance of warmth and dryness; the cultural season at its peak
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
1554 Founding
- Jesuit priests founded the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga
- the 1554 origin of the city
Cry of Ipiranga
- the Cry of Ipiranga — the declaration of Brazilian independence, staged from São Paulo
Modern Art Week
- the Modern Art Week — the landmark Brazilian modernist event, staged in São Paulo
On the record
source-trackedSão Paulo features a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa). In summer the mean low temperature is about 19 °C and the mean high is near 28 °C.
In winter, temperatures tend to range between 12 and 22 °C. Winter is mild, but still the coldest season, with cloudiness around town and frequent polar air masses.
Rainfall is abundant, annually averaging 1,658 millimeters. It is especially common in the warmer months averaging 292 mm in January and decreases in winter, averaging 32 mm.
The city experiences the phenomenon known as 'veranico' or 'verãozinho' ('little summer'), which consists of hot and dry weather [in late winter, especially August].
São Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil, South America, the Americas, and in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.
It is an alpha global city, listed by UNESCO as a 'City of Film' and the 'World Capital of Gastronomy'.
São Paulo is home to the largest Arab, Italian, and Japanese diasporas in the world, with people from more than 200 other countries.
Founded in 1554 by Jesuit priests, São Paulo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the American continent.
São Paulo is the city with the largest share of Brazil's GDP, and the financial capital of Brazil — the headquarters of B3, the largest stock exchange of Latin America.
63% of all the international companies with business in Brazil have their head offices in São Paulo.
São Paulo is on a plateau … with an average elevation of around 799 meters above sea level, although being at a distance of only about 70 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.