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Best time to visit Rio de Janeiro

Brazil · 22.91°S 43.17°W · monthly climate normals, judged against the Tropical preset (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon)

The best time to visit Rio de Janeiro is April and December, when mean temperatures run from 24 °C75 °F to 25 °C77 °F and rainfall runs 128–136 mm5.0–5.4 in a month.

The rainy season runs December to April, and January to March is a true monsoon — 144–176 mm5.7–6.9 in a month, peaking in March at 176 mm6.9 in. February is the hottest month at 27 °C81 °F and July the coldest at 21 °C70 °F.

Figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at -22.91, -43.17 — a climate guide, not a forecast.

Rio de Janeiro weather by month

Pick the weather you like and every month is judged against it — temperature above the month names, rain below.

Weather you like

mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon

Good time to go for a Tropical holiday: April and December.

Open Rio de Janeiro on the interactive map ↗ the same verdict for every place on Earth, any month

▲ Temperature mean , coldest to warmest month
26°79°JAN1445.727°80°FEB1606.326°78°MAR1766.924°75°APR1365.422°72°MAY803.121°70°JUN562.221°69°JUL401.621°70°AUG321.322°71°SEP481.923°73°OCT722.824°74°NOV803.125°77°DEC1285.0
▼ Rainfall per month, driest to wettest

Reading the chart. Gold is good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour names the reason it doesn't — the temperature bar can be too cold or too hot, the rain bar too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar is a half that fits while the other half fails; a gold month name means both fit.

What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the monthly mean, judged against the preset's band (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within Rio de Janeiro's own year rather than raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month the preset doesn't allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season — 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate whose wettest month is at least three times its driest — so every monsoon month is rainy season too; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.

MonthRain Mean SeasonTropical verdict
January1445.72679monsoonmonsoon
February1606.32780monsoonmonsoon
March1766.92678monsoonmonsoon
April1365.42475rainygood
May803.12272showerstoo cold
June562.22170drytoo cold
July401.62169drytoo cold
August321.32170drytoo cold
September481.92271drytoo cold
October722.82373showerstoo cold
November803.12474showerstoo cold
December1285.02577rainygood

When to go to Rio de Janeiro, by holiday type

Looking forRuleMonths that fit
Warmmean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showersMay to November
Tropicalmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoonApril and December
Beachmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, dry or showersno month
Coolmean 0–14 °C32–57 °F, anything but the monsoonno month
Snowmean below 0 °C32 °F, any rainno month

Is there a rainy season in Rio de Janeiro?

Yes. The rainy season runs December to April, and January to March is a true monsoon — 144–176 mm5.7–6.9 in a month, peaking in March at 176 mm6.9 in. Outside it, June to September is dry.

February is the hottest month at 27 °C81 °F and July the coldest at 21 °C70 °F. Annual rainfall totals about 1,152 mm45 in.

Where to go instead when Rio de Janeiro doesn't fit

The nearest destinations that do fit the Tropical preset in the months Rio de Janeiro doesn't:

Nearby destinations

distances in — tap a unit to switch.

The interactive map colours the whole world by how it fits your picks in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.