What is the weather in Rio, in one minute?
Rio has a hot, wet summer and a mild, drier winter. Most travel sites call the summer the "best" time because it is beach weather. For a month of work it is the hardest part of the year. Here is the whole year:
Rio de Janeiro: Average high and low temperature, °C
Rio de Janeiro: Rainfall, mm
Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure
Read the line first: rain is highest from December to March, falls away from April and bottoms out in July, then climbs again from October. Temperatures follow, with winter highs several degrees below summer. For one month at a glance, use the Rio de Janeiro destination page.
Where to be next: your month-by-month route, $19
A route for your months with a leave-by date for each stop, a backup, and the seasonal traps on your path. Drafted from 11 years of weather data, every number checked against it, in your inbox within 48 hours. Not included: visas, insurance or bookings.
Is Rio too hot in December, January and February?
For a long stay, it can be. January and February have highs near 30°C and nights of 24°C, so there is little relief after dark. Humidity is about 80 percent and cloud cover about 65 percent, so it is not a clear, sunny summer: it is a heavy, grey-and-hot one.
December starts the stretch with a high of 29°C, a low of 23°C and 132 mm of rain. Other sources name December the wettest month. In our data January (152 mm) and February (144 mm) are a little wetter, and December and March sit close behind, so treat December to March as one wet block. It is also when prices and crowds climb. See where is warm in December for places that are warm and drier, and January and February for the same question later.
What is March like?
March is still summer, with a high of 29°C and 132 mm of rain, but it is the turn. Cloud cover drops to 57 percent, and by April rain is 127 mm with highs of 27°C. The heat eases first and the rain follows a month or two later.
When are the cooler, dry months in Rio?
May to September. Rain falls from 67 mm in May to 57 mm in June, 42 mm in July, 59 mm in August and 62 mm in September, with the lowest cloud cover of the year in July (41 percent). Highs are 25°C to 27°C and lows 18°C to 20°C, and July is the coolest month. Nights are comfortable and you can walk and work outside most of the day.
"Cooler" is relative: this is shorts-and-a-light-jacket weather, not cold. Humidity stays near 78 to 82 percent all year, so it never turns dry.
What about October and November?
They are the shoulder. October has a high of 27°C and 94 mm of rain, with cloud cover rising to 68 percent. November has 127 mm and the same high, and the wet season is back. If you want a few warmer days without the full summer, October is the last easy month.
Should you come for Carnaval?
Usually not for a work stay. Carnaval falls in the hot, wet part of the year, and accommodation prices and crowds in the city rise sharply for those days. We do not hold dates or prices for it, so check the official dates for the year you travel and book early if you go. If your plan is to work, the weeks either side are the better value, and a drier month such as May is the easy alternative. Carnaval is a reason to visit for a week; it is a poor reason to base yourself.
Who should come when?
For a month of work, May to September. May and June are the best balance of mild heat and low rain, and July is the driest and coolest. August and September stay dry, and the heat starts to return in September.
For beach weather and heat, December to March works if you can handle humid 30°C and rain on about 8 to 10 days a month. Book flexible, and expect to pay more around Christmas, New Year and Carnaval.
Is Florianópolis the dry alternative?
No. If you want a Brazilian beach base with a different shape of year, Florianópolis is cooler in winter but wetter than Rio in eleven months of the year.
January and July averages, side by side
| Place | High | Low | Rain | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio de Janeiro Jan | 31° | 24° | 152 mm | 9 |
| Rio de Janeiro Jul | 25° | 18° | 42 mm | 3 |
| Florianópolis Jan | 29° | 23° | 247 mm | 16 |
| Florianópolis Jul | 20° | 14° | 81 mm | 6 |
Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure
What would we do?
Plan Rio for May to September, and treat December to March as the months to visit for a week and not to work from. A simple pattern that fits our numbers: come in May or June, stay through August, and leave before the heat and rain build in November.
This is a weather view only. It does not cover safety, flights, the cost of living or internet quality, so check those before booking.
How sure are these numbers?
They are month-of-year averages for a single point near the city, from stored climate data (Open-Meteo archive and CHIRPS rain totals, 2015 to 2025), so any single year can be much wetter or drier. Other sources name December the wettest month and ours has January, with December to March close together; our order of the dry and wet seasons matches theirs. A rain day here is a day with at least four millimetres of rain, which matches what rain gauges count; we convert the stored share of rain days into whole days.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to visit Rio de Janeiro?
For weather and work, May to September: highs of 25°C to 27°C and the least rain of the year, 42 to 67 mm a month. If you want beach heat, April and October are the compromise.
What is the weather in Rio in December?
Hot and wet: a high of 29°C, a low of 23°C and 132 mm of rain, with humidity around 82 percent. Other sources name December the wettest month; in our data January and February are a little wetter, and December to March is one wet block of 132 to 152 mm a month.
Is Rio too hot in January and February?
For many people, yes for a month of work. Highs are about 30°C and nights 24°C, humidity is near 80 percent and rain is 152 mm in January and 144 mm in February.
When is Rio cooler and dry?
June to August. Highs are 25°C, lows 18°C to 19°C, and rain is 57 mm in June, 42 mm in July and 59 mm in August, our driest stretch.
Is Carnaval a good time to work from Rio?
Usually not. Carnaval falls in the hot, wet part of the year and local prices and crowds rise sharply. Book early or be somewhere else; check the official dates for the year you travel.
Not sure where yet? Pick your months and what to avoid, and get your 3 best places → Where should I go?
Weather data: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), open-meteo.com; rain totals: CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Center, UC Santa Barbara). Processed by NomadWeather from stored copies of the data.