at a glance

Presented by the  Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, the study Os extremos pluviometricos cariocas - Rio's extreme rainfall, by Raphael de Carvalho Aranha e Ana Maria de Paiva Macedo Brandão takes a look at the city's weather provil. The city of Rio de Janeiro has high level of rainfall, however its distribution is very heterogeneous; the particular geography of the city results in there being very different rain levels in different places.

This study has used 32 rain gauges in Rio de Janeiro City. Three stations have been selected for this study: Sumaré, Itanhangá and Penha, in order to analyze extremes, in terms of rain, between 1998 and 2006. Amongst the three stations Sumaré registered the highest rainfall, followed by Itanhangá and Penha, with the lowest rainfall. In addition, it was confirmed that the local population, next to the rainfall stations, were not aware of their existence, nor were they aware that they were located in areas where the highest rainfall was registered.