Portugal enjoys one of the warmest climate in Europe, making it one and if not the main reason why people visit and choose the country to live in.
In the article you can find out a description of the climate in Portuguese mainland and islands.
Mainland
According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, the climate in Portugal mainland is temperate continental (type C), checking the subtype Cs (temperate climate with dry summer) that can be divided in two varieties – Csa (hot summer) and Csb (mild summer).
North: warm temperate with dry, hot summer (Csb)
Csa is a climate where the coldest month is warmer than -3ºC but colder than +18ºC and summers are dry and hot.
We find this climate in the interior regions of the Douro Valley (part of the district of Brangança) and in regions south of the mountain system Montejunto-Estrela (except on the west coast of Alentejo and Algarve).
South: warm temperature with dry, warm summer (Csa)
Csa is a climate where the coldest month is warmer than -3ºC but colder than +18ºC and summers are dry and mild
The climate can be found in almost all regions of the northern mountain system Montejunto-Estrela and the regions of the west coast of Alentejo and Algarve.
Small region in Alentejo: arid steppe cold (Bsk)
In small region of Alentejo, in the district of Beja, the climate is arid (type B), checking the subtype BS (Arid steppe) and the variety Bsk.
Bsk is a climate whose mean annual temperature is less than 18ºC and is too dry to support a forest, but not dry enough to be a desert, usually consisting of grassland plains.
Madeira and Azores
In Madeira, the climate is type Csa, sharing the same type as the south of the country.
In Azores, we can identify two groups. In the eastern group the climate is type Csb like the north of the country and the western group is Cfb (warm temperate fully humid with warm summer) where the coldest month is warmer than -3ºC but cooler than +18ºC and precipitation is generally the same throughout the year.
Average temperatures
| City | High (ºC) | Mean (ºC) | Low (ºC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viana do Castelo | 20.2 | 15.2 | 10.1 |
| Braga | 20.3 | 15.0 | 9.6 |
| Vila Real | 18.7 | 13.6 | 8.5 |
| Bragança | 18.4 | 12.7 | 6.8 |
| Porto | 19.6 | 15.2 | 10.7 |
| Aveiro | 19.5 | 15.5 | 11.5 |
| Viseu | 20.0 | 14.0 | 8.0 |
| Guarda | 15.0 | 11.1 | 7.2 |
| Coimbra | 21.6 | 16.0 | 10.4 |
| Leiria | 19.9 | 15.9 | 11.9 |
| Castelo Branco | 21.1 | 15.8 | 10.5 |
| Santarém | 22.8 | 17.0 | 11.2 |
| Lisboa | 21.3 | 17.4 | 13.5 |
| Setúbal | 22.4 | 16.6 | 10.7 |
| Évora | 21.6 | 16.5 | 11.4 |
| Beja | 22.9 | 16.9 | 10.8 |
| Faro | 22.2 | 17.9 | 13.6 |
| Funchal | 22.6 | 19.6 | 16.5 |
| Ponta Delgada | 20.6 | 17.8 | 15.1 |
Average precipitation
| City | Annual precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|
| Viana do Castelo | 1470.2 |
| Braga | 1448.6 |
| Vila Real | 1023.2 |
| Bragança | 758.3 |
| Porto | 1237 |
| Aveiro | 944 |
| Viseu | 1198.5 |
| Guarda | 914.2 |
| Coimbra | 905.1 |
| Leiria | 777.6 |
| Castelo Branco | 783.3 |
| Santarém | 651.9 |
| Lisboa | 774 |
| Setúbal | 735.3 |
| Évora | 585.3 |
| Beja | 558 |
| Faro | 508.8 |
| Funchal | 627.2 |
| Ponta Delgada | 1052.5 |
