São Joaquim is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
Santa Catarina, situated in southern Brazil. Its
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
in 2020 was 27,139
inhabitants. Located in the Planalto Serrano, it lies from
Tubarão
Tubarão (lit. "shark") is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in southern part of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina state. The population, according to the IBGE/2020 estimate was 106,422. It is the main city of th ...
, from
Lages
Lages is a Brazilian municipality located in the central part of the state of Santa Catarina, in the region known in Portuguese as "Planalto Serrano".
It is located in the mountain region of and is also the largest municipality of Santa Catari ...
and from
Florianópolis
Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...
. The town is home to a variety of ethnic groups, including
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, German,
Portuguese,
Japanese and
Afro-Brazilians. There are also many people from other states in Brazil, especially from
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
.
Economy
The town's
economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
was once based on livestock, but recently the cultivation of fruits such as
apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
s has become more prominent. Today, São Joaquim is the largest producer of fruit in the state, with over 1000 small producers. Tourism is also important for the town, as it is one of the coldest places in Brazil and sometimes receives
snowfall
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
, a rather uncommon occurrence in most of Brazil (although
refrozen snow, not present in most of Brazil, seldom happens in many tropical areas as it does in about half of Southeastern Brazil). The town is also known for its wines, such as Villa Francioni, Joaquim, Quinta da Neve, Núbio and Suzin, which are reaching international recognition, especially in
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
.
Geography
At above sea level, São Joaquim) has one of the highest city halls in the country. Its year-round mild climate and cold winter by Brazilian standards (but not restricted temperate species) allows
apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
cultivation as in other similar climate areas, leading to the promotion of the National Apple Festival. EPAGRI, the state's agricultural agency, has an experimental station where the cultivation of
Fuji apples, brought by Fumio Hiragami brought from
Curitibanos
Curitibanos is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Santa Catarina. It is located at 27º16'58" south latitude and 50º35'04" west longitude, at an elevation of 987 metres. It has an area of 953.67 km² and its population, according t ...
, is perfected. The plants come from
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Its population was 24,812 inhabitants in the census of 2010. The municipality has an area of 1,892.26 km
2. It is part of the microregion of Campos de Lages, in the
mesoregion of Serrana of
Santa Catarina. But since mid-2017 it has been in the immediate region of Lages.
Climate
Due to its altitude above 3280 ft (1000 m) and a few degrees below the tropics, the city has a
temperate oceanic climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
: ''Cfb'') modified for precipitation sufficiently moist in every month, more abundant throughout the year (usually more evenly distributed than in
Campos do Jordão
Campos do Jordão () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 52,405 (2020 est.) in an area of . The city is situated above ...
), with cool summers and low temperatures in winter, but not below
freezing
Freezing is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point.
For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess dif ...
. The average annual temperature is 11.4 °C to 14.3 °C. The maximum average does not exceed 20 °C. At the same time, the minimum averages are above 7 °C. The annual precipitation is high, from 1450 mm to 1650 mm, and about 135 rainy days. Winter precipitation can occur at crucial times in the season, but tend not to be plentiful and cumulative, except on a few occasions. Along with
Urupema,
Urubici,
Bom Jardim da Serra and
São José dos Ausentes, São Joaquim is considered the coldest city in Brazil if the maximum average temperature and the number of cold hours are considered. During the winter months,
frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
is common - every month is subject to the phenomenon, which is more common from May to September (in years of
La Niña
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
*La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
from April to October), although strong masses of polar air may enter as early as April. Outside winter, spring and fall may receive frosts due to the prevailing cold dry air.
Frost can occur even in midsummer There are 40.8 days on average per year when freezing of
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
and
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s occurs between the years of 1980 and 2003 registered by the
meteorological station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...
in the place.
Occasionally, on more intensely cold days, precipitation occurs as
snow
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
. It is one of the few
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian
cities
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
that receives snow almost every year, an uncommon phenomenon in the
south of the country. However, it occurs only about five to seven days per year in the region in normal winters, and is rarely intense (normally the temperature warms after the precipitation ceases), since the latitude of the city is relatively low to provide more abundant and more frequent snowfall precipitation.
In 1990 there were 12 days of snow, one of the snowiest years of the century.
The snow was already registered from April to October,
with the earliest occurring on April 16 and 17, 1999 (was the first snowfall this month, the second was in 2016), and the later on October 3 of the same year, in the Cruzeiro district (in the city on September 30, 1980). August is the most snow-favoring month. Between 1999 and 2010 were 10 days. In general from June to August it can snow.
According to data from the
National Institute of Meteorology
The National Institute of Meteorology () is the national meteorological organization of Brazil, responsible for weather forecasting, collecting climate data, and alerting the public of extreme weather. It is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, L ...
(INMET), from 1961 to 1983, 1988 to 1989, 1991 to 1998 and from 2000 to 2017, the lowest temperature recorded in São Joaquim (conventional station) was -10 °C (15.8 °F) on August 2, 1991. Since 1961 there have been 10 times where the minimum temperatures reached -7 °C (19.4 °F) or less. For the same period until October 10, 2018, were 435 times when the temperature was at -1 °C (30.2 °F) or less below zero at 57 years. The highest reached 31.4 °C (88.5 °F) on December 20, 1971.
Temperature records above 30 °C (86 °F) also occurred on December 19, 1971 (31 °C or 87.8 °F), January 4, 1963 (30.6 °C or 87.1 °F), January 6, 1963 (30.4 °C or 86.7 °F), February 1973 (30.1 °C or 86.2 °F) and 17 December 1995 30 °C (86 °F).
All in just 4 occasions the temperature has surpassed 30 °C (86 °F) since 1961, which is rare for a city in the 28th parallel or even for elevation. On July 13, 2000, the temperature did not exceed -2 °C (28.4 °F), which was the lowest recorded in the period.
The largest accumulated precipitation in 24 hours was 124.2 mm (4.889 in) on July 6, 1983. Other large accumulations were 123.1 mm (4.846 in) on August 17, 1983, 123 mm (4.843 in) on July 4, 1993,112 mm (4.415 in) on October 1, 2001, 111.6 mm (4.394 in) on August 9, 2011, 111.4 mm (4.386 in) on September 19, 2015, 109.3 mm (4.303 in) on November 6, 1974, 108.8 mm (4.282 in) on August 19, 1965, 107.5 mm(4.232 in) on September 28, 2009, 105.5 mm (4.154 in) on February 21, 1994, 101.7 mm (4.004 in) on May 28, 1992, and 101.4 mm (3.992 in) on February 22, 1961.
The month of greatest precipitation was July 1983, with 28.992 in (736.4 mm). The lowest
relative air humidity was on August 30, 1976, with 19.5%. With a value below 20% there was another occasion on June 12, 1996, with 19.75% relative humidity, which is confused with the driest season of the year.
Snow and features
São Joaquim is one of the
few Brazilian cities where snow is relatively common every year, which makes it a tourist destination. Located in an elevated area, it is an
urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
with the highest number of
snowy days, despite its location in relation to other higher
rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
s.
On July 20, 1957, the city suffered the second largest blizzard in the country, and the largest in
Santa Catarina with 1.3 m of accumulated snow, which is uncommon for a mostly tropical country. The city was isolated for a week and received supplies by air. It snowed for seven uninterrupted hours, and continued sporadically in the days following, temporarily closing the
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
s.
Studies show the increase of the precipitation frequency with the warm phase of the
Pacific decadal oscillation
The Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is a robust, recurring pattern of ocean-atmosphere climate variability centered over the mid-latitude Pacific basin. The PDO is detected as warm or cool surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, north of 20°N. O ...
(PDO) and its decrease during the
El Niño
EL, El or el may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit
* Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things''
* El, fami ...
and
La Niña
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
*La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
episodes. The average is 2.7 days per year in São Joaquim (value close to that of
Greenville in the
USA) with the majority coming from
polar anticyclones with an
extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
. The maximum gap in the monthly range of
snow
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
fall was between April and October, i.e. between autumn and the first weeks of spring, considering the years 1980 to 2013. In the same interval the year with the most frequency was in 1990, at the same time that there were years without any occurrence. In descending order July and August are the snowiest months, period most affected by cold
air mass
In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to ...
es.
Between 1980 and 2010, the city had 103 cases of snow, if the distribution were even, this would mean that in each year there were at least 3 days with this type of precipitation. In 36% of the cases, there is a causal relationship with the arrival of
cold wave
A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temp ...
s.
A few years that it did not snow are 1971, 1986 and 2005.
Panorama
See also
*
Urubici
*
Morro da Igreja
*
Snow in Brazil
Snow in Brazil occurs yearly in the Plateau, high plains of the country's South Region, Brazil, South Region (comprising the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, and Paraná (state), Paraná). Elsewhere in the cou ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Joaquim
Municipalities in Santa Catarina (state)
Populated places established in 1887