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San José vs Quito
Comparing San José change · Quito change
San José is the warmer of the two — about 5°C on the annual average; Quito is the wetter, with 1557 mm more rain a year, and San José the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between San José and Quito, in everyday terms.
Summers
San José has much hotter summers
San José: Warm
Quito: Mild
Winters
San José has milder winters
San José: Stays warm
Quito: Mild
Rain & snow
Quito is wetter
San José: Wet
Quito: Very wet
Sky
San José is sunnier
San José: Often cloudy
Quito: Often grey
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
San José is the warmer of the two — about 5°C on the annual average.
Precipitation
Quito is the wetter — about 1557 mm more across the year.
Clear skies
San José has the clearer skies — the higher line.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°C) San José runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Quito | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Difference | -6 | -7 | -8 | -8 | -6 | -5 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -5 | -6 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 29 | 29 |
| Quito | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 |
| Difference | -6 | -7 | -8 | -8 | -6 | -5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Quito | 24 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Difference | -4 | -4 | -4 | -4 | -5 | -6 |
Avg low (°C) San José runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Quito | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Difference | -5 | -4 | -4 | -5 | -5 | -6 | -7 | -7 | -6 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Quito | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Difference | -5 | -4 | -4 | -5 | -5 | -6 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Quito | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Difference | -7 | -7 | -6 | -5 | -5 | -5 |
Precipitation (mm) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 7 | 7 | 4 | 53 | 176 | 209 | 130 | 177 | 258 | 286 | 146 | 35 |
| Quito | 294 | 281 | 334 | 329 | 270 | 166 | 126 | 129 | 219 | 286 | 303 | 309 |
| Difference | +288 | +274 | +329 | +276 | +93 | -43 | -3 | -48 | -39 | -1 | +156 | +274 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 7 | 7 | 4 | 53 | 176 | 209 |
| Quito | 294 | 281 | 334 | 329 | 270 | 166 |
| Difference | +288 | +274 | +329 | +276 | +93 | -43 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 130 | 177 | 258 | 286 | 146 | 35 |
| Quito | 126 | 129 | 219 | 286 | 303 | 309 |
| Difference | -3 | -48 | -39 | -1 | +156 | +274 |
Cloud cover (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 43 | 38 | 41 | 67 | 82 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 78 | 57 |
| Quito | 81 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Difference | +38 | +47 | +47 | +18 | -1 | -9 | -13 | -13 | -9 | -3 | +4 | +24 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 43 | 38 | 41 | 67 | 82 | 85 |
| Quito | 81 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 75 |
| Difference | +38 | +47 | +47 | +18 | -1 | -9 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 85 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 78 | 57 |
| Quito | 72 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Difference | -13 | -13 | -9 | -3 | +4 | +24 |
Relative humidity (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 76 | 69 | 63 | 67 | 80 | 87 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 89 | 83 |
| Quito | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 78 | 75 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 84 |
| Difference | +10 | +18 | +24 | +19 | +4 | -7 | -9 | -12 | -13 | -11 | -7 | +1 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 76 | 69 | 63 | 67 | 80 | 87 |
| Quito | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 81 |
| Difference | +10 | +18 | +24 | +19 | +4 | -7 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José | 86 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 89 | 83 |
| Quito | 78 | 75 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 84 |
| Difference | -9 | -12 | -13 | -11 | -7 | +1 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. San José trends → · Quito trends →
Methodology & sources
San José
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 28 years of daily observations at Juan Santamaria Intl, a weather station, about 15 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
Quito
Temperature & precipitation — modelled for this location from ERA5-Land reanalysis, a ~9 km global grid, because no long-record weather station is close enough to use.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
← change San José · change Quito → · San José page · Quito page