Climate risk in San José
San José, Costa Rica · 1.3M people in the urban area
What threatens San José most
- Earthquake
- Very high GSHAP
- Water stress
- Low-Medium WRI Aqueduct
- Drought
- Low-Medium WRI Aqueduct
Tsunamis and landslides are not rated for a single city here. Climate risk profile of Costa Rica
An earthquake's shaking at San José can reach 5.52 m/s², as strong as a once-in-475-years event.
Panama City: 1.76 m/s².
San José's climate in the 2050s
2041-2060 compared with 1991-2020, moderate emissions
By the 2050s, San José is projected to have the climate that Medellín (Colombia) has today.
+1.2°C
Mean temperature over the year
+1.1°C
Highest in the warmest month
+1.1°C
Lowest in the coldest month
-3%
Precipitation over the year
Under high emissions, San José would have the climate that Medellín (Colombia) has today.
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How close the match is: 0.5 σ to the climate of Medellín today, where under 2 is close and over 4 is no match (Mahony et al. 2017). 3 of 3 climate model runs name the same city. Seasonal temperature and rain are compared, not extremes, city heat or the sea.
Where else San José stands out
30 days
Days with 20 mm of rain or more in 2025
Panama City: 18 days.
Higher than in 95% of the world's 630 large cities
Hazards at San José
Read at the city's centre and compared with the Atlas's 630 large cities. Moderate emissions is the IPCC's scenario SSP2-4.5.
| Hazard | San José | Among large cities | In Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot days in 2025, over 35 °C | 0 days | ||
| Tropical nights in 2025, over 20 °C | 0 days | ||
| Hottest day of 2025 | 25.5°C | Among large cities: above 1% | |
| Warming by 2050, moderate emissions | +1.4°C | Among large cities: above 15% | |
| Days with 20 mm of rain or more in 2025 | 30 days | Among large cities: above 95% | |
| River flood depth, 100-year event | Dry at the city centre point | ||
| Coastal flood depth, 100-year event | Dry at the city centre point | ||
| Water stress | Low-Medium (10-20%) | Among large cities: above 30% | |
| Drought risk | Low-Medium | Among large cities: above 1% | |
| Earthquake shaking, once in 475 years | 5.52 m/s² | Among large cities: above 99% | |
| Land burned in an average year | 0% | ||
| Cyclone wind, once in 100 years | 26.8 m/s |
Flood depth is read in a single 1 km cell at the city's centre, in today's climate. Other parts of the city can still flood. The country page names the deepest point near a coastal city in 2080, so its figure can be higher. See how deep a river flood reaches around San José on the live map
See the heavy rain days around San José on the live map
30 days © OpenStreetMap Large cities near San José
- Panama City · Panama
- San Salvador · El Salvador
- Guatemala City · Guatemala
- Medellín · Colombia
Large cities in Costa Rica
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In a line
Source: Criora (criora.com), based on ECMWF, NEX-GDDP-CMIP6, WRI, IPCC, GSHAP, GFED500
APA
Criora. (2026). San José, Costa Rica: climate risk profile [Data set]. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://criora.com/atlas/CRI/san-jose BibTeX
@misc{criora_atlas_CRI_san_jose_2026,
author = {{Criora}},
title = {San José, Costa Rica: climate risk profile},
year = {2026},
url = {https://criora.com/atlas/CRI/san-jose},
urldate = {2026-11-02}
} Each reading stays under its source's terms; the sources are named on this page.
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