Urban Climate Resilience Assessment · Brazil · 2026
Cities Under Climate Stress
22 cities assessed
5 resilience dimensions
Click any city to explore
Resilience Outlook
Low — severe multi-dimensional risk
Moderate — significant exposures
Moderate–High — mixed vulnerabilities
High — strong adaptive capacity
Uneven — structural inequalities
Node size = population exposure scale Pulse = acute current risk
São Paulo SP
Uneven
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 Flash flooding and urban rivers 🌡 Urban heat island (+4°C vs surrounds) 💧 Water supply stress (Cantareira reservoir) 🏚 Favela exposure on hillsides ⛈ Extreme rainfall events
Infrastructure & Resilience: Deeply unequal exposure: elite zones with drainage vs peripheral favelas on at-risk slopes. Metro/road flooding disrupts millions annually. World's largest helipad fleet reflects elite adaptation.
Porto Alegre RS
Moderate
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 Catastrophic flooding (2024 disaster: worst in 80 yrs) 🌧 Intense precipitation extremes 💧 Guaíba River overflow 🏚 Informal settlements in floodplains
Infrastructure & Resilience: 2024 floods caused R$80B+ in damage. Flood barrier system failed. Critical infrastructure including airport, hospital, and metro flooded. Urgent retrofitting needed.
Infrastructure & Resilience: Built in a bowl topography creating flash flood funnels. Vilarinho area and Anel Rodoviário repeatedly disrupted. Moderate governance but capital constraints.
Infrastructure & Resilience: Urban sprawl into wildfire-prone Cerrado fringe. Water supply vulnerable. Heat impacts informal workers disproportionately.
Campo Grande MS
Moderate
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌡 Intense and lengthening heat seasons 🔥 Proximity to Pantanal fire zone 🌾 Agro supply chain water dependency 💨 Smoke events from Pantanal fires
Infrastructure & Resilience: Air quality crises from Pantanal fires. Agriculture-dependent economy structurally exposed. Limited urban green cover.
Santos SP
Moderate
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 SLR threatens port infrastructure (R$2B damage by 2100) 🌧 Urban flooding in historic lower city 💧 Saltwater intrusion into Santos estuary ⚓ Supply chain disruption to Brazil's main export hub
Infrastructure & Resilience: Brazil's primary port — national economic consequences if disrupted. Already investing in sea barriers. Drainage system upgrades underway. Governance capacity higher than peer coastal cities.
Infrastructure & Resilience: Strong university-linked innovation economy. Moderate urban heat island. Industrial water demand vulnerable to drought cycles.
Brasília DF
Moderate–High
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌡 Extreme heat (+1°C above national avg already) 🏜 Prolonged dry season drought (May–Sep) 🔥 Fire risk in urban fringe Cerrado 💧 Paranoá lake water security
Infrastructure & Resilience: Planned city with better infrastructure but AC-dependent economy. Satellite cities (Ceilândia, Samambaia) more vulnerable. Federal government seat adds resilience investment.
Infrastructure & Resilience: Critical infrastructure clustered in flood/landslide zones. 1.7M favela residents in high geological risk areas. Port infrastructure exposed to SLR. Rio's debt crisis limits adaptation investment.
Cuiabá MT
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌡 Hottest state capital in Brazil (avg 34°C, peaks 44°C) 🔥 At epicentre of Amazon/Pantanal fire zone 💨 Severe smoke pollution: AQI hazardous for months/yr 🌾 Deforestation-climate feedback loop 💧 Cuiabá River extreme drought/flood cycles
Infrastructure & Resilience: Among world's most thermally stressed cities. Healthcare infrastructure under severe heat/smoke strain. Low governance investment relative to need. COP30 host proximity note: Belém co-hosts.
Manaus AM
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌡 Extreme heat + humidity (feels like 48°C+) 💧 Amazon River record droughts AND floods (alternating) 🔥 Smoke from surrounding forest fires 🌿 Ecosystem services collapse if Amazon tips 🏭 Free-trade zone vulnerable to supply disruption
Infrastructure & Resilience: Road access limited — river-dependent city. 2023 drought left 60+ communities isolated. Electricity grid dependent on hydropower under threat. High urban inequality.
Belém PA
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 River delta flooding + sea level rise convergence 🌡 Extreme equatorial heat + humidity ⛈ Intense daily rainfall events 🏚 80%+ in informal housing, high flood exposure 🌿 Mangrove loss accelerating coastal exposure
Infrastructure & Resilience: COP30 (2025) host city. Paradox of climate summit in a highly climate-vulnerable city. Ver-o-Peso market district repeatedly flooded. Port infrastructure at SLR risk. Massive sanitation deficit.
Recife PE
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 Highest sea level rise rate in Brazil (5.6mm/yr historically) 🏖 Severe coastal erosion — Boa Viagem retreated 20m+ ⛈ Urban flooding in low-lying communities 🌡 Urban heat + humidity extremes 💧 Saltwater intrusion into aquifers
Infrastructure & Resilience: Built on river islands and coastal lowlands — structurally exposed. Morro da Conceição and other favelas in high flood zones. Suape port at SLR risk. Resilient hub tech sector emerging but insufficient.
Fortaleza CE
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌡 Extreme heat — among hottest coastal cities 🏜 Drought-prone hinterland, erratic rainy season 🌊 Coastal erosion destroying beaches and seafront 💧 Water security crisis (Castanhão reservoir depletion) 🌀 Increasing storm frequency
Infrastructure & Resilience: Tourism economy at direct risk from beach erosion. Maracanau industrial district water-stressed. Pirambu favela (100k people) at sea edge. Cistern programs under strain.
Salvador BA
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 Coastal erosion and sea level rise ⛈ Heavy rainfall + landslides (Subúrbio Ferroviário) 🌡 Extreme heat + humidity 🏔 Hillside settlement collapse risk 💧 Flooding in Iguatemi and low-lying zones
Infrastructure & Resilience: Split-level topography amplifies landslide/flood risk. Lower city (Comércio) repeatedly flooded. Ilha de Itaparica SLR exposed. Tourism revenue at coastal risk.
Infrastructure & Resilience: Coastline retreating — iconic beachfront hotels under threat. Small economy limits adaptation finance. Tourism-dependent GDP exposed to coastal collapse.
Maceió AL
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 Coastal erosion + active geological subsidence crisis 🏗 Braskem mining-induced sinkhole displacement (55k people) ⛈ Heavy rainfall flooding low-lying Jaraguá area 🌡 Heat and humidity extremes
Infrastructure & Resilience: Compounding crises: climate + industrial. Salgadinho and Bebedouro neighbourhoods evacuated. Port area subsidence risk. Among Brazil's most fiscally strained capitals.
São Luís MA
Low Resilience
Physical Risk
Inequality
Gov. Gap
Economy Risk
🌊 Island city — surrounded by sea level rise risk 🌡 Extreme equatorial heat + humidity ⛈ Heavy rainfall flooding (Itaqui port area) 🌿 Mangrove loss accelerating coastal vulnerability 🏚 High proportion of informal coastal settlements
Infrastructure & Resilience: Built on an island — converging SLR risks from multiple coastlines. Port of Itaqui (iron ore, soy exports) at flooding risk. Among Brazil's highest poverty rates compound climate vulnerability.
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