The climate of Sofia
Cfa Humid subtropical. Hot, humid summers and mild winters, with rain all year. No dry season. Summers are hot and sticky, winters are mild, and thunderstorms are common in the warm months.
Sofia is north of the equator, so summer falls in June to August and winter in December to February. The 1901 to 1930 map put Sofia in Dfb (warm-summer humid continental), so its zone is different from a century ago.
Sofia: then, now and by 2100
| Map | Climate zone | Compared with now |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 to 1930 | Dfb Warm-summer humid continental | Different from now |
| 1991 to 2020 (now) | Cfa Humid subtropical | - |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions) | Cfa Humid subtropical | Same as now |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road) | Cfa Humid subtropical | Same as now |
| 2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) | Cfa Humid subtropical | Same as now |
The 2071 to 2099 rows are model projections under three emissions scenarios, not forecasts. The 1901 to 1930 row is a reconstruction. All come from Beck et al. (2023).
Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), the model keeps Sofia in Cfa in 2071 to 2099. The high-emissions scenario (SSP5-8.5) gives the same answer.
Cities with the same climate as Sofia
Other big cities that are Cfa (humid subtropical) in 1991 to 2020, at most two per country:
- Shanghai, China
- Chongqing, China
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Tokyo, Japan
- New York City, United States
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Sydney, Australia
- New Taipei City, Taiwan
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Population of Sofia from GeoNames: 1,152,556 (rank 483 in our list of 1,000). Climate data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0. Data sources and licences.