Agreste

For the wine grape also known as Agreste, see Malbec.

Agreste.

In Brazil, the agreste (Portuguese pronunciation: [aˈɡɾɛʃtʃi]) is a narrow zone in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia between the coastal forest zona da mata and the semiarid sertão. The agreste actually fades out before Rio Grande do Norte is reached owing to the breakdown of the mountain chain that gives the coastal Atlantic forest zone high rainfall.

Most of the agreste is hilly, with the hills becoming higher in the south, except near the narrow valley of the São Francisco River. Land use is predominantly mixed farming, with fruits such as melons especially important. Like the sertão, the agreste is frequently affected by drought, though generally the effects are less severe.

Climate

The climate is hot and sub-humid, with rainfall in the area's principal city of Campina Grande averaging about 700 millimetres per year - ranging from less than 10 millimetres in October and November to about 120 millimetres in May and June.

Campina Grande
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     27   30 20     41   30 20     74   28 20     94   28 20     118   27 18     119   26 18     84   25 18     59   24 18     24   27 18     13   28 19     16   29 20     19   30 20 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source:
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.1   86 68     1.6   86 68     2.9   82 68     3.7   82 68     4.6   81 64     4.7   79 64     3.3   77 64     2.3   75 64     0.9   81 64     0.5   82 66     0.6   84 68     0.7   86 68 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Guarabira
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     41   32 22     63   33 22     98   33 22     122   31 21     151   30 21     202   29 20     88   29 19     56   29 19     22   30 20     12   31 21     20   32 22     45   32 22 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source:
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6   90 72     2.5   91 72     3.9   91 72     4.8   88 70     5.9   86 70     8   84 68     3.5   84 66     2.2   84 66     0.9   86 68     0.5   88 70     0.8   90 72     1.8   90 72 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

See also

• Brazil Socio-Geographic Division
• Sertão
• Tieta do Agreste, a Brazilian novel and film