Climate
Rijeka logs 11 hot days a year to Zadar's 49 — Rijeka wins by 38. Zadar also leads on sunny days by 53.
Rijeka
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Zadar
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Air Quality
Rijeka averages 11.2 µg/m³ (moderate) PM2.5 annually versus Zadar's 9.8 µg/m³ (good) — Zadar breathes ~12% cleaner air (1.3 µg/m³ lower).
Rijeka
Zadar
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Rijeka (116K) and Zadar (68K) are 1.7x in population — Rijeka is the larger metro, Zadar the smaller; on land area Rijeka spans roughly 1.7x more ground.
Rijeka is roughly 1.7x the scale of Zadar
Combined population & area comparison
RijekaZadarCity Scale Rankings
Rijeka116K1.7xZadar68K1xRijeka41 km²1.7xZadar24 km²1xRijeka
Zadar
Who Thrives Here
Zadar is the stronger fit for the sunshine lover. Both cities work well for the clean air seeker.
Also compared
Dubrovnik Frequently asked about Rijeka vs Zadar
▶How does the climate compare between Rijeka and Zadar?
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