Climate averages 1991–2020
Calama weather
by month.
See how the year changes. December has the highest average daily maximum; November (tied with October) has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilNovemberDecember
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Calama averages a daytime high of 23.4°C and a nighttime low of 5.1°C, with about 43 mm of rain on roughly 9 days. December is the warmest month (average high 25.2°C) and July the coolest (20.3°C). February is the wettest month with 11 mm; November (tied with October) is the driest with under 1 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): January, February, March, April, November and December. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Calama
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Calama climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24.8°C9.5°C | 9.5°C | 8.7 | 2.3 | 13.313 h |
| February | 24.6°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 11 | 2.7 | 12.913 h |
| March | 24.5°C7.7°C | 7.7°C | 5.6 | 1.0 | 12.212 h |
| April | 23.6°C5.0°C | 5.0°C | 2.0 | 0.3 | 11.612 h |
| May | 21.8°C2.8°C | 2.8°C | 4.5 | 0.5 | 11.111 h |
| June | 20.6°C1.6°C | 1.6°C | 3.5 | 0.3 | 10.811 h |
| July | 20.3°C1.3°C | 1.3°C | 3.3 | 0.6 | 10.911 h |
| August | 21.9°C2.0°C | 2.0°C | 2.5 | 0.4 | 11.311 h |
| September | 23.3°C3.3°C | 3.3°C | 0.6 | 0.2 | 11.912 h |
| October | 24.5°C4.9°C | 4.9°C | 0.1 | 0.1 | 12.613 h |
| November | 25.0°C5.8°C | 5.8°C | 0.1 | 0.0 | 13.213 h |
| December | 25.2°C7.5°C | 7.5°C | 1.3 | 0.3 | 13.513 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
Nearby cities
- AntofagastaChile · 201 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 13.6°C · 72 mm rain a year
- Alto HospicioChile · 272 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 13.2°C · 11 mm rain a year
- Iquique (approximate)Chile · 280 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 16.6°C · 65 mm rain a year
- TarijaBolivia · 444 kmHigh 21.3°C · Low 10.3°C · 1,147 mm rain a year
- PotosíBolivia · 459 kmHigh 14.4°C · Low 1.4°C · 772 mm rain a year
- AricaChile · 465 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 15.6°C · 162 mm rain a year
- San Ramón de la Nueva OránArgentina · 477 kmHigh 26.5°C · Low 17.1°C · 1,142 mm rain a year
- TacnaPeru · 513 kmHigh 22.9°C · Low 15.3°C · 89 mm rain a year
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC-4, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at -22.50°, -68.90° (5 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.7°C for the difference between the city's elevation (2,275 m) and the cell's (2,382 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at -22.50°, -69.00°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.