Climate averages 1991–2020
Calama weather
in December.
A warm, very dry month: the warmest and the 4th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Calama: daytime highs average 25.2°C and nights cool to about 7.5°C. By daytime temperature it is the warmest month of the year.
Expect about 1.3 mm of rain on fewer than one day, which makes December a very dry month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 29 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Antofagasta (201 km away). In December its highs average 21.4°C, 3.8°C cooler than Calama, with 1.9 mm of rain.
Among the 40 cities listed in Chile, Calama ranks 17th of 40 for the warmest December highs and 7th of 40 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 40 cities is 23.8°C; Calama is 1.4°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.4°C to 24.8°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 1.3 mm to 8.7 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
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, selected | 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
December in nearby cities
- Antofagasta in DecemberChile · 201 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 14.8°C · 1.9 mm rain
- Alto Hospicio in DecemberChile · 272 kmHigh 23.2°C · Low 15.0°C · 0.9 mm rain
- Iquique (approximate) in DecemberChile · 280 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 18.3°C · 0.6 mm rain
- Tarija in DecemberBolivia · 444 kmHigh 22.9°C · Low 14.2°C · 194 mm rain
- Potosí in DecemberBolivia · 459 kmHigh 14.9°C · Low 4.8°C · 133 mm rain
- Arica in DecemberChile · 465 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 17.2°C · 4.7 mm rain
- San Ramón de la Nueva Orán in DecemberArgentina · 477 kmHigh 30.5°C · Low 21.2°C · 193 mm rain
- Tacna in DecemberPeru · 513 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 16.3°C · 5.6 mm rain
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 limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Calama) is explained once on the Calama year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.