Climate averages 1991–2020
Calama weather
in January.
A warm, very dry month: the 3rd warmest and the 11th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a warm month in Calama: daytime highs average 24.8°C and nights cool to about 9.5°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 8.7 mm of rain on roughly 2 days, which makes January a very dry month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 20 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Antofagasta (201 km away). In January its highs average 22.9°C, 1.9°C cooler than Calama, with 1.6 mm of rain.
Among the 40 cities listed in Chile, Calama ranks 23rd of 40 for the warmest January highs and 28th of 40 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 40 cities is 25.5°C; Calama is 0.7°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs fall by 0.2°C to 24.6°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 8.7 mm to 11 mm.
The annual picture
January 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, selected | 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
January in nearby cities
- Antofagasta in JanuaryChile · 201 kmHigh 22.9°C · Low 16.5°C · 1.6 mm rain
- Alto Hospicio in JanuaryChile · 272 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 16.9°C · 2.9 mm rain
- Iquique (approximate) in JanuaryChile · 280 kmHigh 27.2°C · Low 20.1°C · 1.0 mm rain
- Tarija in JanuaryBolivia · 444 kmHigh 22.8°C · Low 14.6°C · 220 mm rain
- Potosí in JanuaryBolivia · 459 kmHigh 13.3°C · Low 4.7°C · 171 mm rain
- Arica in JanuaryChile · 465 kmHigh 26.6°C · Low 19.5°C · 9.5 mm rain
- San Ramón de la Nueva Orán in JanuaryArgentina · 477 kmHigh 30.2°C · Low 21.5°C · 206 mm rain
- Tacna in JanuaryPeru · 513 kmHigh 26.4°C · Low 17.9°C · 23 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.