Climate averages 1991–2020
Calama weather
in May.
A mild, very dry month: the 10th warmest and the 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Calama: daytime highs average 21.8°C and nights cool to about 2.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 4.5 mm of rain on fewer than one day, which makes May a very dry month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 03 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Antofagasta (201 km away). In May its highs average 19.4°C, 2.4°C cooler than Calama, with 10 mm of rain.
Among the 40 cities listed in Chile, Calama ranks 4th of 40 for the warmest May highs and 2nd of 40 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 40 cities is 17.5°C; Calama is 4.2°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 1.2°C to 20.6°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 4.5 mm to 3.5 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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
May in nearby cities
- Antofagasta in MayChile · 201 kmHigh 19.4°C · Low 13.2°C · 10 mm rain
- Alto Hospicio in MayChile · 272 kmHigh 21.2°C · Low 12.0°C · 0.3 mm rain
- Iquique (approximate) in MayChile · 280 kmHigh 23.8°C · Low 15.4°C · 7.6 mm rain
- Tarija in MayBolivia · 444 kmHigh 19.2°C · Low 7.6°C · 24 mm rain
- Potosí in MayBolivia · 459 kmHigh 14.3°C · Low -1.5°C · 6.2 mm rain
- Arica in MayChile · 465 kmHigh 20.1°C · Low 14.9°C · 24 mm rain
- San Ramón de la Nueva Orán in MayArgentina · 477 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 14.5°C · 31 mm rain
- Tacna in MayPeru · 513 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 15.0°C · 4.1 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.