Calama climate

Name: Calama
Address: CL

Calama is warmest in December, with average highs of 25 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 1.6 °C. February is the wettest month (8.8 mm) and November the driest (0.06 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Calama averages 38 mm of rain, 94 days above 25 °C and 10 days below freezing.

Chile · population 166,334 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month December 25 °C
Coldest month July 1.6 °C
Driest month November 0 mm
Wettest month February 9 mm
Least cloud September 9 % cloud
Hottest on record February 30 °C
Coldest on record May -5.5 °C

What to expectCalama through the year

Calama has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 20 °C in July to 25 °C in December, a swing of 6.5 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 94 days a year reach 25 °C, 0 of them reach 30 °C, 10 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 30 °C, in February.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 0 mm in November to 9 mm in February. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	24.7 °C	7 mm	48 %
February	24.6 °C	9 mm	42 %
March	24.4 °C	5 mm	26 %
April	23.6 °C	2 mm	16 %
May	21.8 °C	5 mm	15 %
June	20.6 °C	3 mm	19 %
July	20.4 °C	3 mm	17 %
August	21.9 °C	2 mm	13 %
September	23.2 °C	under 1 mm	9 %
October	24.4 °C	under 1 mm	14 %
November	24.9 °C	under 1 mm	17 %
December	25.1 °C	1 mm	31 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	24.7 °C	9.4 °C	17.5 °C	29.7 °C	5.1 °C	14	0
February	24.6 °C	9.3 °C	17.4 °C	30.4 °C	3.9 °C	13	0
March	24.4 °C	7.7 °C	16.8 °C	29.8 °C	1.9 °C	11	0
April	23.6 °C	5.2 °C	15.2 °C	28.2 °C	1.2 °C	6	0
May	21.8 °C	3.1 °C	12.7 °C	28.0 °C	-5.5 °C	2	1
June	20.6 °C	1.9 °C	11.2 °C	28.0 °C	-2.0 °C	0	3
July	20.4 °C	1.6 °C	11.0 °C	28.5 °C	-1.7 °C	1	5
August	21.9 °C	2.3 °C	12.6 °C	29.0 °C	-2.0 °C	2	1
September	23.2 °C	3.5 °C	14.3 °C	28.9 °C	-0.5 °C	5	0
October	24.4 °C	5.1 °C	15.8 °C	29.3 °C	0.1 °C	11	0
November	24.9 °C	5.9 °C	16.6 °C	29.5 °C	1.9 °C	15	0
December	25.1 °C	7.5 °C	17.2 °C	29.2 °C	2.3 °C	16	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	7 mm	2	13 h/day	48 %	49 %	25 km/h
February	9 mm	2	13 h/day	42 %	52 %	24 km/h
March	5 mm	1	12 h/day	26 %	48 %	23 km/h
April	2 mm	0	12 h/day	16 %	37 %	22 km/h
May	5 mm	1	11 h/day	15 %	29 %	21 km/h
June	3 mm	0	11 h/day	19 %	25 %	20 km/h
July	3 mm	0	11 h/day	17 %	24 %	21 km/h
August	2 mm	0	11 h/day	13 %	24 %	22 km/h
September	under 1 mm	0	12 h/day	9 %	25 %	24 km/h
October	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	14 %	27 %	25 km/h
November	under 1 mm	0	13 h/day	17 %	32 %	25 km/h
December	1 mm	0	14 h/day	31 %	38 %	25 km/h

How Calama compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Calama	25 °C	1.6 °C	38 mm	94
Antofagasta · Chile	25 °C	13 °C	16 mm	26
Iquique · Chile	27 °C	13 °C	61 mm	141
San Salvador de Jujuy · Argentina	23 °C	6.6 °C	2,480 mm	36
Tarija · Bolivia	23 °C	4.6 °C	1,182 mm	78
Salta · Argentina	25 °C	6.4 °C	2,225 mm	82
Arica · Chile	28 °C	13 °C	145 mm	107

Where Calama ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in South America in November	1stof 50	0.06 mm
The driest places in South America in October	1stof 50	0.2 mm
The driest places in South America year-round	3rdof 50	3.2 mm
The driest places in South America in April	4thof 50	1.6 mm
The driest places in South America in December	6thof 50	1.2 mm
The driest places in the world in October	7thof 50	0.2 mm

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Calama.

QuestionsCommon questions about Calama’s climate

When is the best time to visit Calama?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, December is the warmest month and November the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Calama get?

In December, the warmest month, daily highs average 25 °C. About 0 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 30 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 1.6 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 10 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Calama?

February, averaging 9 mm over 2 days with rain. The driest month is November with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 38 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Calama rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.