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The driest places in South America in December: ranked by rainfall

Najrān tops the list at 0.2 mm in December. Ranked from 1991–2020 climate normals across 50 destinations in South America.

Top three in December: Najrān (0.2 mm) , Antofagasta (0.2 mm) , Coquimbo (0.5 mm) . Between first and 50th place the rainfall differs by 21 mm.

# Destination Country Rainfall Avg high Avg low Rainfall Wet days Sunshine Sea temp
1 Najrān Saudi Arabia 0.2 mm 25 °C 9.8 °C 0 mm 0 320 h –
2 Antofagasta Chile 0.2 mm 23 °C 16 °C 0 mm 0 400 h 19 °C
3 Coquimbo Chile 0.5 mm 22 °C 15 °C 1 mm 0 407 h 16 °C
4 Iquique Chile 0.5 mm 26 °C 18 °C 1 mm 0 396 h 20 °C
5 La Serena Chile 0.6 mm 24 °C 16 °C 1 mm 0 406 h 16 °C
6 Calama Chile 1.2 mm 25 °C 7.5 °C 1 mm 0 399 h –
7 Tabuk Saudi Arabia 1.5 mm 19 °C 4.7 °C 1 mm 1 301 h –
8 Viña del Mar Chile 2.6 mm 23 °C 14 °C 3 mm 0 423 h 16 °C
9 Valparaíso Chile 2.6 mm 18 °C 14 °C 3 mm 0 423 h 16 °C
10 Chimbote Peru 4.0 mm 23 °C 18 °C 4 mm 1 352 h 19 °C
11 Chincha Alta Peru 4.1 mm 25 °C 19 °C 4 mm 1 351 h 19 °C
12 Arica Chile 4.2 mm 25 °C 18 °C 4 mm 1 387 h 21 °C
13 Ica Peru 4.4 mm 29 °C 19 °C 4 mm 1 350 h –
14 Tacna Peru 5.6 mm 25 °C 16 °C 6 mm 1 370 h –
15 Santa Anita - Los Ficus Peru 5.7 mm 22 °C 17 °C 6 mm 2 341 h 19 °C
16 Khamis Mushait Saudi Arabia 5.8 mm 22 °C 11 °C 6 mm 1 318 h –
17 Lima Peru 5.9 mm 24 °C 18 °C 6 mm 1 343 h 19 °C
18 Callao Peru 5.9 mm 24 °C 18 °C 6 mm 1 343 h 19 °C
19 Maipú Chile 6.3 mm 28 °C 14 °C 6 mm 1 424 h –
20 Santiago Chile 6.8 mm 26 °C 14 °C 7 mm 1 424 h –
21 Madinah Saudi Arabia 7.2 mm 25 °C 11 °C 7 mm 1 313 h –
22 Al Kharj Saudi Arabia 9.0 mm 22 °C 9.0 °C 9 mm 2 303 h –
23 Trujillo Peru 9.2 mm 25 °C 19 °C 9 mm 2 352 h 19 °C
24 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 9.4 mm 21 °C 8.8 °C 9 mm 2 301 h –
25 Chiclayo Peru 9.4 mm 25 °C 19 °C 9 mm 3 353 h 19 °C
26 Ha'il Saudi Arabia 9.5 mm 18 °C 6.1 °C 10 mm 2 293 h –
27 Şabyā Saudi Arabia 10 mm 29 °C 23 °C 10 mm 3 315 h 29 °C
28 Abha Saudi Arabia 11 mm 19 °C 11 °C 11 mm 3 317 h –
29 Yanbu Saudi Arabia 11 mm 27 °C 18 °C 11 mm 1 319 h 27 °C
30 Quilicura Chile 12 mm 27 °C 15 °C 12 mm 2 424 h –
31 Talca Chile 13 mm 28 °C 13 °C 13 mm 2 423 h –
32 Neuquén Argentina 13 mm 30 °C 17 °C 13 mm 2 434 h –
33 Rancagua Chile 13 mm 26 °C 14 °C 13 mm 2 422 h –
34 Jeddah Saudi Arabia 15 mm 28 °C 22 °C 15 mm 2 317 h 28 °C
35 Unaizah Saudi Arabia 15 mm 20 °C 7.9 °C 15 mm 3 297 h –
36 Buraydah Saudi Arabia 15 mm 20 °C 7.9 °C 15 mm 3 294 h –
37 Al Hufūf Saudi Arabia 15 mm 22 °C 10 °C 15 mm 2 301 h –
38 Talcahuano Chile 16 mm 21 °C 12 °C 16 mm 3 422 h 14 °C
39 Ta’if Saudi Arabia 16 mm 22 °C 12 °C 16 mm 3 313 h –
40 Concepción Chile 16 mm 22 °C 12 °C 16 mm 3 422 h 14 °C
41 Mossoró Brazil 17 mm 34 °C 24 °C 17 mm 4 361 h –
42 Sullana Peru 17 mm 32 °C 20 °C 17 mm 4 348 h –
43 Barquisimeto Venezuela 18 mm 29 °C 20 °C 18 mm 4 331 h –
44 Arapiraca Brazil 18 mm 32 °C 22 °C 18 mm 5 366 h –
45 Piura Peru 19 mm 31 °C 20 °C 19 mm 4 348 h –
46 Dammam Saudi Arabia 20 mm 22 °C 14 °C 20 mm 3 295 h 22 °C
47 Campina Grande Brazil 20 mm 30 °C 21 °C 20 mm 6 350 h –
48 Valle de La Pascua Venezuela 21 mm 32 °C 23 °C 21 mm 5 336 h –
49 Calabozo Venezuela 21 mm 32 °C 24 °C 21 mm 5 335 h –
50 Caruaru Brazil 21 mm 30 °C 20 °C 21 mm 7 352 h –

Monthly values for the month named in the ranking; only destinations with a published climate page are ranked. Download this ranking as CSV.

The same ranking one month earlier and later

November: top 5

  1. Calama 0.06 mm
  2. Antofagasta 0.5 mm
  3. La Serena 0.6 mm
  4. Coquimbo 0.6 mm
  5. Chincha Alta 0.8 mm

Full ranking for November

January: top 5

  1. Antofagasta 0.2 mm
  2. Viña del Mar 0.3 mm
  3. La Serena 0.3 mm
  4. Coquimbo 0.3 mm
  5. Valparaíso 0.3 mm

Full ranking for January

How this ranking is built

What is ranked
Total precipitation, in mm, in December, lowest first.
Period
1991–2020 climate normals: the same 30 years for every destination, so the list compares like with like.
Who is included
50 destinations in South America with a published climate page. Neighbouring places that share a climate series are shown once.
Ties
Equal values are ordered by fewest wet days.
Sources
ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis via Open-Meteo; sea temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1. Measured values are reproduced unchanged; only the ordering is ours.

Data sources and method

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

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: ranking order, 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.