The climate of Antofagasta (Chile)
Antofagasta is an important seaport town in the Atacama desert. The
economy of the town is mainly based on the export of copper and of
nitrite in the past. The mining industry occupies an important place
inside this town. Antofagasta has a cold desert climate and its most
important feature is that it practically never rains here. Antofagasta
is one of the driest places of all in the world with an average amount
of precipitation of approximately one millimeter a year. This climate
is enhanced by two natural phenomena namely the Humbolt ocean current
and the anticyclones that sweep the area. The Humbolt ocean current
brings cold water from the southern polar seas and also causes waters
from larger depths to be forced upwards. Owing to this the water is
colder. Of course this also directly influences the temperature over
land.
Climate information
The data below is based on registered weather data and applies to
Antofagasta:
average maximum
temperature (°C)
average
minimum
temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine
per day
average days with
precipitation
per month
average
mm precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January
23
16
8
6
22
February
24
16
8
7
22
March
22
15
8
5
21
April
21
13
8
3
20
May
19
12
7
2
19
June
17
10
7
1
17
July
17
10
7
1
16
August
17
10
8
1
16
September
18
11
8
2
16
October
19
12
9
2
17
November
20
13
9
3
18
December
23
15
9
4
20
= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm = 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches
More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression
of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain
period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather,
extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we offer useful extra climate
information for each month of the year:
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.