Climate and average weather in El Calafate
In El Calafate, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in El Calafate typically varies from -3°C to 16°C, and is rarely below -6°C or above 21°C. January is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit El Calafate for warm-weather activities are from early January to early March and early December to late December.
- Hottest
- Jan
- 16°
- Coldest
- Jul
- -3°
- Wettest
- Apr
- 72 mm
- Driest
- Sep
- 45 mm
- Rain / yr
- 678 mm
- 129 wet days
- Daylight
- 7.8–16.2 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 205 m
- 50.3°S
- Clearest
- Jan
- 60% cloud
El Calafate is town in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
- Density
- 998/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1927
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
El Calafate weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early January to early March.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in El Calafate, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from November 15 to March 24, with daily high temperatures above 12°C. The hottest month of the year in El Calafate is January, with an average high of 16°C and low of 7°C.
The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from May 23 to August 29, with daily high temperatures below 5°C. The coldest month of the year in El Calafate is July, with an average low of -3°C and high of 2°C.
Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 9°C) in November.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Avg low (°C) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | -2 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | 7 |
| Feb | 15 | 7 |
| Mar | 13 | 6 |
| Apr | 10 | 3 |
| May | 6 | 0 |
| Jun | 2 | -2 |
| Jul | 2 | -3 |
| Aug | 4 | -2 |
| Sep | 7 | -1 |
| Oct | 10 | 1 |
| Nov | 12 | 4 |
| Dec | 14 | 6 |
How hot and cold El Calafate really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -5°C (around June 30), with roughly 190 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Air high (°C) | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | -2 | -4 | -5 | -4 | -3 | -1 | 1 | 3 |
| Air low (°C) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | -2 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | 16 | 5 | 7 |
| Feb | 15 | 15 | 5 | 7 |
| Mar | 13 | 13 | 4 | 6 |
| Apr | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 |
| May | 6 | 6 | -2 | 0 |
| Jun | 2 | 2 | -4 | -2 |
| Jul | 2 | 2 | -5 | -3 |
| Aug | 4 | 4 | -4 | -2 |
| Sep | 6 | 7 | -3 | -1 |
| Oct | 10 | 10 | -1 | 1 |
| Nov | 12 | 12 | 1 | 4 |
| Dec | 14 | 14 | 3 | 6 |
Average hourly temperature in El Calafate
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on January afternoons, near 16°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near -3°C.
El Calafate weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16° / 7° | 54 | 11.3 | 0 | 15.7 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 15° / 7° | 63 | 10.1 | 0.3 | 14.3 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 13° / 6° | 67 | 12.2 | 0.6 | 12.5 | 3.5 |
| Apr | 10° / 3° | 72 | 11.9 | 2.8 | 10.5 | 2.0 |
| May | 6° / 0° | 66 | 12.2 | 5.5 | 8.8 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 2° / -2° | 50 | 10.1 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 2° / -3° | 50 | 10.6 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 4° / -2° | 53 | 10.9 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 7° / -1° | 45 | 8.8 | 5.1 | 11.6 | 0.7 |
| Oct | 10° / 1° | 53 | 9.4 | 3.6 | 13.5 | 2.1 |
| Nov | 12° / 4° | 47 | 10.1 | 1.6 | 15.2 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 14° / 6° | 57 | 11.7 | 0.7 | 16.1 | 4.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
El Calafate gets about 678 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 3.5 months, from around Feb 14 to May 31, peaking in April at about 42% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 28.
April is the wettest month by volume, with 72 mm over about 12 wet days; September is the driest, with 45 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 37 | 36 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 30 | 31 | 33 | 38 |
| Rain days | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 11 |
| Feb | 36 | 10 |
| Mar | 40 | 12 |
| Apr | 39 | 12 |
| May | 39 | 12 |
| Jun | 33 | 10 |
| Jul | 34 | 11 |
| Aug | 35 | 11 |
| Sep | 30 | 9 |
| Oct | 31 | 9 |
| Nov | 33 | 10 |
| Dec | 38 | 12 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, El Calafate collects about 678 mm of rain across 129 wet days — roughly 56 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 72 mm, while September is the driest at just 45 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 54 | 63 | 67 | 72 | 66 | 50 | 50 | 53 | 45 | 53 | 47 | 57 |
| Rain days | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| Snow days | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 11 | 0 |
| Feb | 63 | 10 | 0 |
| Mar | 67 | 12 | 1 |
| Apr | 72 | 12 | 3 |
| May | 66 | 12 | 6 |
| Jun | 50 | 10 | 8 |
| Jul | 50 | 11 | 9 |
| Aug | 53 | 11 | 9 |
| Sep | 45 | 9 | 5 |
| Oct | 53 | 9 | 4 |
| Nov | 47 | 10 | 2 |
| Dec | 57 | 12 | 1 |
Snow in El Calafate
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
El Calafate averages about 45 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Mar 10 to Dec 29 — about 9.7 months.
August is snowiest, with roughly 8 days of snow and an estimated 34 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 170 cm of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 27 | 33 | 34 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 2 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (cm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 1 |
| Mar | 1 | 2 |
| Apr | 3 | 9 |
| May | 6 | 19 |
| Jun | 8 | 27 |
| Jul | 9 | 33 |
| Aug | 9 | 34 |
| Sep | 5 | 22 |
| Oct | 4 | 16 |
| Nov | 2 | 5 |
| Dec | 1 | 2 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In El Calafate, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around August 18 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around December 20. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 49% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around March 23 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around August 17. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 73% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 47 | 49 | 44 | 39 | 34 | 27 | 32 | 39 | 46 | 49 | 48 | 43 |
| Cloudier (%) | 53 | 51 | 56 | 61 | 66 | 73 | 68 | 61 | 54 | 51 | 52 | 57 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 53 |
| Feb | 49 | 51 |
| Mar | 44 | 56 |
| Apr | 39 | 61 |
| May | 34 | 66 |
| Jun | 27 | 73 |
| Jul | 32 | 68 |
| Aug | 39 | 61 |
| Sep | 46 | 54 |
| Oct | 49 | 51 |
| Nov | 48 | 52 |
| Dec | 43 | 57 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around December 14, brings about 16 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around June 15, only 7 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 8 h 24 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.5 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 9.7 | 11.6 | 13.5 | 15.2 | 16.1 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:06 | 6:55 | 7:45 | 8:35 | 9:22 | 9:54 | 9:49 | 9:02 | 7:55 | 6:48 | 5:56 | 5:40 |
| Sunset (PM) | 9:51 | 9:12 | 8:13 | 7:04 | 6:09 | 5:44 | 6:01 | 6:44 | 7:32 | 8:21 | 9:13 | 9:51 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.7 | 6:06 | 9:51 |
| Feb | 14.3 | 6:55 | 9:12 |
| Mar | 12.5 | 7:45 | 8:13 |
| Apr | 10.5 | 8:35 | 7:04 |
| May | 8.8 | 9:22 | 6:09 |
| Jun | 7.9 | 9:54 | 5:44 |
| Jul | 8.3 | 9:49 | 6:01 |
| Aug | 9.7 | 9:02 | 6:44 |
| Sep | 11.6 | 7:55 | 7:32 |
| Oct | 13.5 | 6:48 | 8:21 |
| Nov | 15.2 | 5:56 | 9:13 |
| Dec | 16.1 | 5:40 | 9:51 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
El Calafate averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 8 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.0 months, from around Aug 9 to Dec 8. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 8 sunny days (gloomy).
The greyest month is June, down near 3 sunny days — about 59% fewer than the September peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 7 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 7 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 5 | Gloomy |
| May | 5 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 3 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 4 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 7 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 8 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 8 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 7 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 6 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In El Calafate, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Dry (%) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 100 |
| Feb | 100 |
| Mar | 100 |
| Apr | 100 |
| May | 100 |
| Jun | 100 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 100 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 100 |
| Nov | 100 |
| Dec | 100 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in El Calafate is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 5.4 months, from around Oct 12 to Mar 25. The windiest month is December, averaging about 11 km/h (calm).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 26 to Oct 11, with July the calmest month at about 5 km/h.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | calm |
| Feb | 10 | calm |
| Mar | 8 | calm |
| Apr | 7 | calm |
| May | 6 | calm |
| Jun | 5 | calm |
| Jul | 5 | calm |
| Aug | 6 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | calm |
| Oct | 8 | calm |
| Nov | 10 | calm |
| Dec | 11 | calm |
Best time to visit El Calafate
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in El Calafate throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late February, El Calafate is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit El Calafate for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to early March, with a peak score in the last week of January.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 4.0 |
| Rating | fair | fair | fair | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.6 | fair |
| Feb | 4.6 | fair |
| Mar | 3.5 | fair |
| Apr | 2.0 | poor |
| May | 0.4 | poor |
| Jun | 0.0 | poor |
| Jul | 0.0 | poor |
| Aug | 0.0 | poor |
| Sep | 0.7 | poor |
| Oct | 2.1 | poor |
| Nov | 3.3 | poor |
| Dec | 4.0 | fair |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. El Calafate rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for El Calafate, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around January (highs near 16°C), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 2°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.
In January, El Calafate sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 7°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in El Calafate by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in El Calafate peaks around January 12 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 10 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | High | High | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Extreme |
| Feb | 9 | Very high |
| Mar | 5 | High |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 1 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 1 | Low |
| Aug | 2 | Low |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 7 | High |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Average hourly UV index in El Calafate
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in January the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 9 | 8 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 6 | 7.5 | 9.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 6.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 8 | 5 |
| Mar | 5.5 | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 2.5 | 0 |
| Oct | 6 | 0 |
| Nov | 7.5 | 3 |
| Dec | 9.5 | 6.5 |
Growing season
The growing season in El Calafate typically lasts about 237 days, from around September 25 to May 19 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from November 6 to April 17.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 99 | 90 | 56 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 39 | 73 | 94 | 99 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 6 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 99 | 0 |
| Apr | 90 | 15 |
| May | 56 | 31 |
| Jun | 20 | 30 |
| Jul | 15 | 31 |
| Aug | 18 | 31 |
| Sep | 39 | 30 |
| Oct | 73 | 31 |
| Nov | 94 | 6 |
| Dec | 99 | 0 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. El Calafate banks about 81 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around February.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 39 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 39 |
| Feb | 35 |
| Mar | 4 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 0 |
| Jul | 0 |
| Aug | 0 |
| Sep | 0 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 4 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
El Calafate receives about 3.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.8 and 7.2 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.7 months, from around Sep 23 to Mar 14. The brightest month is December, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is June, down near 0.8 kWh/m² — roughly 88% less than the December peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 6.8 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 6.8 | 7.2 |
| Level | Intense | Bright | Moderate | Moderate | Dim | Dim | Dim | Dim | Moderate | Bright | Intense | Intense |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.8 | Intense |
| Feb | 5.5 | Bright |
| Mar | 3.8 | Moderate |
| Apr | 2.3 | Moderate |
| May | 1.2 | Dim |
| Jun | 0.8 | Dim |
| Jul | 1.1 | Dim |
| Aug | 1.9 | Dim |
| Sep | 3.4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 5.3 | Bright |
| Nov | 6.8 | Intense |
| Dec | 7.2 | Intense |
Where is El Calafate?
El Calafate sits at 50.3°S, 72.3°W, 205 m above sea level, in Argentina. The nearest listed city is El Chalten, 121 km away.
Topography around El Calafate
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of El Calafate.
Within 3 km, the terrain around El Calafate has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 256 m around an average of 239 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,322 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,782 m.
The land around El Calafate is covered by grassland (54%) within 3 km, grassland (53%) and water (36%) within 16 km, and grassland (51%) and bare terrain (26%) within 80 km.
Argentina travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / I
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 46% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $14,898
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.4 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 4.5
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 14.1
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- High
- EF EPI 575
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for El Calafate (-50.3407°, -72.2768°, elevation 205 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).