La Rioja in Summer

In summer (December, January and February), La Rioja sees average daytime highs around 32°C and overnight lows near 21°C, with 263 mm of rain over about 30 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 32°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels humid.

Summer is La Rioja's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see La Rioja's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
32°C
warmest season of the year
Avg overnight low
21°C
Rainfall
263 mm
30 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
4.3
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in La Rioja in Summer

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 32°C.

A typical summer day in La Rioja reaches about 32°C and drops to 21°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

15°20°25°30°35°40°DecJanFeb

How summer really feels in La Rioja

Once humidity and wind are folded in, summer brings about 47 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
47
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in summer is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

La Rioja weather by month

How the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan32° / 22°10211.213.73.9
Feb31° / 21°769.613.14.8
Mar28° / 19°789.812.26.1
Apr24° / 15°477.911.37.4
May20° / 11°295.510.57.1
Jun17° / 153.410.26.5
Jul17° / 102.210.37.0
Aug21° / 102.110.98.3
Sep24° / 12°243.411.88.5
Oct28° / 16°48612.77.1
Nov30° / 19°617.713.55.3
Dec32° / 21°859.313.84.2

Cloud cover in Summer

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 45% of the time across summer.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Summer

Any precipitation

La Rioja gets around 263 mm of rain over 30 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Summer

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of summer feels humid — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Summer

Winds average 8 km/h across summer.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Summer

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 42 min in early December to 12 h 42 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Summer

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 6.3 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in summer

Hazard calendar for La Rioja

In seasonPeak

In summer, La Rioja overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

La Rioja's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is summer a good time to visit La Rioja?

Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.3
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
6.6
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

summer is a reasonable time to visit La Rioja for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for La Rioja in Summer

From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In summer, La Rioja sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 30 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in La Rioja in Summer

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in La Rioja peaks around January 20 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 4 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeHighModerateVery highExtremeJan 20UV 14Jun 22UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar12Extreme
Apr7High
May5Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug5Moderate
Sep7Very high
Oct11Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec13Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is La Rioja?

La Rioja sits at 29.4°S, 66.9°W, 493 m above sea level, in Argentina. The nearest listed city is Chilecito, 68 km away.

Cruz del EjeAguilaresDeán Funes

Topography around La Rioja

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of La Rioja.

Within 3 km, the terrain around La Rioja has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 141 m around an average of 516 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,895 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,858 m.

The land around La Rioja is covered by artificial surfaces (70%) within 3 km, shrubs (58%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and shrubs (76%) within 80 km.

3 km
141 m
16 km
1,895 m
80 km
3,858 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Summer weather nearby: Chilecito 68 km · Aimogasta 95 km · Catamarca 148 km · San Isidro 153 km · Belén 197 km · Cruz del Eje 246 km · Aguilares 252 km · Deán Funes 266 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
Roman Catholic 63%none 19%Evangelical 15%Jehovah's Witness and Church of Jesus Christ 1%

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 La Rioja (-29.4133°, -66.8564°, elevation 493 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.