Río Gallegos weather in December

In December, Río Gallegos sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 48 mm of rain across 12.2 wet days and about 16.3 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 16 h 06 min at the start of December to 16 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Río Gallegos's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Río Gallegos's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 17°; 3rd warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 48 mm; 12.2 wet days
Daylight: 16 h 24 min; 5:21 AM – 9:45 PM
Cloud cover: 73%; 12th clearest
Wind: 25 km/h; 1st windiest
Solar energy: 6.52 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.0; out of 10

Río Gallegos is capital and largest settlement of the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz in Argentina.

Founded: 1885

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← November Río Gallegos year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month.

A typical December day in Río Gallegos reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 1°C warmer than November and about 1°C cooler than January.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	7
2	17	7
3	17	7
4	17	7
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	7
14	17	7
15	17	7
16	17	7
17	17	7
18	17	7
19	17	7
20	17	8
21	17	8
22	17	8
23	17	8
24	17	8
25	17	8
26	17	8
27	17	8
28	17	8
29	17	8
30	17	8
31	17	8

How December really feels in Río Gallegos

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Río Gallegos weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 3rd-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	18° / 8°	42	10.9	0	15.9	5.6
Feb	18° / 8°	34	8.2	0	14.4	5.9
Mar	16° / 7°	37	9	0	12.5	4.9
Apr	12° / 4°	30	7.4	0	10.4	3.5
May	8° / 1°	26	5.9	0.4	8.7	1.7
Jun	5° / -1°	22	5.8	1.5	7.7	0.1
Jul	5° / -1°	21	5.5	1.5	8.1	0.2
Aug	8° / 0°	21	5.3	1.1	9.6	1.3
Sep	11° / 2°	21	6.1	0.6	11.6	2.7
Oct	14° / 4°	22	6.6	0.2	13.6	4.1
Nov	16° / 6°	31	9.2	0	15.4	4.8
Dec	17° / 7°	48	12.2	0	16.3	5.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 73%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	25	25	26	26	27	27	27	28	28	29	28	28	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	24	24
Cloudier (%)	75	75	74	74	73	73	73	72	72	71	72	72	71	71	71	72	72	72	72	73	73	73	74	74	74	75	75	75	75	76	76

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	25	75
2	25	75
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	27	73
6	27	73
7	27	73
8	28	72
9	28	72
10	29	71
11	28	72
12	28	72
13	29	71
14	29	71
15	29	71
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	28	72
20	27	73
21	27	73
22	27	73
23	26	74
24	26	74
25	26	74
26	25	75
27	25	75
28	25	75
29	25	75
30	24	76
31	24	76

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Río Gallegos gets around 48 mm of rain over 12.2 wet days in December, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 40% and peaks near 41% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	36	36	36	37	37	37	37	38	38	38	39	40	40	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	37
7	37
8	38
9	38
10	38
11	39
12	40
13	40
14	41
15	41
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in December

Winds average 25 km/h in December, the windiest month of the year.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 24 km/h on the calmest days to 25 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	24	24
Feels	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	25	breezy
2	25	breezy
3	25	breezy
4	25	breezy
5	25	breezy
6	25	breezy
7	25	breezy
8	25	breezy
9	25	breezy
10	25	breezy
11	25	breezy
12	25	breezy
13	25	breezy
14	25	breezy
15	25	breezy
16	25	breezy
17	25	breezy
18	25	breezy
19	25	breezy
20	25	breezy
21	25	breezy
22	25	breezy
23	25	breezy
24	25	breezy
25	24	breezy
26	24	breezy
27	24	breezy
28	24	breezy
29	24	breezy
30	24	breezy
31	24	breezy

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 16 h 06 min at the start of December to 16 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 18 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:25 AM to 5:29 AM, and sunset from 9:29 PM to 9:51 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	16.1	16.1	16.1	16.2	16.2	16.2	16.2	16.3	16.3	16.3	16.3	16.3	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.4
Sunrise (AM)	5:25	5:24	5:23	5:23	5:23	5:22	5:22	5:22	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:21	5:22	5:22	5:22	5:23	5:23	5:24	5:24	5:25	5:25	5:26	5:27	5:28	5:29	5:29
Sunset (PM)	9:29	9:30	9:32	9:33	9:34	9:35	9:36	9:38	9:39	9:40	9:41	9:42	9:43	9:43	9:44	9:45	9:46	9:46	9:47	9:48	9:48	9:49	9:49	9:50	9:50	9:50	9:50	9:51	9:51	9:51	9:51

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	16.1	5:25	9:29
2	16.1	5:24	9:30
3	16.1	5:23	9:32
4	16.2	5:23	9:33
5	16.2	5:23	9:34
6	16.2	5:22	9:35
7	16.2	5:22	9:36
8	16.3	5:22	9:38
9	16.3	5:21	9:39
10	16.3	5:21	9:40
11	16.3	5:21	9:41
12	16.3	5:21	9:42
13	16.4	5:21	9:43
14	16.4	5:21	9:43
15	16.4	5:21	9:44
16	16.4	5:21	9:45
17	16.4	5:21	9:46
18	16.4	5:22	9:46
19	16.4	5:22	9:47
20	16.4	5:22	9:48
21	16.4	5:23	9:48
22	16.4	5:23	9:49
23	16.4	5:24	9:49
24	16.4	5:24	9:50
25	16.4	5:25	9:50
26	16.4	5:25	9:50
27	16.4	5:26	9:50
28	16.4	5:27	9:51
29	16.4	5:28	9:51
30	16.4	5:29	9:51
31	16.4	5:29	9:51

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 6.52 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.81 kWh/m² to a high of 6.52 kWh/m² in December across the year — December's 6.52 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.4	Intense
2	6.4	Intense
3	6.4	Intense
4	6.5	Intense
5	6.5	Intense
6	6.5	Intense
7	6.5	Intense
8	6.5	Intense
9	6.5	Intense
10	6.5	Intense
11	6.5	Intense
12	6.5	Intense
13	6.5	Intense
14	6.5	Intense
15	6.5	Intense
16	6.5	Intense
17	6.5	Intense
18	6.5	Intense
19	6.5	Intense
20	6.5	Intense
21	6.5	Intense
22	6.5	Intense
23	6.5	Intense
24	6.5	Intense
25	6.5	Intense
26	6.5	Intense
27	6.5	Intense
28	6.4	Intense
29	6.4	Intense
30	6.4	Intense
31	6.4	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Río Gallegos?

Our two travel scores rate December for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.0

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

1.2

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Río Gallegos for sightseeing.

What to pack for Río Gallegos in December

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

In December, Río Gallegos sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 7°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer, rain gear and a windbreaker. About 12 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain geara windbreaker

Sea temperature near Río Gallegos in December

The nearest coast averages about 9°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 26 km away) is warmest in February at about 11°C and coldest in August near 4°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	11	11	11	9	8	6	5	4	4	6	8	9
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	11	Bracing
Feb	11	Bracing
Mar	11	Bracing
Apr	9	Bracing
May	8	Bracing
Jun	6	Bracing
Jul	5	Bracing
Aug	4	Bracing
Sep	4	Bracing
Oct	6	Bracing
Nov	8	Bracing
Dec	9	Bracing

UV index in Río Gallegos in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Río Gallegos peaks around December 22 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	9	8	4	2	1	1	1	1	2	5	6	9
Level	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	9	Very high
Feb	8	Very high
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	2	Moderate
May	1	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	1	Low
Aug	1	Low
Sep	2	Moderate
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	6	High
Dec	9	Very high

Location & terrain

Where is Río Gallegos?

Río Gallegos sits at 51.6°S, 69.3°W, 1 m above sea level, in Argentina. The nearest listed city is Punta Arenas, 205 km away.

Topography around Río Gallegos

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Río Gallegos has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 18 m around an average of 11 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 162 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 312 m.

The land around Río Gallegos is covered by artificial surfaces (46%) and grassland (32%) within 3 km, grassland (74%) within 16 km, and grassland (70%) and water (23%) within 80 km.

3 km

18 m

artificial surfaces 46%

16 km

162 m

grassland 74%

80 km

312 m

grassland 70%

treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← November Río Gallegos year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Punta Arenas 205 km · Puerto Natales 225 km · El Calafate 255 km · Río Grande 262 km · Ushuaia 360 km · El Chalten 362 km · Puerto Deseado 494 km · Pico Truncado 545 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 Río Gallegos (-51.6253°, -69.2523°, elevation 1 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	7
2	17	7
3	17	7
4	17	7
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	7
14	17	7
15	17	7
16	17	7
17	17	7
18	17	7
19	17	7
20	17	8
21	17	8
22	17	8
23	17	8
24	17	8
25	17	8
26	17	8
27	17	8
28	17	8
29	17	8
30	17	8
31	17	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	25	75
2	25	75
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	27	73
6	27	73
7	27	73
8	28	72
9	28	72
10	29	71
11	28	72
12	28	72
13	29	71
14	29	71
15	29	71
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	28	72
20	27	73
21	27	73
22	27	73
23	26	74
24	26	74
25	26	74
26	25	75
27	25	75
28	25	75
29	25	75
30	24	76
31	24	76

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	37
7	37
8	38
9	38
10	38
11	39
12	40
13	40
14	41
15	41
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	7
2	17	7
3	17	7
4	17	7
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	7
14	17	7
15	17	7
16	17	7
17	17	7
18	17	7
19	17	7
20	17	8
21	17	8
22	17	8
23	17	8
24	17	8
25	17	8
26	17	8
27	17	8
28	17	8
29	17	8
30	17	8
31	17	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	25	75
2	25	75
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	27	73
6	27	73
7	27	73
8	28	72
9	28	72
10	29	71
11	28	72
12	28	72
13	29	71
14	29	71
15	29	71
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	28	72
20	27	73
21	27	73
22	27	73
23	26	74
24	26	74
25	26	74
26	25	75
27	25	75
28	25	75
29	25	75
30	24	76
31	24	76

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	37
7	37
8	38
9	38
10	38
11	39
12	40
13	40
14	41
15	41
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	7
2	17	7
3	17	7
4	17	7
5	17	7
6	17	7
7	17	7
8	17	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	7
14	17	7
15	17	7
16	17	7
17	17	7
18	17	7
19	17	7
20	17	8
21	17	8
22	17	8
23	17	8
24	17	8
25	17	8
26	17	8
27	17	8
28	17	8
29	17	8
30	17	8
31	17	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	25	75
2	25	75
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	27	73
6	27	73
7	27	73
8	28	72
9	28	72
10	29	71
11	28	72
12	28	72
13	29	71
14	29	71
15	29	71
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	28	72
20	27	73
21	27	73
22	27	73
23	26	74
24	26	74
25	26	74
26	25	75
27	25	75
28	25	75
29	25	75
30	24	76
31	24	76

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	37
7	37
8	38
9	38
10	38
11	39
12	40
13	40
14	41
15	41
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100