Climate and average weather in Potosí
In Potosí, the weather is mild, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near mild levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around January.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Potosí typically varies from -3°C to 18°C, and is rarely below -6°C or above 21°C. October is the hottest month of the year, while February is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Potosí for warm-weather activities is from mid April to early November.
- Hottest
- Oct
- 18°
- Coldest
- Feb
- 6°
- Wettest
- Jan
- 171 mm
- Driest
- Jun
- 2 mm
- Rain / yr
- 771 mm
- 142 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.8–13.2 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 3,967 m
- 19.6°S
- Clearest
- Jul
- 24% cloud
Potosí is city in Bolivia.
- Density
- 1,195/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1545
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Potosí 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 mid April to early November.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Potosí, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Potosí stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is October, with an average high of 18°C and low of 4°C; the coolest is February, with an average low of 6°C and high of 15°C.
Days typically run about 13°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 18°C) in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| Avg low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | -2 | -2 | -1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | 6 |
| Feb | 15 | 6 |
| Mar | 15 | 5 |
| Apr | 16 | 3 |
| May | 16 | 0 |
| Jun | 15 | -2 |
| Jul | 15 | -2 |
| Aug | 16 | -1 |
| Sep | 17 | 2 |
| Oct | 18 | 4 |
| Nov | 17 | 5 |
| Dec | 16 | 6 |
How hot and cold Potosí 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 -6°C (around July 16), with roughly 146 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Air high (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | -3 | -5 | -6 | -4 | -1 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Air low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | -2 | -2 | -1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | 15 | 5 | 6 |
| Feb | 15 | 15 | 5 | 6 |
| Mar | 15 | 15 | 4 | 5 |
| Apr | 16 | 16 | 2 | 3 |
| May | 16 | 16 | -3 | 0 |
| Jun | 15 | 15 | -5 | -2 |
| Jul | 15 | 15 | -6 | -2 |
| Aug | 16 | 16 | -4 | -1 |
| Sep | 17 | 17 | -1 | 2 |
| Oct | 17 | 18 | 2 | 4 |
| Nov | 17 | 17 | 4 | 5 |
| Dec | 16 | 16 | 5 | 6 |
Average hourly temperature in Potosí
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 October afternoons, near 18°C, and coldest before dawn in February, near 6°C.
Potosí 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 | 15° / 6° | 171 | 25.8 | 0.2 | 13.1 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 15° / 6° | 147 | 23.4 | 0.1 | 12.7 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 15° / 5° | 108 | 21.4 | 0.2 | 12.1 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 16° / 3° | 35 | 9.6 | 0 | 11.6 | 5.1 |
| May | 16° / -0° | 6 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 11.1 | 6.4 |
| Jun | 15° / -2° | 2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 10.8 | 6.3 |
| Jul | 15° / -3° | 4 | 1 | 0.3 | 10.9 | 6.1 |
| Aug | 16° / -1° | 10 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 11.3 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 17° / 2° | 26 | 6.5 | 0.2 | 11.9 | 6.2 |
| Oct | 18° / 4° | 51 | 11.8 | 0.2 | 12.5 | 5.6 |
| Nov | 17° / 5° | 77 | 15.6 | 0.2 | 12.9 | 4.7 |
| Dec | 16° / 6° | 133 | 22.5 | 0.1 | 13.2 | 3.5 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Potosí gets about 771 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 5.8 months, from around Oct 18 to Apr 11, peaking in February at about 85% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 12.
January is the wettest month by volume, with 171 mm over about 26 wet days; June is the driest, with 2 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 83 | 83 | 68 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 38 | 53 | 72 |
| Rain days | 26 | 23 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 23 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 83 | 26 |
| Feb | 83 | 23 |
| Mar | 68 | 21 |
| Apr | 33 | 10 |
| May | 6 | 2 |
| Jun | 2 | 1 |
| Jul | 3 | 1 |
| Aug | 9 | 3 |
| Sep | 21 | 7 |
| Oct | 38 | 12 |
| Nov | 53 | 16 |
| Dec | 72 | 23 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Potosí collects about 771 mm of rain across 142 wet days — roughly 64 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 171 mm, while June is the driest at just 2 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 58% 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) | 171 | 147 | 108 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 26 | 51 | 77 | 133 |
| Rain days | 26 | 23 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 23 |
| Snow days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 171 | 26 | 0 |
| Feb | 147 | 23 | 0 |
| Mar | 108 | 21 | 0 |
| Apr | 35 | 10 | 0 |
| May | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Jun | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jul | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Sep | 26 | 7 | 0 |
| Oct | 51 | 12 | 0 |
| Nov | 77 | 16 | 0 |
| Dec | 133 | 23 | 0 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Potosí, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around April 10 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around October 12. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 86% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 13 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around April 9. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 14 | 17 | 32 | 59 | 77 | 84 | 86 | 83 | 72 | 52 | 35 | 19 |
| Cloudier (%) | 86 | 83 | 68 | 41 | 23 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 28 | 48 | 65 | 81 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 86 |
| Feb | 17 | 83 |
| Mar | 32 | 68 |
| Apr | 59 | 41 |
| May | 77 | 23 |
| Jun | 84 | 16 |
| Jul | 86 | 14 |
| Aug | 83 | 17 |
| Sep | 72 | 28 |
| Oct | 52 | 48 |
| Nov | 35 | 65 |
| Dec | 19 | 81 |
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 January 1, brings about 13 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around June 10, only 10 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 24 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 13.1 | 12.7 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 11.3 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 12.9 | 13.2 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:00 | 6:18 | 6:29 | 6:37 | 6:47 | 6:58 | 7:01 | 6:47 | 6:21 | 5:54 | 5:40 | 5:44 |
| Sunset (PM) | 7:04 | 6:58 | 6:37 | 6:10 | 5:52 | 5:48 | 5:56 | 6:07 | 6:14 | 6:22 | 6:37 | 6:54 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.1 | 6:00 | 7:04 |
| Feb | 12.7 | 6:18 | 6:58 |
| Mar | 12.1 | 6:29 | 6:37 |
| Apr | 11.6 | 6:37 | 6:10 |
| May | 11.1 | 6:47 | 5:52 |
| Jun | 10.8 | 6:58 | 5:48 |
| Jul | 10.9 | 7:01 | 5:56 |
| Aug | 11.3 | 6:47 | 6:07 |
| Sep | 11.9 | 6:21 | 6:14 |
| Oct | 12.5 | 5:54 | 6:22 |
| Nov | 12.9 | 5:40 | 6:37 |
| Dec | 13.2 | 5:44 | 6:54 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Potosí averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 23 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 5.7 months, from around Apr 15 to Oct 5. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 23 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is February, down near 2 sunny days — about 92% fewer than the July peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 2 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 4 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 11 | Mixed |
| May | 20 | Bright |
| Jun | 22 | Bright |
| Jul | 23 | Bright |
| Aug | 21 | Bright |
| Sep | 15 | Bright |
| Oct | 10 | Mixed |
| Nov | 6 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 3 | 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 Potosí, 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.
Wind in Potosí is steady company: average speeds sit near 7 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | calm |
| Feb | 6 | calm |
| Mar | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 6 | calm |
| May | 7 | calm |
| Jun | 7 | calm |
| Jul | 8 | calm |
| Aug | 8 | calm |
| Sep | 8 | calm |
| Oct | 7 | calm |
| Nov | 7 | calm |
| Dec | 7 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Potosí
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Potosí's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Potosí
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Potosí throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late April, Potosí is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.
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 Potosí for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to late October, with a peak score in the last week of August.
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) | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 3.5 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | fair | good | good | good | good | good | good | fair | fair |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.7 | poor |
| Feb | 2.8 | poor |
| Mar | 3.3 | poor |
| Apr | 5.1 | fair |
| May | 6.4 | good |
| Jun | 6.3 | good |
| Jul | 6.2 | good |
| Aug | 6.4 | good |
| Sep | 6.2 | good |
| Oct | 5.6 | good |
| Nov | 4.7 | fair |
| Dec | 3.5 | fair |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Potosí for hot-weather activities is from late August to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of October.
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 Potosí, 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.
Potosí packs about the same all year — highs hold near 18°C. Across the year the things worth having are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection.
In October, Potosí sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 4°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Potosí 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 Potosí peaks around January 21 at about 18 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 8 (very high).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | Extreme |
| Feb | 18 | Extreme |
| Mar | 16 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 10 | Extreme |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 12 | Extreme |
| Sep | 15 | Extreme |
| Oct | 16 | Extreme |
| Nov | 17 | Extreme |
| Dec | 18 | Extreme |
Average hourly UV index in Potosí
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 9.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 8 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) | 9.5 | 9 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 9.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 9 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 8.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 7.5 | 6 |
| May | 7 | 5 |
| Jun | 6.5 | 4 |
| Jul | 6.5 | 4 |
| Aug | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Sep | 8 | 6.5 |
| Oct | 8.5 | 7 |
| Nov | 9 | 7.5 |
| Dec | 9.5 | 7.5 |
Growing season
The growing season in Potosí typically lasts about 260 days, from around August 27 to May 13 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from September 30 to April 18.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 91 | 47 | 16 | 14 | 37 | 76 | 97 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 91 | 15 |
| May | 47 | 31 |
| Jun | 16 | 30 |
| Jul | 14 | 31 |
| Aug | 37 | 31 |
| Sep | 76 | 30 |
| Oct | 97 | 1 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 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. Potosí banks about 104 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around November.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 38 | 31 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 7 |
| Feb | 3 |
| Mar | 1 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 0 |
| Jul | 0 |
| Aug | 0 |
| Sep | 0 |
| Oct | 24 |
| Nov | 38 |
| Dec | 31 |
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.
Potosí receives about 6.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 5.2 and 7.5 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Aug 23 to Feb 9. The brightest month is November, averaging about 7.4 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is June, down near 5.3 kWh/m² — roughly 28% less than the November peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 6.5 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Level | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.5 | Intense |
| Feb | 6.3 | Intense |
| Mar | 6.1 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.0 | Bright |
| May | 5.7 | Bright |
| Jun | 5.3 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.5 | Bright |
| Aug | 6.2 | Intense |
| Sep | 6.9 | Intense |
| Oct | 7.4 | Intense |
| Nov | 7.4 | Intense |
| Dec | 7.0 | Intense |
Where is Potosí?
Potosí sits at 19.6°S, 65.8°W, 3,967 m above sea level, in Bolivia. The nearest listed city is Sucre, 80 km away.
Topography around Potosí
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Potosí.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Potosí has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 695 m around an average of 4,008 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,712 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,305 m.
The land around Potosí is covered by artificial surfaces (51%) and bare terrain (29%) within 3 km, grassland (72%) and bare terrain (24%) within 16 km, and grassland (71%) and bare terrain (23%) within 80 km.
Bolivia travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type A / B / C
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 40% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $5,148
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.8 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 4.4
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 21.1
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Lower middle
- World Bank
- English
- Moderate
- EF EPI 521
- 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 Potosí (-19.5836°, -65.7531°, elevation 3,967 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).