Climate and average weather in Calama
In Calama, the weather is warm, dry, and mostly clear and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near warm levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around February.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Calama typically varies from 3°C to 23°C, and is rarely below 0°C or above 25°C. December is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Calama for warm-weather activities is from early January to late December.
- Hottest
- Dec
- 23°
- Coldest
- Jul
- 3°
- Wettest
- Feb
- 11 mm
- Driest
- Oct
- 0 mm
- Rain / yr
- 43 mm
- 9 wet days
- Daylight
- 10.6–13.4 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 2,275 m
- 22.5°S
- Clearest
- Sep
- 10% cloud
Calama is city in Chile.
- Air quality
- Good
- PM2.5 6.8 µg/m³ · 2019
- Density
- 4,838/km²
- people per km²
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Calama 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 late December.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Calama, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Calama stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is December, with an average high of 23°C and low of 9°C; the coolest is July, with an average low of 3°C and high of 19°C.
Days typically run about 15°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 16°C) in July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Avg low (°C) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 10 |
| Feb | 22 | 10 |
| Mar | 22 | 9 |
| Apr | 22 | 7 |
| May | 20 | 5 |
| Jun | 19 | 3 |
| Jul | 19 | 3 |
| Aug | 20 | 4 |
| Sep | 21 | 6 |
| Oct | 22 | 7 |
| Nov | 23 | 8 |
| Dec | 23 | 9 |
How hot and cold Calama 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 -1°C (around July 14), with roughly 45 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) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Air high (°C) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Air low (°C) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 22 | 9 | 10 |
| Feb | 22 | 22 | 9 | 10 |
| Mar | 22 | 22 | 7 | 9 |
| Apr | 22 | 22 | 4 | 7 |
| May | 20 | 20 | 2 | 5 |
| Jun | 19 | 19 | 0 | 3 |
| Jul | 19 | 19 | 0 | 3 |
| Aug | 20 | 20 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep | 21 | 21 | 3 | 6 |
| Oct | 22 | 22 | 5 | 7 |
| Nov | 23 | 23 | 6 | 8 |
| Dec | 23 | 23 | 7 | 9 |
Average hourly temperature in Calama
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 December afternoons, near 23°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near 3°C.
Calama weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22° / 10° | 9 | 2.4 | 13.2 | 8.2 |
| Feb | 22° / 10° | 11 | 2.7 | 12.8 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 22° / 9° | 6 | 1.1 | 12.2 | 8.7 |
| Apr | 22° / 7° | 2 | 0.3 | 11.5 | 8.9 |
| May | 20° / 5° | 5 | 0.5 | 10.9 | 8.6 |
| Jun | 19° / 3° | 4 | 0.3 | 10.7 | 8.3 |
| Jul | 19° / 3° | 3 | 0.6 | 10.8 | 8.2 |
| Aug | 20° / 4° | 3 | 0.4 | 11.2 | 8.7 |
| Sep | 21° / 6° | 1 | 0.2 | 11.9 | 9.0 |
| Oct | 22° / 7° | 0 | 0 | 12.5 | 9.2 |
| Nov | 23° / 8° | 0 | 0 | 13.1 | 9.3 |
| Dec | 23° / 9° | 1 | 0.3 | 13.4 | 8.9 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Calama gets about 43 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from around Dec 25 to Mar 29, peaking in February at about 12% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 29.
February is the wettest month by volume, with 11 mm over about 3 wet days; October is the driest, with 0 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 8 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rain days | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 2 |
| Feb | 9 | 3 |
| Mar | 3 | 1 |
| Apr | 1 | 0 |
| May | 2 | 1 |
| Jun | 1 | 0 |
| Jul | 2 | 1 |
| Aug | 1 | 0 |
| Sep | 1 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 1 | 0 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Calama collects about 43 mm of rain across 9 wet days — roughly 4 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 11 mm, while October is the driest at just 0 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 58% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 9 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rain days | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 2 |
| Feb | 11 | 3 |
| Mar | 6 | 1 |
| Apr | 2 | 0 |
| May | 5 | 1 |
| Jun | 4 | 0 |
| Jul | 3 | 1 |
| Aug | 3 | 0 |
| Sep | 1 | 0 |
| Oct | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 1 | 0 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Calama, 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 March 20 and lasts for 8.3 months, ending around November 27. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 94% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around November 28 and lasts for 3.7 months, ending around March 19. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 38% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 62 | 67 | 81 | 87 | 89 | 85 | 89 | 92 | 94 | 90 | 85 | 75 |
| Cloudier (%) | 38 | 33 | 19 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 38 |
| Feb | 67 | 33 |
| Mar | 81 | 19 |
| Apr | 87 | 13 |
| May | 89 | 11 |
| Jun | 85 | 15 |
| Jul | 89 | 11 |
| Aug | 92 | 8 |
| Sep | 94 | 6 |
| Oct | 90 | 10 |
| Nov | 85 | 15 |
| Dec | 75 | 25 |
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 24 min of light; the shortest, around June 12, only 10 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 48 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 11.5 | 10.9 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 13.1 | 13.4 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:08 | 7:27 | 7:41 | 7:51 | 8:04 | 8:17 | 8:19 | 8:03 | 7:34 | 7:05 | 6:48 | 6:51 |
| Sunset (PM) | 8:22 | 8:13 | 7:50 | 7:20 | 7:00 | 6:55 | 7:04 | 7:16 | 7:26 | 7:37 | 7:54 | 8:13 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.2 | 7:08 | 8:22 |
| Feb | 12.8 | 7:27 | 8:13 |
| Mar | 12.2 | 7:41 | 7:50 |
| Apr | 11.5 | 7:51 | 7:20 |
| May | 10.9 | 8:04 | 7:00 |
| Jun | 10.7 | 8:17 | 6:55 |
| Jul | 10.8 | 8:19 | 7:04 |
| Aug | 11.2 | 8:03 | 7:16 |
| Sep | 11.9 | 7:34 | 7:26 |
| Oct | 12.5 | 7:05 | 7:37 |
| Nov | 13.1 | 6:48 | 7:54 |
| Dec | 13.4 | 6:51 | 8:13 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Calama averages about 23 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 14 and 28 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 8.3 months, from around Mar 21 to Nov 29. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).
The greyest month is January, down near 15 sunny days — about 46% fewer than the September peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 15 | 15 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 20 |
| Sky | Mixed | Bright | Bright | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Brilliant | Bright |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | Mixed |
| Feb | 15 | Bright |
| Mar | 22 | Bright |
| Apr | 24 | Brilliant |
| May | 25 | Brilliant |
| Jun | 23 | Brilliant |
| Jul | 25 | Brilliant |
| Aug | 27 | Brilliant |
| Sep | 27 | Brilliant |
| Oct | 26 | Brilliant |
| Nov | 24 | Brilliant |
| Dec | 20 | Bright |
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 Calama, 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 Calama is steady company: average speeds sit near 12 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) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | calm |
| Feb | 11 | calm |
| Mar | 11 | calm |
| Apr | 11 | calm |
| May | 12 | calm |
| Jun | 12 | calm |
| Jul | 12 | calm |
| Aug | 12 | light breeze |
| Sep | 13 | light breeze |
| Oct | 13 | light breeze |
| Nov | 13 | light breeze |
| Dec | 12 | light breeze |
Best time to visit Calama
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Calama throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid January, Calama 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, Calama suits general outdoor tourist activities for most of the year, with a peak score in the first week of November.
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) | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.9 |
| Rating | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal | ideal |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.2 | ideal |
| Feb | 8.2 | ideal |
| Mar | 8.7 | ideal |
| Apr | 8.9 | ideal |
| May | 8.6 | ideal |
| Jun | 8.2 | ideal |
| Jul | 8.2 | ideal |
| Aug | 8.7 | ideal |
| Sep | 9.0 | ideal |
| Oct | 9.2 | ideal |
| Nov | 9.2 | ideal |
| Dec | 8.9 | ideal |
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 Calama for hot-weather activities is from mid September to late April, with a peak score in the last week of November.
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 Calama, 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.
Calama packs about the same all year — highs hold near 23°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, sun protection and a warm layer.
In December, Calama sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 9°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes.
UV index (midday) in Calama 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 Calama peaks around January 1 at about 17 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 11 at about 7 (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) | 17 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Extreme |
| Feb | 16 | Extreme |
| Mar | 15 | Extreme |
| Apr | 11 | Extreme |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 7 | Very high |
| Jul | 7 | High |
| Aug | 10 | Very high |
| Sep | 13 | Extreme |
| Oct | 15 | Extreme |
| Nov | 16 | Extreme |
| Dec | 17 | Extreme |
Average hourly UV index in Calama
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 7.5 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) | 9.5 | 9 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 9.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4.5 | 3 | 3 | 4.5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.5 | 7.5 |
| Feb | 9 | 7 |
| Mar | 8.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 7.5 | 5 |
| May | 6.5 | 4.5 |
| Jun | 6 | 3 |
| Jul | 6 | 3 |
| Aug | 7 | 4.5 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 8.5 | 7 |
| Nov | 9 | 7 |
| Dec | 9.5 | 7.5 |
Growing season
Calama is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 96 | 91 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 99 | 0 |
| Jun | 96 | 0 |
| Jul | 91 | 7 |
| Aug | 98 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| 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. Calama banks about 1,428 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 193 | 171 | 170 | 123 | 71 | 30 | 22 | 61 | 102 | 144 | 158 | 183 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 193 |
| Feb | 171 |
| Mar | 170 |
| Apr | 123 |
| May | 71 |
| Jun | 30 |
| Jul | 22 |
| Aug | 61 |
| Sep | 102 |
| Oct | 144 |
| Nov | 158 |
| Dec | 183 |
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.
Calama receives about 7.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — intense — with a clear seasonal swing between 4.8 and 9.2 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Sep 11 to Mar 27. The brightest month is December, averaging about 9.1 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is June, down near 4.9 kWh/m² — roughly 46% less than the December peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 8.3 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 9.1 |
| Level | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.3 | Intense |
| Feb | 7.8 | Intense |
| Mar | 7.4 | Intense |
| Apr | 6.5 | Intense |
| May | 5.4 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.9 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.1 | Bright |
| Aug | 6.1 | Intense |
| Sep | 7.3 | Intense |
| Oct | 8.5 | Intense |
| Nov | 9.1 | Intense |
| Dec | 9.1 | Intense |
Where is Calama?
Calama sits at 22.5°S, 68.9°W, 2,275 m above sea level, in Chile. The nearest listed city is San Pedro de Atacama, 90 km away.
Topography around Calama
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Calama.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Calama has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 119 m around an average of 2,268 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,554 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,822 m.
The land around Calama is covered by artificial surfaces (56%) and bare terrain (29%) within 3 km, bare terrain (94%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (99%) within 80 km.
Chile travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type C / F / L
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 48% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $17,995
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.3 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 98%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 6.3
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 14.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Moderate
- EF EPI 517
- 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 Calama (-22.4567°, -68.9237°, elevation 2,275 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).