Calama in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Calama sees average daytime highs around 19°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 9 mm of rain over about 1 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 19°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 82% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Calama's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Calama's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 19°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 3°C
- Rainfall
- 9 mm
- 1 wet days
- Avg wind
- 12 km/h
- Travel score
- 8.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Calama in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 19°C.
A typical winter day in Calama reaches about 19°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.
How winter really feels in Calama
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 45 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Calama weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| 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 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 82% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Calama gets around 9 mm of rain over 1 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 12 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 42 min in early June to 11 h 30 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 5.4 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Calama?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is one of the better times to visit Calama for general sightseeing.
What to pack for Calama in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Calama sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 3°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer.
UV index in Calama in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 8 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
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 |
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.