Iquique weather in March

In March, Iquique sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 0 mm of rain across 0.1 wet days and about 12.1 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time in March, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 24 min at the start of March to 11 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Iquique's 1st-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Iquique's year-round climate.

Daytime high
21°
3rd warmest
Overnight low
19°
10th coldest
Rainfall
0 mm
0.1 wet days
Daylight
12 h 06 min
7:46 AM – 7:55 PM
Cloud cover
42%
1st clearest
Wind
12 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
7.07 kWh/m²
Travel score
8.3
out of 10

Iquique is city of Peru (1539–1884).

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 11.1 µg/m³ · 2019

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°C through the month.

A typical March day in Iquique reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 19°C overnight — a 2°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 20°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs on par with February and about 1°C warmer than April.

15°18°20°23°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12220
22220
32220
42220
52220
62220
72220
82220
92220
102220
112120
122119
132119
142119
152119
162119
172119
182119
192119
202119
212119
222119
232119
242119
252119
262119
272119
282119
292119
302119
312118

Iquique weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 3rd-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan22° / 20°10.213.18.1
Feb22° / 20°20.512.78.3
Mar21° / 19°00.112.18.3
Apr20° / 17°10.211.67.8
May19° / 16°82.311.17.1
Jun18° / 15°166.610.85.9
Jul17° / 14°16610.95.6
Aug16° / 14°103.411.35.8
Sep17° / 14°61.311.96.2
Oct17° / 15°30.212.56.7
Nov19° / 16°20.3137.3
Dec20° / 18°10.113.27.7

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time in March, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 25% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 25%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16832
26832
36733
46733
56832
66832
76832
86931
97030
107129
117129
127228
137327
147525
157525
167624
177822
187822
198020
208020
218020
228020
238020
248020
258020
268020
278020
287921
297822
307822
317624

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Iquique gets around 0 mm of rain over 0.1 wet days in March, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 0% and peaks near 0% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
250
260
270
280
290
300
310

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the humid band about 84% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 14% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
108020
208020
308020
408020
508020
608020
708020
808020
908119
1018019
1118019
1218118
1318118
1418217
1518316
1618415
1718514
1818514
1918613
2018712
2118811
2218811
2328810
242899
252899
263898
273898
284897
295887
306886
318875

Wind in March

Winds average 12 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
812calm
912calm
1012calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1412calm
1512light breeze
1612light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2012light breeze
2112light breeze
2212light breeze
2312light breeze
2412light breeze
2512light breeze
2612light breeze
2712light breeze
2812light breeze
2912light breeze
3012light breeze
3112light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 24 min at the start of March to 11 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 36 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:41 AM to 7:50 AM, and sunset from 8:07 PM to 7:41 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.47:418:07
212.47:418:06
312.47:428:05
412.47:428:05
512.47:428:04
612.37:438:03
712.37:438:02
812.37:438:01
912.37:448:01
1012.37:448:00
1112.27:447:59
1212.27:457:58
1312.27:457:57
1412.27:457:56
1512.27:467:55
1612.17:467:55
1712.17:467:54
1812.17:477:53
1912.17:477:52
2012.17:477:51
2112.07:477:50
2212.07:487:49
2312.07:487:48
2412.07:487:47
2512.07:497:46
2611.97:497:46
2711.97:497:45
2811.97:497:44
2911.97:507:43
3011.97:507:42
3111.87:507:41

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 7.07 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.26 kWh/m² to a high of 8.22 kWh/m² in December across the year — March's 7.07 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

02468151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
17.5Intense
27.5Intense
37.4Intense
47.4Intense
57.4Intense
67.3Intense
77.3Intense
87.3Intense
97.3Intense
107.2Intense
117.2Intense
127.2Intense
137.2Intense
147.1Intense
157.1Intense
167.1Intense
177.0Intense
187.0Intense
197.0Intense
207.0Intense
216.9Intense
226.9Intense
236.9Intense
246.8Intense
256.8Intense
266.8Intense
276.7Intense
286.7Intense
296.7Intense
306.6Intense
316.6Intense
Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Iquique?

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

8.3
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
5.2
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

March is one of the better times to visit Iquique for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Iquique in March

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

In March, Iquique sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 19°C. Pack sun protection.

sun protection

Sea temperature near Iquique in March

The nearest coast averages about 21°C in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in January at about 22°C and coldest in August near 17°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Dec 6 to Apr 10 — about 4.1 months when the water holds above 20°C.

16°18°20°22°24°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan22Refreshing
Feb22Refreshing
Mar21Refreshing
Apr20Cool
May19Cool
Jun18Cool
Jul17Cool
Aug17Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct18Cool
Nov19Cool
Dec20Refreshing

UV index in Iquique in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Iquique peaks around January 23 at about 15 (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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeJan 23UV 15Jul 11UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar13Extreme
Apr10Extreme
May8Very high
Jun7High
Jul7High
Aug9Very high
Sep12Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec15Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Iquique?

Iquique sits at 20.2°S, 70.2°W, 15 m above sea level, in Chile. The nearest listed city is Alto Hospicio, 8.0 km away.

TacnaCalamaIloSan Antonio

Topography around Iquique

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Iquique has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 642 m around an average of 37 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,366 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,271 m.

The land around Iquique is covered by water (56%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 3 km, water (54%) and bare terrain (43%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (65%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km
642 m
16 km
1,366 m
80 km
2,271 m
shrubsartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
March weather nearby: Alto Hospicio 8.0 km · Pozo Almonte 38 km · Arica 194 km · Tocopilla 209 km · Tacna 245 km · Calama 280 km · Ilo 313 km · San Antonio 343 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
Catholic 57%none 26%Evangelical or Protestant 16%other Christians and traditions related to 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 Iquique (-20.2133°, -70.1503°, elevation 15 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).