Punta Arenas weather in December

In December, Punta Arenas sees average daytime highs of 11°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 88 mm of precipitation across 20.7 wet days and about 16.6 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 11°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 16 h 18 min at the start of December to 16 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Punta Arenas's 11th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Punta Arenas's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 11°; 3rd warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 10th coldest
Precipitation: 88 mm; 20.7 wet days
Daylight: 16 h 42 min; 5:19 AM – 10:00 PM
Cloud cover: 78%; 11th clearest
Wind: 23 km/h; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 5.79 kWh/m²
Travel score: 1.9; out of 10

Punta Arenas is Chilean city beside the Strait of Magellan.

Air quality: Excellent; PM2.5 4.6 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 3,121/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1848

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

← November Punta Arenas 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 11°C through the month.

A typical December day in Punta Arenas reaches about 11°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 13°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)	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Avg low (°C)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

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

How December really feels in Punta Arenas

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.

Punta Arenas weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 3rd-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	12° / 6°	89	20	0	16.1	2.3
Feb	12° / 6°	67	15.3	0	14.5	2.5
Mar	11° / 6°	83	17.4	0.3	12.5	2.0
Apr	8° / 4°	84	15.4	1.3	10.4	1.3
May	6° / 2°	60	13.2	2.9	8.4	0.4
Jun	4° / -0°	56	12.4	5.8	7.4	0.0
Jul	3° / -1°	56	12.9	6.6	7.8	0.0
Aug	4° / 0°	62	13.4	6.7	9.5	0.0
Sep	6° / 1°	54	12.2	3.6	11.6	0.5
Oct	8° / 3°	69	15.5	2.3	13.7	1.2
Nov	10° / 4°	78	18.3	0.3	15.6	1.6
Dec	11° / 6°	88	20.7	0.2	16.6	1.9

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 78%.

	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 (%)	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	19
Cloudier (%)	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	78	78	78	78	78	79	79	79	79	78	78	78	78	78	78	78	79	79	79	79	80	80	80	81

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	23	77
8	22	78
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	22	78
12	22	78
13	21	79
14	21	79
15	21	79
16	21	79
17	22	78
18	22	78
19	22	78
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	22	78
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	19	81

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Punta Arenas gets around 88 mm of rain and snow over 20.7 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 68% and peaks near 70% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	64	65	65	65	65	66	66	66	67	67	68	68	69	69	70	70	70	70	70	70	70	70	69	69	68	67	67	67	66	66	66

	Rain chance (%)
1	64
2	65
3	65
4	65
5	65
6	66
7	66
8	66
9	67
10	67
11	68
12	68
13	69
14	69
15	70
16	70
17	70
18	70
19	70
20	70
21	70
22	70
23	69
24	69
25	68
26	67
27	67
28	67
29	66
30	66
31	66

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 23 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 23 km/h on the calmest days to 24 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)	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23
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	24	breezy
2	23	breezy
3	23	breezy
4	23	breezy
5	23	breezy
6	23	breezy
7	23	breezy
8	23	breezy
9	23	breezy
10	23	breezy
11	23	breezy
12	23	breezy
13	23	breezy
14	23	breezy
15	23	breezy
16	23	breezy
17	23	breezy
18	23	breezy
19	23	breezy
20	23	breezy
21	23	breezy
22	23	breezy
23	23	breezy
24	23	breezy
25	23	breezy
26	23	breezy
27	23	breezy
28	23	breezy
29	23	breezy
30	23	breezy
31	23	breezy

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 16 h 18 min at the start of December to 16 h 36 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 5:23 AM to 5:28 AM, and sunset from 9:43 PM to 10:06 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)	16.3	16.4	16.4	16.4	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.6	16.6	16.6	16.6	16.6	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.7	16.6
Sunrise (AM)	5:23	5:23	5:22	5:22	5:21	5:21	5:20	5:20	5:20	5:19	5:19	5:19	5:19	5:19	5:19	5:19	5:19	5:20	5:20	5:20	5:21	5:21	5:22	5:22	5:23	5:23	5:24	5:25	5:26	5:27	5:28
Sunset (PM)	9:43	9:45	9:46	9:48	9:49	9:50	9:51	9:52	9:54	9:55	9:56	9:57	9:58	9:59	9:59	10:00	10:01	10:02	10:02	10:03	10:04	10:04	10:05	10:05	10:05	10:06	10:06	10:06	10:06	10:06	10:06

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	16.3	5:23	9:43
2	16.4	5:23	9:45
3	16.4	5:22	9:46
4	16.4	5:22	9:48
5	16.5	5:21	9:49
6	16.5	5:21	9:50
7	16.5	5:20	9:51
8	16.5	5:20	9:52
9	16.6	5:20	9:54
10	16.6	5:19	9:55
11	16.6	5:19	9:56
12	16.6	5:19	9:57
13	16.6	5:19	9:58
14	16.7	5:19	9:59
15	16.7	5:19	9:59
16	16.7	5:19	10:00
17	16.7	5:19	10:01
18	16.7	5:20	10:02
19	16.7	5:20	10:02
20	16.7	5:20	10:03
21	16.7	5:21	10:04
22	16.7	5:21	10:04
23	16.7	5:22	10:05
24	16.7	5:22	10:05
25	16.7	5:23	10:05
26	16.7	5:23	10:06
27	16.7	5:24	10:06
28	16.7	5:25	10:06
29	16.7	5:26	10:06
30	16.7	5:27	10:06
31	16.6	5:28	10:06

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.79 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.65 kWh/m² to a high of 5.79 kWh/m² in December across the year — December's 5.79 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)	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.7	Bright
2	5.7	Bright
3	5.7	Bright
4	5.7	Bright
5	5.7	Bright
6	5.7	Bright
7	5.7	Bright
8	5.7	Bright
9	5.7	Bright
10	5.8	Bright
11	5.8	Bright
12	5.8	Bright
13	5.8	Bright
14	5.8	Bright
15	5.8	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.8	Bright
19	5.8	Bright
20	5.8	Bright
21	5.8	Bright
22	5.8	Bright
23	5.8	Bright
24	5.8	Bright
25	5.8	Bright
26	5.8	Bright
27	5.8	Bright
28	5.8	Bright
29	5.8	Bright
30	5.7	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Punta Arenas?

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

1.9

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Punta Arenas.

What to pack for Punta Arenas in December

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

In December, Punta Arenas sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 6°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection and a windbreaker. About 21 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protectiona windbreaker

Sea temperature near Punta Arenas in December

The nearest coast averages about 8°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in February at about 9°C and coldest in August near 6°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)	9	9	9	8	7	7	6	6	6	6	7	8
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	9	Bracing
Feb	9	Bracing
Mar	9	Bracing
Apr	8	Bracing
May	7	Bracing
Jun	7	Bracing
Jul	6	Bracing
Aug	6	Bracing
Sep	6	Bracing
Oct	6	Bracing
Nov	7	Bracing
Dec	8	Bracing

UV index in Punta Arenas in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 8 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Punta Arenas peaks around January 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 0 (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	7	4	2	1	0	1	1	2	4	6	8
Level	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	9	Very high
Feb	7	Very high
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	2	Low
May	1	Low
Jun	0	Low
Jul	1	Low
Aug	1	Low
Sep	2	Moderate
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	6	High
Dec	8	Very high

Location & terrain

Where is Punta Arenas?

Punta Arenas sits at 53.2°S, 70.9°W, in Chile. The nearest listed city is Puerto Natales, 193 km away.

Topography around Punta Arenas

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Punta Arenas has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 97 m around an average of 21 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 620 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,226 m.

The land around Punta Arenas is covered by artificial surfaces (43%) and water (40%) within 3 km, water (48%), grassland (28%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%) and water (40%) within 80 km.

3 km

97 m

artificial surfaces 43%

16 km

620 m

water 48%

80 km

1,226 m

grassland 40%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← November Punta Arenas year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Puerto Natales 193 km · Río Gallegos 205 km · Río Grande 223 km · Ushuaia 250 km · El Calafate 328 km · El Chalten 448 km · Puerto Deseado 698 km · Pico Truncado 738 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 Punta Arenas (-53.1628°, -70.9092°), 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	10	5
2	11	5
3	11	5
4	11	5
5	11	5
6	11	5
7	11	5
8	11	5
9	11	5
10	11	6
11	11	6
12	11	6
13	11	6
14	11	6
15	11	6
16	11	6
17	11	6
18	11	6
19	11	6
20	11	6
21	11	6
22	11	6
23	11	6
24	11	6
25	11	6
26	11	6
27	11	6
28	11	6
29	11	6
30	11	6
31	11	6

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	23	77
8	22	78
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	22	78
12	22	78
13	21	79
14	21	79
15	21	79
16	21	79
17	22	78
18	22	78
19	22	78
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	22	78
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	19	81

	Rain chance (%)
1	64
2	65
3	65
4	65
5	65
6	66
7	66
8	66
9	67
10	67
11	68
12	68
13	69
14	69
15	70
16	70
17	70
18	70
19	70
20	70
21	70
22	70
23	69
24	69
25	68
26	67
27	67
28	67
29	66
30	66
31	66

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	23	77
8	22	78
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	22	78
12	22	78
13	21	79
14	21	79
15	21	79
16	21	79
17	22	78
18	22	78
19	22	78
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	22	78
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	19	81

	Rain chance (%)
1	64
2	65
3	65
4	65
5	65
6	66
7	66
8	66
9	67
10	67
11	68
12	68
13	69
14	69
15	70
16	70
17	70
18	70
19	70
20	70
21	70
22	70
23	69
24	69
25	68
26	67
27	67
28	67
29	66
30	66
31	66

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	23	77
8	22	78
9	22	78
10	22	78
11	22	78
12	22	78
13	21	79
14	21	79
15	21	79
16	21	79
17	22	78
18	22	78
19	22	78
20	22	78
21	22	78
22	22	78
23	22	78
24	21	79
25	21	79
26	21	79
27	21	79
28	20	80
29	20	80
30	20	80
31	19	81

	Rain chance (%)
1	64
2	65
3	65
4	65
5	65
6	66
7	66
8	66
9	67
10	67
11	68
12	68
13	69
14	69
15	70
16	70
17	70
18	70
19	70
20	70
21	70
22	70
23	69
24	69
25	68
26	67
27	67
28	67
29	66
30	66
31	66

	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