Punta Arenas in Summer
In summer (December, January and February), Punta Arenas sees average daytime highs around 11°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 245 mm of rain over about 56 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels dry.
Summer is Punta Arenas's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Punta Arenas's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 11°C
- warmest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 6°C
- Rainfall
- 245 mm
- 56 wet days
- Avg wind
- 23 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.2
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Punta Arenas in Summer
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C.
A typical summer day in Punta Arenas reaches about 11°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.
How summer really feels in Punta Arenas
Once humidity and wind are folded in, summer brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
summer 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 the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| 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 Summer
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time across summer.
Chance of precipitation in Summer
Punta Arenas gets around 245 mm of rain over 56 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Summer
Most of summer feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Summer
Winds average 23 km/h across summer.
Sunrise & sunset in Summer
Daylight runs from about 16 h 18 min in early December to 13 h 42 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Summer
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 5.2 kWh/m².
Is summer a good time to visit Punta Arenas?
Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
summer is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Punta Arenas.
What to pack for Punta Arenas in Summer
From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In summer, 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 56 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Punta Arenas in Summer
The nearest coast averages about 9°C across summer — 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 Summer
Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages 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 |
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.
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.