San Pedro de Atacama weather in December

In December, San Pedro de Atacama sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 2 mm of rain across 0.6 wet days and about 13.4 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 66% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 18 min at the start of December to 13 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is San Pedro de Atacama's 10th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see San Pedro de Atacama's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 26°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 2 mm; 0.6 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 24 min; 6:47 AM – 8:11 PM
Cloud cover: 31%; 10th clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 9.24 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.6; out of 10

San Pedro de Atacama is town in Chile.

Density: 4,745/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1450

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

← November San Pedro de Atacama 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 26°C through the month.

A typical December day in San Pedro de Atacama reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 12°C overnight — a 15°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 24°C and 28°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with 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)	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26
Avg low (°C)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13

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

How December really feels in San Pedro de Atacama

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.

San Pedro de Atacama weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 1st-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	26° / 13°	22	3.8	13.2	8.0
Feb	25° / 12°	28	4.6	12.8	8.0
Mar	25° / 11°	14	2.5	12.2	8.8
Apr	23° / 8°	3	0.6	11.5	9.2
May	20° / 5°	3	0.7	10.9	8.6
Jun	19° / 3°	2	0.3	10.6	8.2
Jul	19° / 3°	2	0.7	10.7	8.2
Aug	20° / 4°	3	0.5	11.2	8.7
Sep	22° / 6°	2	0.4	11.9	9.2
Oct	24° / 8°	0	0.1	12.5	9.5
Nov	26° / 10°	0	0	13.1	9.2
Dec	26° / 12°	2	0.6	13.4	8.6

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 66% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 22%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	85	84	84	83	82	82	82	82	81	80	80	80	80	80	79	78	78	78	77	76	76	74	74	73	72	71	71	71	70	70	70
Cloudier (%)	15	16	16	17	18	18	18	18	19	20	20	20	20	20	21	22	22	22	23	24	24	26	26	27	28	29	29	29	30	30	30

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	83	17
5	82	18
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	82	18
9	81	19
10	80	20
11	80	20
12	80	20
13	80	20
14	80	20
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	77	23
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	74	26
23	74	26
24	73	27
25	72	28
26	71	29
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

San Pedro de Atacama gets around 2 mm of rain over 0.6 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 2% and peaks near 5% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	5

	Rain chance (%)
1	0
2	0
3	1
4	1
5	1
6	1
7	1
8	1
9	1
10	1
11	2
12	2
13	2
14	2
15	2
16	2
17	2
18	2
19	2
20	2
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	4
28	4
29	4
30	4
31	5

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 8 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 8 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)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	8	calm
2	8	calm
3	8	calm
4	8	calm
5	8	calm
6	8	calm
7	8	calm
8	8	calm
9	8	calm
10	8	calm
11	8	calm
12	8	calm
13	8	calm
14	8	calm
15	8	calm
16	8	calm
17	8	calm
18	8	calm
19	8	calm
20	8	calm
21	8	calm
22	8	calm
23	8	calm
24	8	calm
25	8	calm
26	8	calm
27	8	calm
28	8	calm
29	8	calm
30	8	calm
31	8	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 18 min at the start of December to 13 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:43 AM to 6:54 AM, and sunset from 8:02 PM to 8:18 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)	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4
Sunrise (AM)	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:44	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:45	6:45	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:46	6:47	6:47	6:47	6:48	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:50	6:51	6:51	6:52	6:52	6:53	6:53	6:54	6:54
Sunset (PM)	8:02	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:04	8:05	8:06	8:06	8:07	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:09	8:10	8:10	8:11	8:11	8:12	8:13	8:13	8:14	8:14	8:14	8:15	8:15	8:16	8:16	8:17	8:17	8:17	8:18

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.3	6:43	8:02
2	13.3	6:43	8:02
3	13.3	6:44	8:03
4	13.3	6:44	8:04
5	13.3	6:44	8:04
6	13.3	6:44	8:05
7	13.4	6:44	8:06
8	13.4	6:45	8:06
9	13.4	6:45	8:07
10	13.4	6:45	8:07
11	13.4	6:45	8:08
12	13.4	6:46	8:09
13	13.4	6:46	8:09
14	13.4	6:46	8:10
15	13.4	6:47	8:10
16	13.4	6:47	8:11
17	13.4	6:47	8:11
18	13.4	6:48	8:12
19	13.4	6:48	8:13
20	13.4	6:49	8:13
21	13.4	6:49	8:14
22	13.4	6:50	8:14
23	13.4	6:50	8:14
24	13.4	6:51	8:15
25	13.4	6:51	8:15
26	13.4	6:52	8:16
27	13.4	6:52	8:16
28	13.4	6:53	8:17
29	13.4	6:53	8:17
30	13.4	6:54	8:17
31	13.4	6:54	8:18

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 9.24 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.84 kWh/m² to a high of 9.24 kWh/m² in December across the year — December's 9.24 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)	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.0	9.0	9.0	8.9	8.9
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	9.3	Intense
2	9.3	Intense
3	9.3	Intense
4	9.3	Intense
5	9.3	Intense
6	9.3	Intense
7	9.3	Intense
8	9.3	Intense
9	9.3	Intense
10	9.3	Intense
11	9.3	Intense
12	9.3	Intense
13	9.3	Intense
14	9.3	Intense
15	9.3	Intense
16	9.2	Intense
17	9.2	Intense
18	9.2	Intense
19	9.2	Intense
20	9.2	Intense
21	9.2	Intense
22	9.2	Intense
23	9.1	Intense
24	9.1	Intense
25	9.1	Intense
26	9.1	Intense
27	9.0	Intense
28	9.0	Intense
29	9.0	Intense
30	8.9	Intense
31	8.9	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit San Pedro de Atacama?

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

8.6

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

8.3

Beach & pool

2nd-best month of the year

December is one of the better times to visit San Pedro de Atacama for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for San Pedro de Atacama in December

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

In December, San Pedro de Atacama sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 12°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes.

sun protectionlight clothes

UV index in San Pedro de Atacama in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 17 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in San Pedro de Atacama peaks around January 13 at about 17 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 10 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	17	15	11	9	7	7	10	13	15	16	17
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	17	Extreme
Feb	17	Extreme
Mar	15	Extreme
Apr	11	Extreme
May	9	Very high
Jun	7	High
Jul	7	High
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	15	Extreme
Nov	16	Extreme
Dec	17	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is San Pedro de Atacama?

San Pedro de Atacama sits at 22.9°S, 68.2°W, 0 m above sea level, in Chile. The nearest listed city is Calama, 90 km away.

Topography around San Pedro de Atacama

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of San Pedro de Atacama.

Within 3 km, the terrain around San Pedro de Atacama has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 228 m around an average of 2,445 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 704 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,696 m.

The land around San Pedro de Atacama is covered by bare terrain (81%) within 3 km, bare terrain (98%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (96%) within 80 km.

3 km

228 m

bare terrain 81%

16 km

704 m

bare terrain 98%

80 km

3,696 m

bare terrain 96%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← November San Pedro de Atacama year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Calama 90 km · Tocopilla 224 km · Antofagasta 239 km · Villazón 283 km · Tupiza 303 km · Uyuni 307 km · San Salvador de Jujuy 329 km · Pozo Almonte 338 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 San Pedro de Atacama (-22.9111°, -68.2011°, elevation 0 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	83	17
5	82	18
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	82	18
9	81	19
10	80	20
11	80	20
12	80	20
13	80	20
14	80	20
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	77	23
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	74	26
23	74	26
24	73	27
25	72	28
26	71	29
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	0
2	0
3	1
4	1
5	1
6	1
7	1
8	1
9	1
10	1
11	2
12	2
13	2
14	2
15	2
16	2
17	2
18	2
19	2
20	2
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	4
28	4
29	4
30	4
31	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	83	17
5	82	18
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	82	18
9	81	19
10	80	20
11	80	20
12	80	20
13	80	20
14	80	20
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	77	23
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	74	26
23	74	26
24	73	27
25	72	28
26	71	29
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	0
2	0
3	1
4	1
5	1
6	1
7	1
8	1
9	1
10	1
11	2
12	2
13	2
14	2
15	2
16	2
17	2
18	2
19	2
20	2
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	4
28	4
29	4
30	4
31	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	83	17
5	82	18
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	82	18
9	81	19
10	80	20
11	80	20
12	80	20
13	80	20
14	80	20
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	77	23
20	76	24
21	76	24
22	74	26
23	74	26
24	73	27
25	72	28
26	71	29
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	0
2	0
3	1
4	1
5	1
6	1
7	1
8	1
9	1
10	1
11	2
12	2
13	2
14	2
15	2
16	2
17	2
18	2
19	2
20	2
21	3
22	3
23	3
24	3
25	3
26	3
27	4
28	4
29	4
30	4
31	5

	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