San Pedro de Atacama weather in May

In May, San Pedro de Atacama sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 3 mm of precipitation across 0.7 wet days and about 10.9 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 81% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 12 min at the start of May to 10 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is San Pedro de Atacama's 5th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see San Pedro de Atacama's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 20°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 4th coldest
Precipitation: 3 mm; 0.7 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 54 min; 8:02 AM – 6:56 PM
Cloud cover: 17%; 5th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 5.4 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.

← April San Pedro de Atacama year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 19°C by the end.

A typical May day in San Pedro de Atacama reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 15°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 18°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C cooler than April and about 1°C warmer than June.

	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)	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	19	19
Avg low (°C)	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

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

How May really feels in San Pedro de Atacama

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May 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

May 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 May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 6th-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 May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 81% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 7% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 12%.

	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 (%)	89	89	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	88	88	89	89	89	89	89	89	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88
Cloudier (%)	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	89	11
5	89	11
6	88	12
7	88	12
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	89	11
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	89	11
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	88	12
22	88	12
23	88	12
24	88	12
25	88	12
26	88	12
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

San Pedro de Atacama gets around 3 mm of rain and snow over 0.7 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 2% and peaks near 3% 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 (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2

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

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May 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 May

Winds average 7 km/h in May.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 12 min at the start of May to 10 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 30 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 7:55 AM to 8:09 AM, and sunset from 7:05 PM to 6:51 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)	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7
Sunrise (AM)	7:55	7:56	7:56	7:56	7:57	7:57	7:58	7:58	7:59	7:59	8:00	8:00	8:01	8:01	8:02	8:02	8:02	8:03	8:03	8:04	8:04	8:05	8:05	8:06	8:06	8:07	8:07	8:08	8:08	8:08	8:09
Sunset (PM)	7:05	7:04	7:04	7:03	7:02	7:02	7:01	7:00	7:00	6:59	6:59	6:58	6:58	6:57	6:57	6:56	6:56	6:55	6:55	6:54	6:54	6:54	6:53	6:53	6:53	6:53	6:52	6:52	6:52	6:52	6:51

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.2	7:55	7:05
2	11.1	7:56	7:04
3	11.1	7:56	7:04
4	11.1	7:56	7:03
5	11.1	7:57	7:02
6	11.1	7:57	7:02
7	11.1	7:58	7:01
8	11.0	7:58	7:00
9	11.0	7:59	7:00
10	11.0	7:59	6:59
11	11.0	8:00	6:59
12	11.0	8:00	6:58
13	10.9	8:01	6:58
14	10.9	8:01	6:57
15	10.9	8:02	6:57
16	10.9	8:02	6:56
17	10.9	8:02	6:56
18	10.9	8:03	6:55
19	10.9	8:03	6:55
20	10.8	8:04	6:54
21	10.8	8:04	6:54
22	10.8	8:05	6:54
23	10.8	8:05	6:53
24	10.8	8:06	6:53
25	10.8	8:06	6:53
26	10.8	8:07	6:53
27	10.8	8:07	6:52
28	10.7	8:08	6:52
29	10.7	8:08	6:52
30	10.7	8:08	6:52
31	10.7	8:09	6:51

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.4 kWh/m².

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 — May's 5.4 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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)	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0
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	5.9	Bright
2	5.9	Bright
3	5.8	Bright
4	5.8	Bright
5	5.8	Bright
6	5.7	Bright
7	5.7	Bright
8	5.7	Bright
9	5.6	Bright
10	5.6	Bright
11	5.5	Bright
12	5.5	Bright
13	5.5	Bright
14	5.5	Bright
15	5.4	Bright
16	5.4	Bright
17	5.4	Bright
18	5.3	Bright
19	5.3	Bright
20	5.3	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.2	Bright
23	5.2	Bright
24	5.2	Bright
25	5.2	Bright
26	5.1	Bright
27	5.1	Bright
28	5.1	Bright
29	5.1	Bright
30	5.0	Bright
31	5.0	Bright

Planning a trip in May

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

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

8.6

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

4.7

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit San Pedro de Atacama for general sightseeing.

What to pack for San Pedro de Atacama in May

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

In May, San Pedro de Atacama sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection.

a warm layersun protection

UV index in San Pedro de Atacama in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 9 (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

← April San Pedro de Atacama year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	89	11
5	89	11
6	88	12
7	88	12
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	89	11
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	89	11
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	88	12
22	88	12
23	88	12
24	88	12
25	88	12
26	88	12
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	89	11
5	89	11
6	88	12
7	88	12
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	89	11
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	89	11
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	88	12
22	88	12
23	88	12
24	88	12
25	88	12
26	88	12
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	89	11
4	89	11
5	89	11
6	88	12
7	88	12
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	89	11
13	89	11
14	89	11
15	89	11
16	89	11
17	89	11
18	89	11
19	89	11
20	89	11
21	88	12
22	88	12
23	88	12
24	88	12
25	88	12
26	88	12
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	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