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El Calafate, Argentina climate
BSk Cold semi-arid
El Calafate has a mildly seasonal cool-temperate climate (Cold semi-arid, Köppen BSk). The hottest month is January with an average daily high near 19°C, while the coldest is July averaging around −4°C at night. Around 161 mm of precipitation falls each year, peaking in May (20 mm) and easing off in January (7 mm). At latitude 50°S, day length swings from 7.8 hours in midwinter to 16.2 hours at midsummer.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresHours of sunshine per day
Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)El Calafate climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 14 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 |
| Avg low (°C) | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | −2 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 7 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 6 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 14 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Avg low (°C) | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | −2 | −4 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 7 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 15 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 |
| Avg low (°C) | −4 | −3 | −1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 9 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 78 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 80 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 67 | 70 | 75 | 81 | 88 | 92 | 91 | 87 | 80 | 72 | 68 | 67 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.3 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 78 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 72 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 67 | 70 | 75 | 81 | 88 | 92 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 73 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 80 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 91 | 87 | 80 | 72 | 68 | 67 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.3 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from the WMO's CLINO 1991–2020 collection, measured at El_calafate_aero, about 17 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.