Atacama Desert Temperature by Month

Atacama Desert in Antofagasta Region, Chile enjoys a stable climate, with daytime temperatures staying close to 23°C (73°F) throughout the year. Explore the full monthly breakdown below.

With little seasonal fluctuation, Atacama Desert offers a predictable and steady climate. Maximum daytime temperatures reach a comfortable 25°C (77°F) in February and a pleasant 20°C (68°F) in July. At night, lows range from 11°C (52°F) to 1°C (34°F) throughout the year.

The chart below illustrates the average maximum day and minimum night temperatures in Atacama Desert by month:

Low temperatures are most often recorded between 4 AM and 6 AM, while highs typically occur around 3 PM.

The chart below shows the average temperature throughout the year:

Atacama Desert's average annual maximum temperature is 23°C (73°F). To put that in context, here's how it compares to a few well-known destinations:

Barcelona, Spain has an annual average of around 21°C (70°F), with warm summers and mild, fairly short winters.

Queenstown, New Zealand averages 10°C (50°F) annually, remember seasons are flipped, so its coldest months fall in June and July.

Osaka, Japan averages 22°C (72°F) annually, with hot humid summers, mild winters, and pleasant spring and autumn seasons.

Brisbane, Australia averages 26°C (79°F) a year, with warm winters and hot, humid summers.

Climate temperature data is typically calculated as a 30-year average. This smooths out year-to-year variability and gives a more reliable picture of what a place is actually like, rather than what happened in any single unusual year.

The readings come from a range of sources, land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, ships, and satellites. That data is collected by weather services around the world, then pooled, quality-checked, and averaged to produce the climate records you see here.

Whether a city sits on the coast or deep inland makes a significant difference to its climate. Coastal areas tend to have more stable temperatures year-round, large bodies of water absorb heat slowly in summer and release it gradually in winter, keeping extremes in check. Cities far from the sea don't benefit from that buffer, which is why continental climates tend to have hotter summers and colder winters than their coastal counterparts at the same latitude.

For more on Atacama Desert's weather, including monthly rainfall, sunshine hours, and humidity, visit our Atacama Desert climate page.