, with very mild, sunny winters (from June to August), and warm summers (from December to March), though without excesses and with cool nights.
Rains are very rare, and occur occasionally from June to August. As mentioned, the
is generally mild and sunny, although at night it can get cold, and the temperature can drop to around freezing. In other circumstances, the temperature can reach around 30 °C (86 °F), perhaps for just one day, when the wind blows down from the mountains.
The Copiapó River, which runs through the city, is normally dry, and only comes to life once every few years, during particularly intense thunderstorms. In these cases, as happened in June 1997 and March 2015, it can even flood the city.
region, at 27 degrees south latitude, at an altitude of 390 meters (1,279 feet) and 60 kilometers (37 miles) away from the sea. To the east are the
, and in particular, about 120 km (75 mi) to the east is the Volcán Copiapó, 6,052 meters (19,856 ft) high. Further east, on the border with Argentina, we find the
, which with its 6,893 meters (22,615 ft) is the second highest mountain in South America, and also the highest volcano in the world.
In this arid mountainous area, cold and windy, where glaciers are found at high altitudes, there are also valleys occupied by
. There is also a national park, the
, in whose lowest part, at an altitude of 3,750 metres (12,300 feet), we find the Salar de Maricunga. Further north-east, at an altitude of 4,335 metres (14,220 ft), we find the Laguna Verde.
to visit Copiapó is summer, from December to March, as it is the warmest and sunniest season.
Considering that it never rains and the temperatures are mild, you can also go in winter, but at night it can be cold, moreover, if you go hiking in the Andes you will find lower temperatures.
. Here are the average temperatures.
January, the warmest month of the year, is generally a warm month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
21.1 °C, with a minimum of
14.1 °C and a maximum of
28.1 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
10 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
30.5 °C. However, it reached
32.6 °C in January 1993.
Precipitation amounts to only
0 mm, so on average it never rains in the whole month.
The day lasts on average 13 hours and 35 minutes.
There are on average 9.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 70% of the time.
The average humidity is 60%.
The average wind speed is of
17.1 kph.
February is generally a warm month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
21 °C, with a minimum of
13.9 °C and a maximum of
28 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
10.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
30.5 °C. However, it reached
31.6 °C in February 2000.
Precipitation amounts to only
0.1 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 13 hours and 0 minutes.
There are on average 9.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 71% of the time.
The average humidity is 60%.
The average wind speed is of
16.6 kph.
March is generally a warm month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
20 °C, with a minimum of
12.8 °C and a maximum of
27.2 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
7.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
30 °C. However, it reached
32.6 °C in March 1997.
Precipitation amounts to only
1.2 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 12 hours and 10 minutes.
There are on average 8.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 70% of the time.
The average humidity is 62%.
The average wind speed is of
15.2 kph.
April is generally a very mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
17.6 °C, with a minimum of
10.8 °C and a maximum of
24.4 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
6 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
28 °C. However, it reached
30.1 °C in April 2004.
Precipitation amounts to only
1 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 11 hours and 25 minutes.
There are on average 6.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 59% of the time.
The average humidity is 64%.
The average wind speed is of
12.8 kph.
May is generally a very mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
15.4 °C, with a minimum of
8.5 °C and a maximum of
22.3 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
4 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
28.5 °C. However, it reached
31.5 °C in May 2001.
Precipitation amounts to only
1.5 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 10 hours and 40 minutes.
There are on average 6.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 60% of the time.
The average humidity is 64%.
The average wind speed is of
11.4 kph.
June is generally a mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
13.8 °C, with a minimum of
6.7 °C and a maximum of
20.8 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
2.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
27 °C. However, it reached
29.8 °C in June 1991.
Precipitation amounts to only
5.6 mm, and all occurs in one day.
The day lasts on average 10 hours and 25 minutes. June 21, the winter solstice, is the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
There are on average 6.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 61% of the time.
The average humidity is 63%.
The average wind speed is of
10.4 kph.
July, the coldest month of the year, is generally a mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
13.4 °C, with a minimum of
6.3 °C and a maximum of
20.5 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
1.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
27 °C. However, it reached
32 °C in July 2002.
Precipitation amounts to only
5.6 mm, and all occurs in one day.
The day lasts on average 10 hours and 35 minutes.
There are on average 7 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 66% of the time.
The average humidity is 62%.
The average wind speed is of
10.7 kph.
August is generally a very mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
14.6 °C, with a minimum of
7.4 °C and a maximum of
21.8 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
2.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
30 °C. However, it reached
33.9 °C in August 2002.
Precipitation amounts to only
3.4 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 11 hours and 10 minutes.
There are on average 7 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 64% of the time.
The average humidity is 61%.
The average wind speed is of
12.5 kph.
September is generally a very mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
15.6 °C, with a minimum of
8.1 °C and a maximum of
23.2 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
4 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
26.5 °C. However, it reached
29.4 °C in September 2003.
Precipitation amounts to only
0.3 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 12 hours and 0 minutes.
There are on average 8 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 66% of the time.
The average humidity is 61%.
The average wind speed is of
15 kph.
October is generally a very mild month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
16.9 °C, with a minimum of
9.6 °C and a maximum of
24.2 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
5.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
28 °C. However, it reached
31.6 °C in October 2001.
Precipitation amounts to only
0.1 mm, distributed over 0 days.
The day lasts on average 12 hours and 50 minutes.
There are on average 8.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 68% of the time.
The average humidity is 59%.
The average wind speed is of
16.7 kph.
November is generally a warm month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
18.1 °C, with a minimum of
10.8 °C and a maximum of
25.3 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
6.5 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
28 °C. However, it reached
29.9 °C in November 2002.
Precipitation amounts to only
0 mm, so on average it never rains in the whole month.
The day lasts on average 13 hours and 30 minutes.
There are on average 9 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 68% of the time.
The average humidity is 59%.
The average wind speed is of
17.7 kph.
December is generally a warm month. However, there are remarkable differences between night and day. The average temperature is of
19.7 °C, with a minimum of
12.5 °C and a maximum of
26.9 °C.
On the coldest nights of the month, the temperature usually drops to around
7 °C.
On the warmest days of the month, the temperature usually reaches around
29.5 °C. However, it reached
31.5 °C in December 1998.
Precipitation amounts to only
0 mm, so on average it never rains in the whole month.
The day lasts on average 13 hours and 50 minutes. December 21, the summer solstice, is the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
There are on average 9.5 hours of sunshine per day. So, the sun shines 68% of the time.
The average humidity is 58%.
The average wind speed is of
17.7 kph.