Climate - Falkland Islands

Index

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• Introduction - Stanley
• When to go
• What to pack

Introduction

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The climate of the Falkland Islands (or Malvinas) is cold maritime: winter is cold, windy and snowy, while summer is very cool, if not cold, and it's rainy and windy as well. Relative humidity is high, and the sky is often cloudy throughout the year. In autumn and winter, the wind can be stormy.
The islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean, so they have reversed seasons in comparison with the Northern Hemisphere.

The average daily temperature of the warmest months, January and February, is about 11 °C (52 °F), with highs around 16 °C (61 °F), while the average of the coldest months, namely June, July and August, is about 2.5/3 °C (36.5/37.5 °F), with highs around 5/6 °C (41/43 °F). This means that the climate of these islands is almost subpolar, and it's similar to that of Iceland, although it's slightly milder.

Precipitation is not abundant, around 550 millimeters (21.5 inches) per year, since a part of it falls on Chile, on the western Andean slopes, which are not far. However, the rains are frequent and well distributed throughout the year.
In fact, the westerlies blow all year round, so, weather fronts pass over the islands one after another, bringing clouds and rain (or snow), interspersed with sunny intervals, usually short-lived, or with variable or unstable weather.

Both the influence of the sea and the constant winds reduce the temperature range, so the islands rarely experience either warm weather or intense frosts. Generally, the temperature drops to -4/-5 °C (23/25 °F) on the coldest nights of the year, while it reaches 22/23 °C (72/73 °F) on the warmest days.

However, in the colder period, from April to October, snowfalls are frequent; moreover, wind and humidity exacerbate the feeling of cold. Some cold nights, with temperatures around freezing (0 °C or 32 °F), are possible even in summer, and in inland hills, snowfalls can occur even in this season.

Stanley

Here are the average temperatures in the capital, Stanley (formerly Port Stanley). Here, in 1992 the temperature reached 29 °C (84.5 °F) in January and dropped to -9.5 °C (-9.5 °F) in July.

Here is the average precipitation in Stanley.



On the Falkland Islands, the sun is rarely seen in winter, when the sky is often cloudy, while in late spring and summer, all in all, it shines for a decent number of hours. On average, there are 1,650 hours of sunshine per year.

The sea is cold all year round, as can be seen in the following table.

When to go

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The best time to visit the Falklands is the austral summer, from December to February, since it is the mildest period of the year. However, even in this period, there are wind and rain, and it can sometimes be a bit cold. Therefore, it will be useful to bring warm clothes.

What to pack

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In winter (June to August): bring warm clothes, such as a down jacket, a hat, gloves, a wind jacket, and a raincoat or umbrella.
In summer (December to February): bring a sweater, a shirt, a jacket, and a raincoat or umbrella.

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