Coquimbo climate
Coquimbo (Chile) has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh). The average temperature over the year is 20 °C67 °F, and about 92 mm3.6 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Coquimbo climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2882 | 1864 | 2373 | 10.0 |
| Feb | 2781 | 1865 | 2373 | 10.0 |
| Mar | 2780 | 1864 | 2272 | 10.1 |
| Apr | 2576 | 1661 | 2069 | 20.1 |
| May | 2373 | 1458 | 1865 | 190.7 |
| Jun | 2170 | 1355 | 1763 | 251.0 |
| Jul | 2069 | 1253 | 1661 | 210.8 |
| Aug | 2171 | 1254 | 1762 | 130.5 |
| Sep | 2373 | 1355 | 1864 | 30.1 |
| Oct | 2476 | 1457 | 1966 | 30.1 |
| Nov | 2678 | 1660 | 2169 | 10.0 |
| Dec | 2680 | 1762 | 2271 | 10.0 |
| Year | 2882 | 1253 | 2067 | 923.6 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62% | 69% | 6.7 | 13:52 |
| Feb | 63% | 68% | 6.2 | 13:11 |
| Mar | 61% | 70% | 5.1 | 12:21 |
| Apr | 59% | 68% | 4.0 | 11:24 |
| May | 60% | 74% | 3.0 | 10:38 |
| Jun | 59% | 68% | 2.7 | 10:14 |
| Jul | 60% | 65% | 3.0 | 10:23 |
| Aug | 59% | 65% | 3.7 | 11:03 |
| Sep | 57% | 68% | 4.7 | 11:57 |
| Oct | 55% | 70% | 5.7 | 12:53 |
| Nov | 56% | 72% | 6.4 | 13:41 |
| Dec | 59% | 72% | 6.7 | 14:04 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Coquimbo is like
The warmest month is February, with an average high of 27 °C81 °F and a low of 18 °C65 °F. The coldest is July, when highs average 20 °C69 °F and lows 12 °C53 °F. Seasonal differences are small — just 6.6 °C12 °F between the warmest and the coolest month.
It is very dry, with only 92 mm3.6 in of precipitation in an average year. The wettest three-month stretch is May–July, which brings 71% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: August–May. The wettest month is June (25 mm1.0 in), the driest is January (1 mm0.0 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 55% in October to 63% in February. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 65%) are typical of July. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 7 km/h (4 mph) in May to 10 km/h (7 mph) in December. Daylight lasts from about 10.2 hours in June to 14.1 hours in December.
Best time to visit Coquimbo
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are all year: average highs of 20 °C69 °F to 28 °C82 °F with 1 mm0.0 in to 25 mm1.0 in of precipitation per month.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Coquimbo
- Summer (December–February) — highs 2680 to 28 °C82 °F, lows 1762 to 18 °C65 °F, about 1 mm0.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
- Autumn (March–May) — highs 2373 to 27 °C80 °F, lows 1458 to 18 °C64 °F, about 7 mm0.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
- Winter (June–August) — highs 2069 to 21 °C71 °F, lows 1253 to 13 °C55 °F, about 20 mm0.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
- Spring (September–November) — highs 2373 to 26 °C78 °F, lows 1355 to 16 °C60 °F, about 2 mm0.1 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses.
How Coquimbo compares
Compared with Viña del Mar, about 342 km to the south, Coquimbo is on average 1.4 °C2.4 °F warmer and receives 68% less precipitation (92 mm3.6 in vs 287 mm11 in). The difference is largest in August (2.9 °C5.3 °F warmer).
Of the 25 places in Chile covered by World Climates, Coquimbo is the 4th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 19th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Chile climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern (seasons shifted for the other hemisphere where needed): Telde (Spain, BWh), Marsa Matruh (Egypt, BWh) and Idku (Egypt, BWh).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains La Serena (pop. 154,521). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Coquimbo, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Copiapó 304 km · 17 °C62 °F · 38 mm1.5 in
- Rawson 323 km · 21 °C70 °F · 145 mm5.7 in
- Viña del Mar 342 km · 18 °C65 °F · 287 mm11 in
- Valparaíso 344 km · 14 °C58 °F · 238 mm9.4 in
- Colina 367 km · 20 °C68 °F · 256 mm10 in
- Santiago 395 km · 19 °C67 °F · 274 mm11 in
- Mendoza 403 km · 17 °C63 °F · 290 mm11 in
- La Rioja 437 km · 22 °C71 °F · 436 mm17 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Coquimbo?
February is the warmest month in Coquimbo, with an average high of 27 °C (81 °F) and an average low of 18 °C (65 °F).
What is the coldest month in Coquimbo?
July is the coldest month, with an average high of 20 °C (69 °F) and an average low of 12 °C (53 °F).
When does it rain the most in Coquimbo?
June is the wettest month with about 25 mm (1.0 in) of precipitation; January is the driest with about 1 mm (0.0 in).
What is the best time to visit Coquimbo?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are all year.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 467 m, while Coquimbo lies at about 22 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +2.9 °C5.2 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.