Climate
Torres del Paine
All of Patagonia is in the southern hemisphere so summer is from December to
March and June 21st is the winter solstice.
The main characteristics of the Patagonian climate are a temperature range that
can be extreme: winter temperatures can drop to -15° C, and feel even colder
when it’s windy. However, the average winter temperature is -2° C.
In summer, the northern areas can reach 40° C and in Tierra del Fuego
temperatures can rise to 30° C although the average is 23° C.
The Andes and the Humbolt current are major influences on the region’s climatic
conditions as cold air which accompanies the current sweeps in from the
Antarctic and meets with warmer air over the land, creating rainfall in Chile,
but very little of the moisture reaches the Argentinian side of the mountains.
As a result the mountainous east coast of Chile is wet and tree-covered and the
Argentinian west coast is dry with bushy scrublands and strong winds that strip
the surface to cover everything with dust. Arid, wind-swept plains typify this
geographical feature known as steppe.
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