Weather locations in Argentina

Argentina stretches across an enormous range of latitudes, from the tropical north near the Bolivian border to the subpolar islands off Tierra del Fuego, and it holds several distinct climate zones at once. The humid Pampas in the centre, where most of the population lives, has a temperate to subtropical character with warm, wet summers and mild winters, while the far south is cool and windy all year. Buenos Aires averages about 23 °C in January and roughly 11 °C in July, with annual precipitation near 950 millimetres, most of it falling in the warmer months.

Main climate types

Three or four overlapping climate groups are usually recognised. The northern provinces, below about 23° S, are subtropical and seasonally dry. Córdoba and Buenos Aires sit in the humid temperate band. South of roughly 40° S, Patagonia is a cool, semi-desert steppe dominated by strong westerlies. The high Andes form a separate cold, arid zone reaching subpolar conditions in the far south.

Temperatures

Monthly means run from about 26 °C to 28 °C in the far north in January, down to about 2 °C in Tierra del Fuego; Buenos Aires sits around 23 °C in January and 11 °C in July. The Andean highlands are much colder, and frost is common at altitude even in summer. Snowfall is reliable in the southern Andes and far Patagonia, but the Pampas almost never sees snow.

Rainfall

Annual totals are highest on the humid eastern slope of the Andes near Tucumán, generally above 1,500 millimetres, and low in the rain shadow nearby and across Patagonia, which often receives less than 300 millimetres. The main cities are typically wettest between October and March. The Atacama region in the far northwest is one of the driest inhabited places on Earth.

When to go

Southern hemisphere summers, December to February, suit the Pampas, the northwest and the lakes of Patagonia, while winter, June to August, is milder and less humid in the north and the season for skiing in the Andes. Spring and autumn are quieter and pleasant in the centre. Travellers who dislike wind should avoid Patagonia in summer.