10.12.10

World Wide Weather #19: Copiapó, Chile

Posted in Non-US Weather, Weather News at 11:53 am by Rebekah

This week’s post in the global weather and climate series features Copiapó, Chile.

Mall Plaza Real in Copiapó, Chile. From Wikipedia.

As you’ve probably heard, after spending over 2 months in a collapsed mine, 33 miners in northern Chile are about to be lifted up to safety. The nearest town to this mine is Copiapó, so this week I thought I’d take a look at what the climate is like there.

Copiapó, in northern Chile, was founded in 1744 by the Copiapó River, which has since then dried up. The city is primarily a copper mining town (silver is also mined around there), with agriculture (grapes, olives, tomatoes, avocadoes, and citrus fruits) coming second.  Because Copiapó is surrounded by the Atacama Desert, it receives very little rain. The Atacama Desert is the driest desert on Earth, even though it lies on the Pacific Coast. Primary reasons the desert is so dry include the Humbolt Current off the coast (cold waters well up off the coast, keeping the air drier) and the Andes Mountains to the west (wind comes from the west and creates a rain shadow on the leeward side of the mountains). Copiapó is home to 129,091 people.

A few more facts about Copiapó (from Wikipedia):

  • Time zone: Chile Standard Time (UTC-4) or Chile Summer Time (UTC-3)
  • Elevation: 1,283 feet
  • Climate zone: Desert / steppe
  • Average high temperature: 79 °F (26 °C)
  • Average low temperature: 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Average annual precipitation: 0.5 inch (12 mm)

Current weather: Copiapó is the Southern Hemisphere, so it is currently spring there with summer coming soon. High temperatures this week are expected to start in the upper 60s, getting to upper 70s by the end of the week. Lows are forecast to be in the mid-40s to lower 50s. Skies are mostly clear although there is a slight chance of a trace of rain for tonight. Fog is common at night.

Here is a recent visible satellite image for South America, showing the location of Copiapó (from Meteo Chile, click to enlarge):

For weather maps and information on current and forecast Copiapó and Chile weather, see Meteo Chile (Chile’s meteorological agency website, in Spanish), Weather Online UK (maps, models, and forecasts for around the world), and Weather Underground.

For more information on Copiapó, here’s a link to Wikipedia, and here’s a link to Spanish Wikipedia (even more info, just in Spanish).

Next Tuesday I plan to take a look at the climate and weather in another part of the globe.  As always, if you have any comments or suggestions for future cities, please leave a comment!

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