Climate

Abstract

There is a wide variety of climate types in Argentina mainly determined due to the extension of the country and the presence of the Andes toward the West. Two-third part of the country is defined by arid or semi-arid conditions. Aridity increases toward the West and South. Subtropical humid and humid climates prevail over the Pampa’s region and Northeast of the country. The annual mean precipitation varies from less than 100 mm on the West until 2000 mm on the Northeast. The seasonal precipitation shows maximum values in summer and minimum values in winter. The most recorded extreme temperature values over continental Argentina are –35.3 °C and 47.0 °C for minimum and maximum temperatures, respectively. The frequency of frost increases toward the South, and almost no sector of the country is free of frost occurrence. However, the main local agricultural crops need more than 120 of free frost days and almost two-third part of the country satisfies this requirement. Considering wind directions, North and Northeast have predominance over North and Central Argentina, whereas West and Northwest have more influence in the South. In spite of the influence exhibited by global processes like El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over precipitation in Argentina, the climate variability observed reveals the influence from many meteorological factors with complex interactions among them.