Patagonia has a series of climates and microclimates, depending on the relief, the sea and the winds of the region. Unlike the rest of the country, where the Andes are the natural limit of Chile with Argentina, in Patagonia, the Andes border the Pacific Ocean directly. This characteristic affects the climate and flora of North Patagonia.
In Torres del Paine the climate is more pleasant, with temperatures that can reach 30 C in summer. However, the temperatures drop considerably in height, so all the mountains remain snowed for most of the year. On the coast, in the Pacific, the climate is colder and more humid.
Further south, towards Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams, the Andes Mountain Range has completely disappeared, allowing strong winds from the Pacific, more intense in summer, when they can reach 40 km per hour, almost completely disappearing in winter. In addition, this zone corresponds to a region of lower insolation, since its latitude is 51 and 56 S. At the same time, being surrounded by water levels the average temperature.
In Southern Chile, sunlight hours are also animals compared to the rest of the country. In winter they are reduced and they are extended in summer, arriving at 18 hours of light a day in December.
All the mentioned factors create in the area three zones defined as “coastal and insular” (Aysén), where rainfall reaches 3,000 mm per year; “transition” zone in Coihaique, where it rains 950 mm per year; and the steppe or pampa zone, in Balmaceda, where rainfall reaches only 500 mm per year.