Highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in Chile (2026): 42.2 °C in Los Ángeles and −28.3 °C in Balmaceda

The highest temperature recorded in Chile by the official network of the Chilean Meteorological Office (DMC) is 42.2 °C, measured at María Dolores airfield in Los Ángeles, Biobío Region, on January 26, 2017 at 17:00. The lowest is −28.3 °C, at Balmaceda, Aysén Region, in June 1958. The two extremes are 70.5 °C apart. The figures come from the DMC's historical series, checked station by station for this article.

*Updated on November 5, 2026, with DMC records up to that date.* We reviewed 32 DMC stations, from Visviri to Puerto Williams. 2026 figures are provisional.

Source: Chilean Meteorological Office, annual historical temperature for each station (for example Los Ángeles, Temuco and Chillán). When the DMC doesn't publish the day, we give the month or year in which the value appears in its series. The record is not in the Atacama Desert but in the southern central valley: in the north, the cold Humboldt Current coast tempers the highs, and the desert interior sits at altitude. Antofagasta's all-time high is only 31.8 °C; Calama's, 31.2 °C.

What about Quillón's 44.9 °C? During the January 26, 2017 heatwave, the same one that set the Los Ángeles record, a 44.9 °C reading in Quillón, Ñuble Region, was widely reported and still circulates as "the highest in Chile's history" (Wikipedia). That measurement does not come from a DMC network station and does not appear in its series. The officially recognized high is still Los Ángeles, as Meteored also notes citing the DMC.

Source: Chilean Meteorological Office (Balmaceda, Visviri, Coyhaique). Balmaceda, on the Aysén steppe near the Argentine border, has the network's lowest reading: −28.3 °C in June 1958, and its series reaches −25.2 °C in July (July 8, 2000). Its airfield, at 517 meters, is usually among the coldest places in the country each winter: in July 2026 it fell to −20.5 °C, the lowest in Chile this year, according to El Desconcierto and the DMC series itself.

The list is limited to the DMC network. On the Altiplano, stations run by other institutions above 4,000 meters may record lower lows; they are not included because they are not part of the DMC's official series and lack its length of record. Visviri, at 4,084 meters in the far north, has data only since 2013 and set its all-time low in 2026.

Each region has its own extreme. The maps take, for each region, the highest and lowest values among the DMC stations reviewed. Easter Island (30.9 °C and 6.1 °C) is left off the map because it lies in Polynesia.

Source: Chilean Meteorological Office, 2026 annual column for each station (provisional, as of November 5, 2026). On January 4, 2026, the DMC regional bulletin showed even higher readings in Osorno province at stations from other networks, such as 38.5 °C in Río Negro. Summer 2026-2027 starts with a Senapred preventive heat alert, in force until March 2027.

Between February 3 and 5, 2019, a heatwave in the south set the current record at nine stations in the table, from Valdivia to Porvenir: Coyhaique reached 35.7 °C, Balmaceda 35.3 °C, Puerto Natales 30.0 °C and Punta Arenas 28.7 °C. The north is the opposite: Copiapó and Caldera set their highs in winter (35.6 °C and 31.8 °C on August 13, 2019), driven by the dry terral wind blowing down from the interior.

Extremes are rare, but they show the country's range: in January the central valley can top 35 °C while in Patagonia you need warm clothes at night. If you travel through Santiago, Chillán, Los Ángeles or Temuco in summer, plan hikes early and check the wildfire season. In winter, Aysén and Magallanes can drop below −15 °C: see when to travel to Chile by season and when the snow season is. More national records are in Chile's natural records.

Methodology: for each station we took the all-time high and low published by the DMC on its annual historical temperature page, with the date when shown. We discarded three obviously wrong values in the database (a 121 °C high at Puerto Williams, an Iquique high dated in July that repeats in two years, and a −3.0 °C low at Rodelillo logged at 14:11) and the Rancagua station, whose series contains impossible values (−49.1 °C in February). If the DMC corrects or validates new data, this table will be updated at the same address.

What is the highest temperature ever recorded in Chile?

42.2 °C, at María Dolores airfield in Los Ángeles (Biobío), on January 26, 2017, according to the Chilean Meteorological Office.

What is the lowest temperature ever recorded in Chile?

−28.3 °C, at Balmaceda (Aysén), in June 1958, according to the DMC series. This refers to territory with DMC stations outside Antarctica.

What is the highest temperature recorded in Santiago?

38.3 °C at Quinta Normal and 39.3 °C at Pudahuel, both on January 26, 2019.

Why doesn't Quillón's 44.9 °C count?

Because it was not measured at a station in the DMC's official network. Readings from other networks can be useful, but they are not part of the series the DMC uses to define records.

How to cite this data

Viajando Chile (2026). *Highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in Chile (2026): 42.2 °C in Los Ángeles and −28.3 °C in Balmaceda*. Based on Chilean Meteorological Office data. Available at: https://viajandochile.com/en/news/highest-and-lowest-temperature-ever-recorded-in-chile