Climate of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, has a temperate climate, which is classified as a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification. Summers are hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms while winters are cool and drier with frosts that occurs on average twice per year. Spring and fall are transition seasons characterized by changeable weather. At the central observatory,^{[note 1]} the highest temperature recorded is 43.3 °C (109.9 °F), and the lowest temperature recorded is −5.4 °C (22.3 °F).

Different climatic factors influence the climate of Buenos Aires. The semi–permanent South Atlantic High influences its climate throughout the year by bringing in moist winds from the northeast, which bring most of the precipitation to the city in the form of frontal systems during winter or storms produced by cyclogenesis in autumn and winter. The hot temperatures and high insolation in the summer months form a low pressure system called the Chaco Low over northern Argentina, generating a pressure gradient that brings moist easterly winds to the city – because of this, summer is the rainiest season. In contrast, this low pressure system weakens in the winter, which combined with strong southerly winds results in a drier season due to weaker easterly winds. Being located in the Pampas, Buenos Aires has variable weather due to the passage of contrasting air mass – the cold, dry Pampero from the south and warm, humid tropical air from the north. The coastal location results in a strong maritime influence, causing extreme temperatures (hot or cold) to be rare.

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