The climate of the Falkland Islands is cool and temperate, regulated by the large oceans which surround it. The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory located over 480 kilometres (298 mi) from South America, to the north of the Antarctic Convergence, where cooler waters from the south mix with warmer waters from the north.
Winds mostly come from the west, creating a difference between the relative levels of precipitation between the eastern islands and the western islands. The total annual rainfall is only about 573.6 mm (23 in). Although snow falls, strong winds mean it often fails to settle.
The temperature of the islands fluctuates within a narrow band, not reaching higher than 24 °C (75 °F) or lower than −5 °C (23 °F). There are long hours of daylight in the summer, although the actual number of hours of sunlight is limited by cloud cover.