Climate and Average Weather Year Round at El Alto International Airport Bolivia

The climate at El Alto International Airport is cool and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 28°F to 60°F and is rarely below 23°F or above 65°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit El Alto International Airport for warm-weather activities are for the entire month of May and from late August to late November.

The temperature at El Alto International Airport varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.

At El Alto International Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at El Alto International Airport begins around April 24 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around September 23.

The clearest month of the year at El Alto International Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 23 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around April 24.

The cloudiest month of the year at El Alto International Airport is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at El Alto International Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.5 months, from December 8 to March 25, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at El Alto International Airport is January, with an average of 14.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.5 months, from March 25 to December 8. The month with the fewest wet days at El Alto International Airport is July, with an average of 0.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at El Alto International Airport is January, with an average of 14.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 50% on January 9.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. El Alto International Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from September 14 to April 25, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at El Alto International Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from April 25 to September 14. The month with the least rain at El Alto International Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. El Alto International Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

Snow falls throughout the year at El Alto International Airport. The month with the most snow at El Alto International Airport is August, with an average snowfall of 0.7 inches.

The least snow falls around March 31, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at El Alto International Airport varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 9 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 13 hours, 7 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:50 AM on November 24, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 12 minutes later at 7:02 AM on July 6. The earliest sunset is at 6:06 PM on June 3, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 6 minutes later at 7:12 PM on January 19.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed at El Alto International Airport during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at El Alto International Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at El Alto International Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from August 19 to April 6, with average wind speeds of more than 6.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at El Alto International Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.4 months, from April 6 to August 19. The calmest month of the year at El Alto International Airport is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at El Alto International Airport is from the north throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at El Alto International Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit El Alto International Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are for the entire month of May and from late August to late November, with a peak score in the first week of November.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at El Alto International Airport typically lasts for 5.8 months (175 days), from around October 28 to around April 21, rarely starting before September 20 or after November 26, and rarely ending before March 29 or after May 11.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at El Alto International Airport should appear around September 8, only rarely appearing before August 19 or after September 27.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from October 5 to December 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year at El Alto International Airport is November, with an average of 6.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from May 17 to July 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year at El Alto International Airport is June, with an average of 5.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of El Alto International Airport are -16.513 deg latitude, -68.192 deg longitude, and 13,241 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of El Alto International Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 397 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 13,260 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (5,561 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (18,832 feet).

The area within 2 miles of El Alto International Airport is covered by artificial surfaces (100%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (38%) and grassland (21%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (25%) and grassland (25%).