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La Paz is quite good for its altitude. Coolest season is dry and quite sunny, mid-season not bad either. Just the "summer" part gets the unpleasantness. OK for many of us, but not for the high-temp fan club.
La Paz's temperatures are truly abysmal. I don't even know why they would build a city in such a horrible location so high up. Average high in the warmest month is only 59F (15C). Many arctic locations have warmer summers than that! Also, almost every month of the year can have frost at night which would make it really chilly. However, as bad as the temperatures are, what would really get to me about living in La Paz is the lack of oxygen.
La Paz is quite good for its altitude. Coolest season is dry and quite sunny, mid-season not bad either. Just the "summer" part gets the unpleasantness. OK for many of us, but not for the high-temp fan club.
La Paz doesn't really have any seasons, in the temperature sense.
If it were Toronto, I'd call it perpetual mid-Spring.
I actually like La Paz better than Bogata.
Neither of these cities have enjoyable daily means. (avg between high and low)
Both of these cities have decent afternoon highs if they happened on sunny days.
La Paz also has 8 months with records between 24-27 C,
while Bogata has 2 months with records at 24 C and the rest of the year cooler.
Just knowing it "can" reach 25 C is a mood booster.
Bogata has better lows, but that would only matter if I needed to be up late and outdoors.
(clubbing would be more comfy there)
Bogata's skies are almost as dismal as Lima's.
But La Paz's cloudiest two months have 5 hours of sun, and the rest of the year probably better than 50% chance of sun.
However Lima is better still, because it's warm enough I could do without additional sun heating.
La Paz's temperatures are truly abysmal. I don't even know why they would build a city in such a horrible location so high up. Average high in the warmest month is only 59F (15C). Many arctic locations have warmer summers than that! Also, almost every month of the year can have frost at night which would make it really chilly. However, as bad as the temperatures are, what would really get to me about living in La Paz is the lack of oxygen.
La Paz's temperatures are truly abysmal. I don't even know why they would build a city in such a horrible location so high up. Average high in the warmest month is only 59F (15C). Many arctic locations have warmer summers than that! Also, almost every month of the year can have frost at night which would make it really chilly. However, as bad as the temperatures are, what would really get to me about living in La Paz is the lack of oxygen.
According to my source the average highs are 17C-19C - many of the people don't live on the Altiplano. You have to take account of the altitude variations within the city. I don't have the "higher temperature" priority, though somewhere warmer than La Paz would certainly be preferred. But sunshine is much more important to me. La Paz over Lima any day. It's appearance is also quite spectacular. Had the experience of catching a taxi to a "nearby" ski field (off-season and no snow) at over 17,000 ft, spent a couple of hours on the upside of 15,000 ft.
Their record high is 24 C, every month has a record low between 7-2 C and their warmest average monthly low is 11 C, which to me means virtually every morning is cold.
Their temps are so chilly, I might even like living in Toronto better.
wow. That is just wow.
Looking at La Paz's average highs and lows, their highs are only 2-3C warmer than Melbourne's average July high year round, and their highest average low is 1C colder than Melbourne's July low. I can't imagine living in such a climate, every night of the year is cold, about 1/3rd of all nights would see frost, and days year round would have somewhat unpleasant windchills if there is any wind.
Looking at La Paz's average highs and lows, their highs are only 2-3C warmer than Melbourne's average July high year round, and their highest average low is 1C colder than Melbourne's July low. I can't imagine living in such a climate, every night of the year is cold, about 1/3rd of all nights would see frost, and days year round would have somewhat unpleasant windchills if there is any wind.
It's like pick one of the worst summer climates in Tasmania or NZ and repeat for eternity.
The number of days of rain, 3-6 hours of average daily sun, year-round...
all seem typical of the summers you love-to-hate, SAB.
The fact that only three months have a record-breaking high of 24 C
which means that I probably live there for 5 years and never see a high past 22-23 C.
To me, 24 C is just high enough that it can feel warm without sunshine.
Last edited by ColdCanadian; 02-06-2010 at 07:44 PM..
According to my source the average highs are 17C-19C - many of the people don't live on the Altiplano. You have to take account of the altitude variations within the city. I don't have the "higher temperature" priority, though somewhere warmer than La Paz would certainly be preferred. But sunshine is much more important to me. La Paz over Lima any day. It's appearance is also quite spectacular. Had the experience of catching a taxi to a "nearby" ski field (off-season and no snow) at over 17,000 ft, spent a couple of hours on the upside of 15,000 ft.
That's true that there is quite a variation of elevation within the city. I think I read the lowest neighbourhoods are up to 400 meters lower in elevation than the airport. Even if we look at BBC Country Guides, I think these tropical highland climates like La Paz and Bogota are a complete joke. I certainly wouldn't want to live in a place with a maximum temperature of the warmest month was only 19C. Even Fairbanks, AK has a warmer July max temperature than that and its almost at the Arctic Circle. Not to mention, the lack of oxygen associated with La Paz being at 3600 metres above sea level.
If I had to pick between Lima and La Paz which would be a case of picking between the lesser of two evils, I would still probably pick Lima. Despite the fact that they are perpetually foggy and chilly for the latitude, they are still warmer than La Paz and as a bonus, you have access to the ocean which La Paz doesn't have. I have always liked living around water.
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wow. That is just wow.
