Climate and Weather in Chile

Main physical mechanisms controlling weather and climate in the continental domain of Chile are addressed in this chapter, with particular emphasis on those that are more pertinent to the precipitation regime. In particular, most relevant factors that modulate the rainfall variability, from the intraseasonal time-scale to long-term changes, are discussed in relation with the characteristics of the large-scale atmospheric circulation and different modes in the functioning of the ocean-atmosphere system, and the anthropogenic forcing of climate change.