Due to its location in the heart of the Puna de Atacama, it has a very dry climate. Snow occurs only in winter and only at higher elevations - most of the peaks around Ojos del Salado are not covered with ice.
The glaciated areas are in fact immobile firn fields (ice that is in an intermediate stage between snow and glacial ice), where the ice reaches a thickness of only 10-15 meters and a surface of several meters. The water released by the melting ice feeds the streams.
