Peru Weather

Peru climate

Peru's geography creates three dramatically distinct climate zones. The coastal desert strip along the Pacific is arid and cool, heavily influenced by the cold Humboldt Current that suppresses rainfall and creates a persistent marine fog layer called garúa during winter months (May-November). Lima, despite being near the equator, receives almost no rain and is one of the driest capital cities in the world.

The Andes mountains create a high-altitude climate zone where temperatures are determined almost entirely by elevation. Cusco at 3,400 meters has cool, dry winters and mild summers with afternoon rains, while the altiplano around Lake Titicaca at 3,800 meters experiences freezing overnight temperatures year-round despite strong daytime sunshine. The eastern slopes of the Andes receive heavy orographic rainfall as moist Amazon air is forced upward.

The Amazon basin in eastern Peru is hot, humid, and rainy throughout the year, with Iquitos receiving over 2,600mm of annual precipitation. El Niño events periodically transform Peru's weather, bringing heavy rains and flooding to the normally arid coast while reducing rainfall in the highlands. These events can have devastating impacts on agriculture, infrastructure, and fishing industries that depend on the cold Humboldt Current.