Peru - weather in December

December in Peru is the first summer month.
In the east, in the Amazon forest (see Iquitos, Pucallpa, Puerto Maldonado), December is a hot, muggy and rainy month.
In the Andes (see Cajamarca, Cusco, Machu Picchu), where the temperature varies with altitude, we are in the warmest and rainiest period of the year. However, the rains are not particularly abundant, on the contrary, in the extreme south, near the Atacama desert (see Arequipa, Tacna), they are scarce or completely absent. Despite the period, at the highest altitudes it gets cold at night, and especially in the south and above 3,500 meters (11,500 feet), the temperature can drop below freezing (see Juliaca).
On the low-altitude desert plateau between the Andes and the coast (see Ica, Nazca), around 500 meters (1,650 feet), it is hot, and rainfall is very rare or completely absent.
On the coast, where the climate is arid or desert due to the cool Humboldt current, December is a hot and muggy month only in the extreme north (see Tumbes), while in the rest of the coast (see Trujillo, Lima, Pisco, Marcona) is a pleasantly warm and quite sunny month (although in the morning, there may be some mists and clouds). The rains are completely absent in most of the coast, except in the extreme north (see Tumbes), where they are very rare and usually occur at the end of the month.
However, in El Niño years, the northernmost part of the coast (see Tumbes, Talara), becomes hotter, and when the phenomenon is most intense, it becomes fully tropical, with abundant rains.

The sea is a bit cool for swimming even in the extreme north, while in the center-south it is very cool, and the temperature is around 20 °C (68 °F) in the stretch from Chiclayo to Marcona, where the effects of the Humboldt current are felt more. In the extreme south (see Mollendo, Ilo), it is a little warmer, but is still quite cool.
However, the sea gets warmer than usual in El Niño years, and cooler than usual in La Niña years.

The following tables show the climate averages in the month of December in Peru in a selection of locations.

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Monthly climate averages - December

(from north to south)



























See also: Peru, the weather in November - January
The climate of Peru