The vast geography of Peru contains 28 climatic zones. In general the climate is temperate, without large rainfalls in the winter nor excessive heat in the summer, which allows tourism any time of year. In the case of the capital, Lima, summer sees temperatures of 25C and winter is characterized by gray days, humid and cloudy with temperatures between 12C and 15C.
Due to its geographic location close to the equator, all of Peru has a tropical climate including: high temperatures, elevated humidity and abundant rains for much of the year. However, this more affects the eastern part of the country (the jungle). Peru flaunts a very marked variety of factors that affects the daily life of the population.
First, the presence of the Andean range presents a physical and impassible barrier for the winds coming off the Atlantic Ocean. Reaching heights of over 6,000m, this range impedes the atmospheric humidity and clouds that carry rain from reaching the eastern side and causes them to stay on the coast. This fact causes the aridity of the western slope of the Andes. For reference, the jungle receives 100 times the amount of annual rainfall as does the coast.
The cold Humboldt current also cools the atmosphere of the coast. This impedes the condensation of the humidity in the air and the possibility of precipitation. The only place that has similar characteristics to the jungle is the extreme north of Tumbes because of its proximity to Ecuador which sustains higher temperatures and a warmer sea due to the El Niño current. This causes the formation of a zone known as a tropical Pacific rain forest.
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE SEASONS IN PERU:
- Summer: December 22 to March 21
- Autumn: March 22 to June 21
- Winter: June 22 to September 22
- Spring: September 23 to December 21
In general terms, we can state that each region has the following climatic characteristics:
- The central and southern coast: arid and without rains, moderate temperatures, very humid and highly cloudy eight months out of the year.
- The north coast: rains in the summer, high temperatures and sunny most of the year.
- The sierra: rains from December to March, cold to moderate temperatures depending on altitude and very low atmospheric dryness. The southern sierra is the coldest during the months of June to August.
- The high jungle: very rainy, hot, cloudy and humid.
- The low jungle: rainy with very high temperatures.
