Weather and Climate in Peru

Updated 1 July 2012 

Peru has three parts: the coast, the mountains and the jungle. Here in the southern hemisphere, summer is from November to February and winter runs from June to August. Although in the north, summer can start in September and end in May, in the south it may start in December and end in February. Contrary to fact, it’s not always hot here.

Peru is, however, at risk for earthquakes, you can find out more from the Instituto Geofisico del Peru. Here's the direct link to the earthquake page.

In the mountains the seasons are the same as in the northern hemisphere. The climate is hotter in the north than the south, cool in the mountains, and hot and humid in the jungle. Lima is usually very cloudy and wet. See Weather or Semahi for the weather at the moment. There are 12 hours of sunlight year-round, so it does get cold at night even though it’s close to the Equator.

El Niño hit Peru pretty badly in 1982 and then in 1997, but it wasn’t as severe as in 1982. Earthquakes are common, they are usually mild, however, in 1971 there was a 7.7 one in the north.

Beating the Humidity
If you live in Lima, especially in Miraflores, you’ll be battling with humidity in the winter and this can cause mold. However, you can beat mold and it's not too expensive. Some tips are to buy potpourri bags or “bola seca” (they're little round white balls) and put these in your closets and dressers to help absorb the moisture and smell. Other people have uses peppercorns or rice. You can also try Desiccant Silica Gel bags (the things that come inside shoe boxes). You can get them in Wong imported from Japan. If you use any of the methods above, be sure to change them often. If you need to clean leather, try a 50/50 mix of pure alcohol and water.

Also try to keep the closet doors and dresser drawers open for air to circulate. Try airing out your house everyday as well. More things to try: buy metal tubes that you plug in (put these in your closet), buy a dehumidifier, or buy a heater. You might also try putting clothes or bedding inside airtight vaccum sealed bags. All of these can be found at Hiraoka, Ace Hardware, or Sodimac. They may cost between 100 and 600 soles, but it’s worth it.