Arica climate

Name: Arica
Address: CL

Arica is warmest in February, with average highs of 28 °C, and coldest in August, when nights average 13 °C. June is the wettest month (26 mm) and March the driest (3.7 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Arica averages 145 mm of rain and 107 days above 25 °C.

Chile · population 241,653 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month February 28 °C
Coldest month August 13 °C
Driest month March 4 mm
Wettest month June 26 mm
Least cloud April 65 % cloud
Hottest on record March 31 °C
Coldest on record July 8.7 °C
Warmest sea February 23 °C

What to expectArica through the year

Arica has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 18 °C in August to 28 °C in February, a swing of 8.8 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 107 days a year reach 25 °C, 0 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C, in March.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 4 mm in March to 26 mm in June. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Arica is warmest in February at 23 °C and coldest in August at 17 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	26.8 °C	8 mm	80 %
February	27.5 °C	7 mm	78 %
March	26.8 °C	4 mm	71 %
April	23.8 °C	6 mm	65 %
May	20.4 °C	21 mm	71 %
June	18.3 °C	26 mm	75 %
July	17.4 °C	26 mm	75 %
August	17.5 °C	18 mm	73 %
September	18.4 °C	13 mm	72 %
October	20.0 °C	8 mm	73 %
November	22.5 °C	4 mm	68 %
December	24.9 °C	4 mm	75 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C
January	26.8 °C	19.8 °C	22.7 °C	29.8 °C	16.0 °C	29
February	27.5 °C	20.5 °C	23.4 °C	30.4 °C	17.0 °C	28
March	26.8 °C	19.6 °C	22.5 °C	30.7 °C	16.0 °C	29
April	23.8 °C	17.1 °C	19.9 °C	28.0 °C	13.0 °C	7
May	20.4 °C	15.2 °C	17.4 °C	26.0 °C	11.4 °C	0
June	18.3 °C	13.8 °C	15.7 °C	23.2 °C	10.5 °C	0
July	17.4 °C	12.8 °C	14.7 °C	27.9 °C	8.7 °C	0
August	17.5 °C	12.6 °C	14.6 °C	30.5 °C	9.7 °C	0
September	18.4 °C	13.1 °C	15.2 °C	23.1 °C	9.8 °C	0
October	20.0 °C	14.0 °C	16.3 °C	24.6 °C	10.5 °C	0
November	22.5 °C	15.4 °C	18.3 °C	26.1 °C	12.4 °C	1
December	24.9 °C	17.6 °C	20.6 °C	28.9 °C	13.7 °C	13

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	8 mm	2	13 h/day	80 %	75 %	16 km/h	22.1 °C
February	7 mm	2	13 h/day	78 %	74 %	16 km/h	22.5 °C
March	4 mm	1	12 h/day	71 %	76 %	15 km/h	21.8 °C
April	6 mm	1	12 h/day	65 %	82 %	14 km/h	20.4 °C
May	21 mm	7	11 h/day	71 %	89 %	13 km/h	19.6 °C
June	26 mm	10	11 h/day	75 %	91 %	12 km/h	18.7 °C
July	26 mm	9	11 h/day	75 %	92 %	12 km/h	17.4 °C
August	18 mm	6	11 h/day	73 %	91 %	13 km/h	17.0 °C
September	13 mm	3	12 h/day	72 %	90 %	14 km/h	17.1 °C
October	8 mm	2	13 h/day	73 %	87 %	15 km/h	18.0 °C
November	4 mm	0	13 h/day	68 %	82 %	16 km/h	19.5 °C
December	4 mm	1	13 h/day	75 %	77 %	16 km/h	20.8 °C

How Arica compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Arica	28 °C	13 °C	145 mm	107
Tacna · Peru	27 °C	13 °C	82 mm	115
Iquique · Chile	27 °C	13 °C	61 mm	141
Arequipa · Peru	23 °C	7.5 °C	701 mm	7
La Paz · Bolivia	15 °C	0.6 °C	714 mm	0
Juliaca · Peru	17 °C	-1.9 °C	987 mm	0
Oruro · Bolivia	19 °C	-1.4 °C	601 mm	0

Where Arica ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in South America in March	7th of 50	3.7 mm
The driest places in South America in December	12th of 50	4.2 mm
Places with the best weather in South America in April	16th of 50	92/100
Places with the best weather in South America in November	17th of 50	93/100
Places with the best weather in South America year-round	17th of 50	86/100
The driest places in South America in April	17th of 50	6.4 mm

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Arica.

QuestionsCommon questions about Arica’s climate

When is the best time to visit Arica?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. April, November, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, February is the warmest month and March the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Arica get?

In February, the warmest month, daily highs average 28 °C. About 0 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 13 °C in August, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.

Which month is wettest in Arica?

June, averaging 26 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is March with 4 mm. The year as a whole averages 145 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Arica rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: -18.476°, -70.301° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.