Arica weather in January

In January, Arica has daytime highs averaging 27 °C, nights around 20 °C, with 1.9 wet days, and a sea temperature of 22 °C. Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

  1. Jan 23°
  2. Feb 23°
  3. Mar 23°
  4. Apr 20°
  5. May 17°
  6. Jun 16°
  7. Jul 15°
  8. Aug 15°
  9. Sep 15°
  10. Oct 16°
  11. Nov 18°
  12. Dec 21°

Daily temperatures through January

16°23°30°18152229
Daily highDaily low Day of month on the horizontal axis. Highs peak at 27.5 °C and lows bottom out at 18.9 °C.

How January develops

Averages for the first, middle and last part of the month, from daily 1991–2020 normals. Chance of rain is the share of years in which that calendar day recorded more than 1 mm.

DaysAvg highAvg lowChance of rain
1–10 January26.3 °C19.2 °C5 %
11–20 January26.8 °C19.9 °C8 %
21–31 January27.2 °C20.4 °C5 %
0%50%100%151015202530
Chance of a wet day (over 1 mm) by date in January. Wettest date over the 30 years: January 4, at 13 %. Single dates are noisy — read the shape, not the spikes.

What to expect

Measure Typical January Share of the month
Days above 25 °C 29 of 31 94 %
Days above 30 °C 0 of 31 0 %
Days below 0 °C 0 of 31 0 %
Days with more than 1 mm rain 1.9 of 31 6 %

Conditions in January

MeasureAverage
Mean temperature 23 °C
Record high (1991–2020) 30 °C
Record low (1991–2020) 16 °C
Relative humidity 75 %
Wind speed 16 km/h
Cloud cover 80 %

Where Arica ranks in January

RankingPositionValue
The driest places in South America in January23rdof 508.0 mm
Places with the best weather in South America in January38thof 5084/100

January compared with the months around it

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 %
November 22.5 °C 4 mm 68 %
December 24.9 °C 4 mm 75 %

See all twelve months for Arica

Nearby destinations in January

Destination Avg high Wet days Sea
Arica 27 °C 1.9 22
Tacna 26 °C 5
Iquique 27 °C 0 22
Arequipa 19 °C 25
La Paz 14 °C 26
Juliaca 14 °C 26
Oruro 15 °C 25
Quillacollo 21 °C 23
Cochabamba 21 °C 23

QuestionsJanuary in Arica, answered

How warm is Arica in January?

Daily highs average 27 °C and nights fall to about 20 °C, a spread of 7.0 °C between afternoon and dawn. That makes January the 2nd warmest month of the year here.

Does it rain much in Arica in January?

January averages 8 mm of rain, spread over about 2 of the 31 days — 6 % of the month. Cloud cover averages 80 % of the sky.

Is the sea warm enough to swim in January?

The sea averages 22 °C off Arica in January. Most people find water below 20 °C bracing and above 25 °C comfortable for a long swim; this figure is a monthly surface average, so a sheltered bay on a still afternoon can be warmer.

How long are the days in January?

Arica averages 13 hours between sunrise and sunset in January. Day length is computed from latitude and date, so it is exact rather than modelled — but it says nothing about how much of that time is sunny.

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: daylight hours, beach and comfort scores, monthly rankings, threshold day counts, chance of a wet day by date, ten-day averages within the month. 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.