Climate averages 1991–2020
Cusco weather
in December.
A mild, very wet month: the 4th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in Cusco: daytime highs average 15.9°C and nights cool to about 8.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 196 mm of rain on roughly 28 days, which makes December a very wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 54 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Abancay (100 km away). In December its highs average 20.4°C, 4.5°C warmer than Cusco, with 178 mm of rain.
Among the 24 cities listed in Peru, Cusco ranks 21st of 24 for the warmest December highs and 19th of 24 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 24 cities is 24.6°C; Cusco is 8.7°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.5°C to 15.4°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 196 mm to 229 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Cusco climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.4°C8.2°C | 8.2°C | 229 | 28.8 | 12.813 h |
| February | 15.4°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 215 | 26.3 | 12.513 h |
| March | 15.4°C8.1°C | 8.1°C | 169 | 27.4 | 12.212 h |
| April | 15.3°C7.4°C | 7.4°C | 76 | 18.6 | 11.812 h |
| May | 15.3°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 24 | 8.1 | 11.511 h |
| June | 15.0°C5.4°C | 5.4°C | 11 | 3.3 | 11.311 h |
| July | 15.0°C4.9°C | 4.9°C | 11 | 3.1 | 11.411 h |
| August | 15.7°C5.4°C | 5.4°C | 22 | 6.5 | 11.712 h |
| September | 16.2°C6.6°C | 6.6°C | 37 | 13.1 | 12.012 h |
| October | 16.5°C7.7°C | 7.7°C | 84 | 20.3 | 12.412 h |
| November | 16.6°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 116 | 22.8 | 12.713 h |
| December, selected | 15.9°C8.4°C | 8.4°C | 196 | 27.6 | 12.913 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Abancay in DecemberPeru · 100 kmHigh 20.4°C · Low 12.4°C · 178 mm rain
- Juliaca in DecemberPeru · 295 kmHigh 15.1°C · Low 4.8°C · 140 mm rain
- Puerto Maldonado in DecemberPeru · 318 kmHigh 29.4°C · Low 23.0°C · 330 mm rain
- Puno in DecemberPeru · 331 kmHigh 15.2°C · Low 5.8°C · 156 mm rain
- Huancayo in DecemberPeru · 387 kmHigh 14.2°C · Low 6.0°C · 214 mm rain
- Ica in DecemberPeru · 411 kmHigh 28.8°C · Low 19.0°C · 4.7 mm rain
- Chincha Alta in DecemberPeru · 451 kmHigh 25.2°C · Low 18.7°C · 1.5 mm rain
- Viacha in DecemberBolivia · 525 kmHigh 14.8°C · Low 4.2°C · 110 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Cusco) is explained once on the Cusco year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.