Weather in Arica in January

A good month. January works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 33.8 °C, lows 23.5 °C, and rain falls on 1 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

January ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Arica's year. June is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 28 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one. Worth keeping in perspective: January is the weakest month of Arica's year and it is still a perfectly good one. The downside here is small.

Rain falls on only 1 days, so an itinerary with no wet-weather fallback is a reasonable risk. Pack for 33.8 °C days and 23.5 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 7 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 38.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 20.5 °C.

January is dependably dry, and that reliability is the point: across the twenty years measured, the wettest January on record still only managed 18 mm, and the driest managed 0 mm. There is no meaningful variability to plan around, which makes this one of the few months anywhere that you can build a fixed outdoor itinerary against without a fallback. The wettest single day in twenty years of Januarys brought 5 mm. Rain simply is not the variable that decides this trip — heat, crowds and cost are.

Wind is light at 9.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 65%.

How January sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 33.3 °C in December, 33.8 here, 34.2 in February. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in January

January is at or near the longest days of Arica's year: 13.1 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 23.6 °C in January — comfortable for a proper swim. This is the warmest the water gets all year.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

January in Arica versus nearby

If Arica is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Arequipa is a better bet in January — 8.7 °C cooler, 8 days more rain. Antofagasta is a better bet in January — 12 °C cooler, 1 day less rain.

So: January works, with June the better month by 8 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Arica

See all twelve months in Arica, or where else to go in January.