Weather in Arica in March

A hard month. March asks something of you. Go in knowing what. Daytime highs average 34.3 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

March ranks 12 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.

Rain falls on only 1 days, so an itinerary with no wet-weather fallback is a reasonable risk. Pack for heat management rather than style: shade, water, and a schedule that gives up on the middle of the day.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 9 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest March day reached 39.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 20.2 °C.

March is dependably dry, and that reliability is the point: across the twenty years measured, the wettest March on record still only managed 8 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 Marchs brought 2 mm. Rain simply is not the variable that decides this trip — heat, crowds and cost are.

Wind is light at 8.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 64%.

How March sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 34.2 °C in February, 34.3 here, 33.7 in April. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in March

12.2 hours of daylight, losing 0.5 hours across the month. That is between Arica's extremes of 13.2 and 11 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 23.8 °C in March — comfortable for a proper swim. This is the warmest the water gets all year.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

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

March in Arica versus nearby

If Arica is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Arequipa is a better bet in March — 9 °C cooler, 5 days more rain. Antofagasta is a better bet in March — 12.9 °C cooler, 1 day less rain.

So: March is a compromise. June is 28 points better and is what Arica is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Arica

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