El Niño Pushes Peru Temperatures Above Levels Recorded in Earlier Catastrophic Events

Peru recorded its hottest August anomalies in decades as an unusually intense El Niño continued to warm the central Pacific. The country’s weather service, Senamhi, said average national maximum temperatures stood 4.4 degrees Celsius above normal, while average minimums were 3.8 degrees higher.

The central coast saw the largest monthly anomaly, with temperatures averaging 6.3 degrees Celsius above the historical norm. That exceeded the corresponding figures for August 1997, when the anomaly reached 4.1 degrees, and August 2023, when it reached 4.4 degrees.

Northern Peru recorded an average anomaly of 4.4 degrees, also above the levels recorded in 1997 and 2023. Senamhi said exceptionally warm conditions persisted along the Peruvian coast throughout August.

Jayanca, in the Lambayeque region, reached 35 degrees Celsius on Aug. 7, breaking its previous record of 34 degrees from Aug. 29, 2023. La Esperanza in Piura reached 33.2 degrees the same day, exceeding the 32-degree record set on Aug. 7, 1997. In Lima, Campo de Marte reached 28 degrees on Aug. 22, surpassing the 27.1-degree record set in 1939.

Nighttime temperatures also remained unusually high. Northern coastal areas recorded an average minimum anomaly of 4.3 degrees, while the central coast recorded 4.2 degrees. La Cruz in Tumbes reached 25.6 degrees on Aug. 22, breaking its 2023 record. Jayanca and La Esperanza also exceeded previous records for minimum temperatures.