Free photos of Lima, Peru.  

Lima's climate is quite mild, despite being located in the Tropics. Lima has a subtropical and desertic climate, yet the microclimate also makes it very humid. The temperatures vary from mild to warm.The average temperature is 18°C to 19ºC (60-65°F). The lowest temperatures vary from 12°C (50s°F) to around 20°C (68°F) and the high average is around 25°C (78°F), with 30°C (86°F) in the warmest of days. One must remember to wear tight sweaters (no jackets are needed) in the winters and never forget to put sun block on when going to the beach during summers. Relative humidity is very high, and produces brief morning fog from June to December and persistent low clouds from May to November. Sunny, less moist and warm summers follow from December to April and are followed by cloudy, damp and cool winters (June to October. Rainfall is almost unknown. The yearly average of 0.7 cm (0.3in) reported at the airport is the lowest of any large metropolitan area in the world. Inland locations receive 1 to 6 cm of rainfall, which accumulates mainly during the winter months. Summer rain occurs in the form of isolated light and brief afternoon or evening events, leftover from afternoon storms that generate over the Andes. The peak of the 'rainy season,' which really does not apply, occurs during winter when late-night/morning drizzle events (locally called 'garúa','llovizna' or 'camanchacas') become frequent. All these climatic phenomena arise from the combination of semi-permanent coastal upwelling and the presence of the cold Humboldt Current just offshore.

One thing to take into consideration is that because of the coast, hills and valleys, there is no single climate for all of Lima. For example, in winter the Surco area of Lima which is closer to the coast will be cool and damp. In contrast, the more elevated next district La Molina area will be warmer and drier. The Cieneguilla area, about 30 minutes drive to the East of La Molina, provides sunshine and spring-like weather seemingly year round. Lima is described as having micro-climates; while winter is generally winter in all of Lima, a 30 minute drive in any direction can put you in a slightly warmer, drier, wetter or colder area depending on your elevation and distance to the coast. Same goes for the other seasons.

The Lima Metropolis ranks among Latin America's largest and densest urban concentrations, with estimated populations (as of 2005) of 7.6 million for the urban area, 7.8 million for the entire province, and 9.2 million for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area. The population of Lima features a very complex mix of racial and ethnic groups. Traditionally, Mestizos of mixed Spanish and Amerindian descent are the largest contingent. However, political and economic instability in Peru during the latter half of the twentieth century created unprecedented poverty and violence in the towns of the countryside or Andean highlands, forcing hundreds of thousands of peasants of full-blooded Amerindian descent to migrate to Lima — thus greatly augmenting Lima's population. Unlike other ethnic groups in Lima who speak only Spanish, most of the peasant population that migrated to Lima speaks primarily Quechua or Aymara, rather than Spanish. While a number of Amerindians eventually attain middle class status, others still live in shantytowns, known locally as pueblos jóvenes (young towns). These areas often lack such basic services as electricity and running water. It is expected that over the next ten years, the population of these shantytowns will decrease to 8% of the population of Lima. Europeans, the economically dominant segment of the population, are mostly of Spanish descent, but there are significant numbers of Italians, Germans, and Middle Easterners. Afro-Peruvians, initially brought to the region as slaves, are yet another important part of the city's ethnic quilt, and Asians, an even smaller one.

(Adapted from: Lima, Peru. (2008). From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia and from the Embassy of Peru)