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Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao. Lima is the 5th largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
Geography.- The urban area of Lima covers about 800 km2 (310 sq mi). It is located on mostly flat terrain in the Peruvian coastal plain, within the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers. The city slopes gently from the shores of the Pacific Ocean into valleys and mountain slopes located as high as 500 metres (1,600 ft) above mean sea level. Within the city exist isolated hills which are not connected to the surrounding hill chains, such as El Agustino, San Cosme, El Pino, La Milla, Muleria and Pro hills. The San Cristobal hill in the Rimac district, which faces directly north of the downtown area, is the local extreme of an Andean hill outgrowth.
Climate.- Lima's climate is quite mild, despite being located in the tropics and in a desert. Lima has a subtropical and desert climate, yet the microclimate also makes the atmosphere very humid throughout the year. Despite featuring a desert climate, temperatures vary from mild to warm. It's neither cold nor very hot, which is very unusual for a desert climate. The average daily temperatures in winter range from 12 °C (54 °F) to 20 °C (68 °F). Winter days usually come accompanied by continuous overcast skies, fog, and mist, but Lima sees no significant rainfall from this.[citation needed] In the summer, the daily maximum temperature averages around 29 °C (84 °F) with a daily minimum temperature around 19 °C (66 °F). During El Niño events, the climate of Lima gets severely disrupted, the water temperatures along the coast which usually average around 17–19 °C (65–68 °F) get much warmer (as in 1998 when the water temperature reached 26 °C (79 °F)), which causes the high and low temperatures to rise by several degrees. Such was the case when Lima hit its all-time record high of 34 °C (93 °F).
Relative humidity is always very high particularly in the mornings, and produces brief morning fog from June to December and persistent low clouds from May to November. Sunny, less humid, and warm summers last from December to April and are followed by cloudy, humid, and mild winters (lasting from June to October). The all-time record low in the metropolitan area is 9 °C (48 °F). Lima has only 1284 hours of sunshine a year, 28.6 hours in July and 179.1 hours in January, exceptionally low values for the latitude.
Rainfall is very low. The severely low rainfall impacts on water supply in the city.[28] Inland locations receive anywhere between 1 to 6 cm (2.4 in) 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 does not produce "rain" in the true sense of the word, occurs during winter when late-night/morning drizzle events (locally called 'garúa','llovizna' or 'camanchacas') become frequent, leaving a light coating of dampness on the ground. All these climatic phenomena arise from the combination of semi-permanent coastal upwelling and the presence of the cold Humboldt Current just offshore.
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