average precipitation amounts to approximately 451 mm, 86% of which falls in the five-month wet season period spanning December till May. Precipitation falls on an average of 107 days a year (precipitation >= 0.004" / 0.1 mm).

All of these characteristics are because of the presence of the cold Humboldt Current that flows north from Peru and Chile. Under the effects of this current the ocean waters of the islands remain cold. The