Climate

The climate is maritime tropical but generally arid. Winds from the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are apt to converge here at what is termed the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The temperatures average approximately 82 F. (28 centigrade) all year long. Malpelo is classified as desert and xeric shrublands, which receive an annual average rainfall of ten inches or less. There are no permanent fresh water reserves on the island, although during the wet season the meager rain can accumulate and pass through temporary rock pools and seeps throughout the islands.

From May through November, the effects are exactly opposite, influenced by the Equatorial countercurrent that brings warmer waters rich in plankton and some rainfall.