Quito weather in October
October in Quito: nice, soaked, with clean air — fine if you can take 30 rainy days.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#6 of 12 months in Quito · #1039 of 1413 destinations to visit in October · comfort 65/100 (tier C)
- Days
- 17°C
- Nights
- 10°C
- Wet days
- 30
- Sun
- 8.3 h
- Humidity
- 84%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Traveller notes on Quito in October
Notes from nearby Baños (130 km away)
Quito doesn't have its own notes for October yet — these are about Baños, close enough to share the season.
Banos-forum threads on an October visit describe this as genuinely still within the favored season here, posters naming October through February as the broader window considered best. Regulars call late October the real start of the rainier stretch, several posters describing this shift as mild rather than dramatic, with rain typically arriving at night rather than disrupting daytime plans. Posters call days genuinely sunny through October, several regulars naming cooler evenings as the real reason layers matter even on a warm-looking day. Regulars call a rain jacket or umbrella genuinely worth packing regardless of the forecast, several threads naming this standard advice given how quickly Andes weather can shift. Posters recommend flexible outdoor plans around an October visit, several regulars calling this given how much conditions can vary within a single day. The record: 22.6C days, 15C nights, an extraordinarily high 240.6mm across nearly 29 days and 89 percent humidity.
Other months in Quito
Regulars are direct that weather apps showing rain every single day here shouldn't be taken at face value - the real pattern is sun in the morning, clouds building through the day, then scattered, short-duration rain in the afternoon rather than a washed-out day. Our row backs that cool, genuinely wet read, 16.6C over 10C nights feeling 9C, with a substantial 280.3mm of rain spread across essentially every day of the month and humidity at 84 percent. Regulars are consistent this month sits right at the hinge between the rainy and dry seasons, the local saying about four seasons in one day capturing just how much a single day here can vary. Layers that handle a genuinely wide temperature swing remain the standard advice regardless of the forecast. The record: 8.2 hours of sun, a 7.4 kph wind and one of the cleanest air readings in this project, AQI 28.
Regulars describe a daily rhythm rather than a single verdict for this month: sunny mornings, a short heavy downpour in the afternoon that clears back to sunshine, and a wind that picks up just ahead of the rain, giving enough warning to take cover. Our row backs the volume that pattern adds up to - 182.6mm across 28.5 days, nearly every day carrying some rain even though none of it lasts long - at a cool, cloud-friendly 16.4C over 9.4C. At close to 3,000m the elevation keeps this cool year-round regardless of season, and regulars are blunt that forecasts here are unreliable, since one neighbourhood can be sunny while another ten minutes away is in a downpour. Layers are the standing advice, always. The record: humidity 80 percent, 8.6 hours of sun, a 7.2 kph wind and one of the cleanest air readings in this project, AQI 24.
Quito-forum threads comparing January to February describe the highlands as generally mild and sunny this time of year, one visitor calling conditions outright glorious - clear mornings, clouding up later, then a short, localized shower rather than a day lost to rain. A full day of continuous rain is called genuinely rare, the more typical pattern intermittent rather than settled. The recurring line across threads is that Quito, sitting on the equator at altitude, effectively runs through all four seasons in a single day, so a sunny morning is no guarantee about the afternoon or evening. The standing advice is real layers and rain gear regardless of how the morning looks. The record actually runs far wetter than the "generally sunny" framing suggests: 15.8C days feeling like 16C, 9.8C nights, a notably high 309mm across nearly 30 days, 86 percent humidity and 8.2 hours of sun - among the wettest entries on Quito's whole calendar.
September is the last month of Quito's dry season, and the word needs our row beside it: 181.1mm falls across 27.6 precipitation days, which is nearly every day of the month. Regulars explain the contradiction - it rains, but not all day and not every day, usually a short heavy downpour that gives way to sun again quickly - and they add a genuinely useful tell, which is that a distinct wind or strong breeze arrives before the rain and gives you time to get under something. Temperatures barely move on the equator: late mornings 55 to 60F, afternoons 60 to 70, which our row puts at 17.7C days and 9.3C nights, so light layers all day. The record: humidity 76 percent, 9.2 hours of sun and AQI 33.
Add your own note from Quito's card on the map.
Quito climate normals — October
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Quito in October
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Shoulder seasonan ordinary month(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Quito's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Fair weatherQuito's weather peaks July–September, best around August.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Quito in October
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Season
Andean rainy season
1 Oct – 31 May · usuallyMonsoonQuito's rain arrives as a hard couple of hours in the afternoon, heaviest around April, and the streets in the old town run fast. Mornings are usually clear enough for the volcanoes.
- Season
Wet season
MonsoonRisk30 rainy days and about 288 mm in the month — the real kind of rainy season, not afternoon showers.
from the climate normals
Where is Quito?
Quito in October — FAQ
- Is October a good time to visit Quito?
- October in Quito: nice, soaked, with clean air — fine if you can take 30 rainy days. It ranks #6 of 12 months for Quito on SeasonMap's comfort score (65/100).
- What is the weather like in Quito in October?
- In October, Quito averages a daily high of 16.7°C and a low of 9.5°C, with about 288 mm of rain over roughly 29.5 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Quito in October?
- Quito has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 35 in October.