The important rivers in the district are Ponnai and Swarnamukhi rivers which originate in the Eastern Ghats. Other rivers include Kusasthali, Beema, Bahuda, Pincha, Kalyani, Araniyar and Pedderu. None of the rivers are perennial. Main rivers include Swarnamukhi, Kalangi, Papaghni, Koundinya, Pileru, Arani, Pinchcha, Cheyyeru, Neeva and Kusasthali. The district has a very short coastline, bordered by the Bay of Bengal. The temperature in the western parts of the district like Punganur, Madanapalle, Horsley Hills are relatively lower than the eastern parts of the Chittoor District. This is because of the higher altitude of the western parts compared to the eastern parts. The summer temperatures touches 44 °C in the eastern parts whereas in the western parts it ranges around 36° to 38 °C. Similarly the winter temperatures of the western parts are relatively low ranging around 12 °C to 14 °C and in eastern parts it is 16 °C to 18 °C. Most of a district has a Tropical wet and dry climate, with some north-western parts having Hot semi-arid climate.

Chittoor district receives an annual rainfall of 918.1 mm. The South West Monsoon and North East Monsoon are the major sources of rainfall for the district. On average the district receives 438.0 mm of rainfall through the South West Monsoon (From June to September) and 396.0 mm from North East Monsoon (From October to December). The rainfall received by the district in the years 2002 and 2003 are 984.2 mm and 934 mm respectively.