Extreme rainfall events, such as the El Ninõ-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are responsible to a large extent for the processes of tree establishment and tree growth in the North Peruvian dryland forest. Prosopis pallida (algarrobo) is the dominant species of the dryland forest on the Peruvian Pacific coast. Dendrochronological data from living populations have shown its response to climatic events. The aim of this work was to study local differences in P. pallida growth responses to ENSO events through dendrochronological data. To do so, three algarrobo populations within a gradient of increasing temperature and precipitation from West to East were selected. Tree-ring data were correlated with the monthly temperature and precipitation from each location and with the 3.4 and 1 + 2 ENSO indices. Inland populations showed the highest correlation with the climatic conditions. The summer rainfall (January), spring temperature of the previous year, and summer temperature of the current year were significantly correlated with growth. All populations showed a significant increase in the tree-ring index during ENSO events. However, growth in no-ENSO years was also high in populations closer to the coast. Our results indicate that the proximity to the Andes Mountains, distance to the Pacific coast and distribution of algarrobo in this area make marginal inland populations more sensitive to climatic variations and ENSO events.We conclude that the P. pallida response to the climate in Northern Peru is the result of both strong climatic events and local conditions, which are estimated most accurately with the 1 + 2 ENSO index.