"The declaration of the state of emergency in separate areas of [the Department of] Moquegua due to the eruption of the Ubinas volcano has been approved at a meeting of the Council of Ministers," the council said in a statement.
The decision would allow the authorities to take immediate special measures should the necessity arise.
Ubinas is an active stratovolcano in southern Peru.
The Geophysical Institute of Peru has said that explosions in the volcano began just over a day ago, with ashes rising to a height of several kilometers.