Where to go in December

132 cities, one measured yardstick: average highs, rain days, rain hours and daylight from multi-year Open-Meteo records. 27 cities sit in the ideal band this month. Ranked by disclosed thresholds the skip list included.

Of 87 cities measured for December, 17 fall in the ideal comfort band and 14 in good. The largest single group is mixed at 36. Another 20 sit in the difficult band. Mixed and difficult outnumber ideal and good by a wide margin, so fewer than 1 in 5 measured cities reach ideal this month.

Doha leads the December ranking with an average high of 25°C and 1 rain day. Abu Dhabi follows at 26°C with 1 rain day, Dubai at 27°C with 1 rain day. The Gulf trio's December profile is nearly identical. Kathmandu, Phoenix, Cape Town, Orlando, and St. Petersburg complete the featured 8. When 36 mixed and 20 difficult cities outnumber the 17 ideal and 14 good, that kind of dry, mid-20s consistency from the top 3 carries weight.

The 20 difficult-band cities make up nearly a quarter of the 87 measured for December. The 17 ideal and 14 good are outnumbered by 36 mixed and 20 difficult.

Doha tops the December ranking at 25°C average highs and 1 rain day for the month.

Nº 5

Doha

Ideal in December

  • 25° / 17° high / low
  • 0.2 h rain/day
  • 10.6 h daylight

25° highs with 1 rain days: inside the ideal window (18–29 °C highs, ≤13 rain days, ≤90 mm).

Things to do in Doha in December →

Nº 7

Dubai

Ideal in December

  • 27° / 18° high / low
  • 0.2 h rain/day
  • 10.6 h daylight

27° highs with 1 rain days: inside the ideal window (18–29 °C highs, ≤13 rain days, ≤90 mm).

Things to do in Dubai in December →

Nº 9

Lima

Ideal in December

  • 22° / 18° high / low
  • 0.2 h rain/day
  • 12.8 h daylight

22° highs with 2 rain days: inside the ideal window (18–29 °C highs, ≤13 rain days, ≤90 mm).

Things to do in Lima in December →

Nº 25

Crete

Ideal in December

  • 18° / 11° high / low
  • 1.0 h rain/day
  • 9.8 h daylight

18° highs with 10 rain days: inside the ideal window (18–29 °C highs, ≤13 rain days, ≤90 mm).

Things to do in Crete in December →

Measurably difficult in December

Honesty cuts both ways: these cities trip a difficult threshold this month:

  • Beijing : 3° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Seoul : 3° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Budapest : 5° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Edmonton : -8° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Chicago : 4° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Krakow : 4° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Lidingo : 2° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Stockholm : 1° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Oslo : 0° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Anchorage : -6° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Dubrovnik : 209 mm of rain clears the 200 mm threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Berlin : 5° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Toronto : 3° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Saratoga Springs : 3° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Zurich : 5° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Jackson Hole : 1° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Helsinki : 0° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Sapporo : 0° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Reykjavik : 2° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Riga : 1° highs sit below the 5 °C cold threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Medellin : Rain on 20 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Seattle : Rain on 20 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Cebu : Rain on 25 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Cusco : Rain on 26 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Bali : Rain on 26 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Kauai : Rain on 26 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Ubud : Rain on 27 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Singapore : Rain on 28 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.
  • Boracay : Rain on 29 days clears the 20-day threshold: measurably difficult.

Tracked events in December

  • 1 Dec 2026 Chicago Ambassador Theatre, New York
  • 1 Dec 2026 Inter Alia Music Box Theatre, New York
  • 1 Dec 2026 The Play That Goes Wrong New World Stages - Stage 4, New York
  • 1 Dec 2026 The Great Gatsby Broadway Theatre, New York
  • 1 Dec 2026 Slam Frank Orpheum Theatre NYC, New York
  • 1 Dec 2026 THE ALLAN RAYMAN 10 YEAR EXPERIENCE The Royal Theatre, Toronto
  • 1 Dec 2026 Six (New York, NY) Lena Horne Theatre, New York
  • 1 Dec 2026 The Love Tour: An All-New Countess Cabaret Starring Luann de Lesseps The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
  • 1 Dec 2026 SC Ballet Presents The Nutcracker The Charleston Music Hall, Charleston
  • 1 Dec 2026 Colors of Mexico Fantasy Lab Las Vegas, Las Vegas

From the live events feed we sync daily: listings exist only where measured coverage does.

December, answered from the data

Where is it ideal to travel in December?

27 of the 132 cities we measure sit in the ideal band in December; Santiago, Varanasi, Udaipur lead the ranking.

Which city is coolest in December?

Edmonton, with average highs of -8 °C in our measured record.

Which city is driest in December?

Santiago, averaging 0 rain days across the month.

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