Kandahār weather in December

In December, Kandahār sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 22 mm of rain across 2.4 wet days and about 10 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 14°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 73% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 06 min at the start of December to 10 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Kandahār's 8th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kandahār's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 16°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 2°; 2nd coldest
Rainfall: 22 mm; 2.4 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 54 min; 7:05 AM – 5:02 PM
Cloud cover: 25%; 8th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 3.54 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.3; out of 10

Kandahār is city in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Density: 654/km²; people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← November Kandahār year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 14°C by the end.

A typical December day in Kandahār reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 6°C cooler than November and about 2°C warmer than January.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	4
2	18	4
3	18	4
4	17	3
5	17	3
6	17	3
7	17	3
8	17	3
9	17	3
10	16	3
11	16	3
12	16	2
13	16	2
14	16	2
15	16	2
16	16	2
17	16	2
18	15	2
19	15	2
20	15	2
21	15	2
22	15	2
23	15	1
24	15	1
25	15	1
26	15	1
27	14	1
28	14	1
29	14	1
30	14	1
31	14	1

How December really feels in Kandahār

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 15 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

The story in December is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Kandahār weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	13° / 1°	42	5.5	10.2	4.5
Feb	16° / 3°	48	5.7	10.8	5.7
Mar	22° / 8°	45	5.7	11.8	7.6
Apr	29° / 14°	13	2.7	12.8	6.8
May	35° / 19°	2	0.3	13.6	3.1
Jun	39° / 23°	2	0.1	14	0.5
Jul	41° / 26°	2	0.3	13.9	0.0
Aug	39° / 24°	0	0.1	13.2	0.6
Sep	35° / 18°	0	0	12.2	3.7
Oct	28° / 12°	1	0.2	11.2	8.0
Nov	21° / 6°	9	1.4	10.4	8.6
Dec	16° / 2°	22	2.4	10	6.3

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 73% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 18%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	85	84	83	83	83	82	82	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	81	80	79	79
Cloudier (%)	15	16	17	17	17	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	20	21	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	81	19
9	81	19
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	81	19
13	81	19
14	81	19
15	81	19
16	81	19
17	81	19
18	81	19
19	81	19
20	82	18
21	82	18
22	82	18
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	82	18
28	81	19
29	80	20
30	79	21
31	79	21

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Kandahār gets around 22 mm of rain over 2.4 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 8% and peaks near 10% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	10

	Rain chance (%)
1	5
2	5
3	6
4	6
5	6
6	6
7	7
8	7
9	7
10	8
11	8
12	8
13	8
14	8
15	8
16	8
17	8
18	8
19	8
20	8
21	8
22	8
23	8
24	8
25	8
26	9
27	9
28	9
29	9
30	10
31	10

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of December feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in December

Winds average 7 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min at the start of December to 10 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:54 AM to 7:11 AM, and sunset from 5:00 PM to 5:09 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	10.0	10.0	10.0
Sunrise (AM)	6:54	6:55	6:56	6:57	6:57	6:58	6:59	7:00	7:00	7:01	7:02	7:02	7:03	7:04	7:04	7:05	7:05	7:06	7:07	7:07	7:08	7:08	7:09	7:09	7:09	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:11	7:11	7:11
Sunset (PM)	5:00	5:00	4:59	5:00	5:00	5:00	5:00	5:00	5:00	5:00	5:00	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:02	5:02	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:04	5:04	5:05	5:05	5:06	5:06	5:07	5:07	5:08	5:09	5:09

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.1	6:54	5:00
2	10.1	6:55	5:00
3	10.1	6:56	4:59
4	10.0	6:57	5:00
5	10.0	6:57	5:00
6	10.0	6:58	5:00
7	10.0	6:59	5:00
8	10.0	7:00	5:00
9	10.0	7:00	5:00
10	10.0	7:01	5:00
11	10.0	7:02	5:00
12	10.0	7:02	5:01
13	10.0	7:03	5:01
14	10.0	7:04	5:01
15	10.0	7:04	5:01
16	9.9	7:05	5:02
17	9.9	7:05	5:02
18	9.9	7:06	5:03
19	9.9	7:07	5:03
20	9.9	7:07	5:03
21	9.9	7:08	5:04
22	9.9	7:08	5:04
23	9.9	7:09	5:05
24	9.9	7:09	5:05
25	9.9	7:09	5:06
26	9.9	7:10	5:06
27	9.9	7:10	5:07
28	9.9	7:10	5:07
29	10.0	7:11	5:08
30	10.0	7:11	5:09
31	10.0	7:11	5:09

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 3.54 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.54 kWh/m² to a high of 8.2 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 3.54 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.7	Moderate
2	3.7	Moderate
3	3.7	Moderate
4	3.7	Moderate
5	3.6	Moderate
6	3.6	Moderate
7	3.6	Moderate
8	3.6	Moderate
9	3.6	Moderate
10	3.6	Moderate
11	3.5	Moderate
12	3.5	Moderate
13	3.5	Moderate
14	3.5	Moderate
15	3.5	Moderate
16	3.5	Moderate
17	3.5	Moderate
18	3.5	Moderate
19	3.5	Moderate
20	3.5	Moderate
21	3.5	Moderate
22	3.5	Moderate
23	3.5	Moderate
24	3.5	Moderate
25	3.5	Moderate
26	3.5	Moderate
27	3.5	Moderate
28	3.5	Moderate
29	3.5	Moderate
30	3.5	Moderate
31	3.5	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Kandahār

In seasonPeak

None of Kandahār's seasonal hazards are active in December. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Kandahār sees seasonal dust haze (July–August), heaviest in July.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Kandahār?

Our two travel scores rate December for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

6.3

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.8

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Kandahār for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kandahār in December

From December's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In December, Kandahār sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 2°C. Worth packing: a warm layer.

a warm layer

UV index in Kandahār in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kandahār peaks around June 19 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	4	6	7	8	9	12	11	11	10	7	4	3
Level	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	6	High
Mar	7	Very high
Apr	8	Very high
May	9	Very high
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	7	Very high
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Kandahār in December

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where December falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Kandahār is worst in July — around 34 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.4× the cleanest month (November, 14 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	17	20	22	25	26	20	34	30	26	22	14	15
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	17	Moderate
Feb	20	Moderate
Mar	22	Moderate
Apr	25	Moderate
May	26	Moderate
Jun	20	Moderate
Jul	34	Moderate
Aug	30	Moderate
Sep	26	Moderate
Oct	22	Moderate
Nov	14	Moderate
Dec	15	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Kandahār?

Kandahār sits at 31.6°N, 65.7°E, 1,007 m above sea level, in Afghanistan. The nearest listed city is Gereshk, 110 km away.

Topography around Kandahār

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kandahār.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kandahār has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 56 m around an average of 1,010 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 809 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,877 m.

The land around Kandahār is covered by artificial surfaces (60%) and bare terrain (23%) within 3 km, bare terrain (46%) and cropland (44%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (89%) within 80 km.

3 km

56 m

artificial surfaces 60%

16 km

809 m

bare terrain 46%

80 km

1,877 m

bare terrain 89%

treesshrubscroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← November Kandahār year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Gereshk 110 km · Lashkar Gāh 127 km · Quetta 201 km · Khān Neshīn 218 km · Nīlī 238 km · Khāsh 277 km · Shahrak 307 km · Ghazni 333 km

Afghanistan travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / F; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 17% of US; price level, 2024
GDP per capita: $417; 2024
Happiness: 1.4 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 31%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 4; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 15.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 446
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kandahār (31.6133°, 65.7101°, elevation 1,007 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	4
2	18	4
3	18	4
4	17	3
5	17	3
6	17	3
7	17	3
8	17	3
9	17	3
10	16	3
11	16	3
12	16	2
13	16	2
14	16	2
15	16	2
16	16	2
17	16	2
18	15	2
19	15	2
20	15	2
21	15	2
22	15	2
23	15	1
24	15	1
25	15	1
26	15	1
27	14	1
28	14	1
29	14	1
30	14	1
31	14	1

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	81	19
9	81	19
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	81	19
13	81	19
14	81	19
15	81	19
16	81	19
17	81	19
18	81	19
19	81	19
20	82	18
21	82	18
22	82	18
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	82	18
28	81	19
29	80	20
30	79	21
31	79	21

	Rain chance (%)
1	5
2	5
3	6
4	6
5	6
6	6
7	7
8	7
9	7
10	8
11	8
12	8
13	8
14	8
15	8
16	8
17	8
18	8
19	8
20	8
21	8
22	8
23	8
24	8
25	8
26	9
27	9
28	9
29	9
30	10
31	10

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	4
2	18	4
3	18	4
4	17	3
5	17	3
6	17	3
7	17	3
8	17	3
9	17	3
10	16	3
11	16	3
12	16	2
13	16	2
14	16	2
15	16	2
16	16	2
17	16	2
18	15	2
19	15	2
20	15	2
21	15	2
22	15	2
23	15	1
24	15	1
25	15	1
26	15	1
27	14	1
28	14	1
29	14	1
30	14	1
31	14	1

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	81	19
9	81	19
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	81	19
13	81	19
14	81	19
15	81	19
16	81	19
17	81	19
18	81	19
19	81	19
20	82	18
21	82	18
22	82	18
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	82	18
28	81	19
29	80	20
30	79	21
31	79	21

	Rain chance (%)
1	5
2	5
3	6
4	6
5	6
6	6
7	7
8	7
9	7
10	8
11	8
12	8
13	8
14	8
15	8
16	8
17	8
18	8
19	8
20	8
21	8
22	8
23	8
24	8
25	8
26	9
27	9
28	9
29	9
30	10
31	10

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	18	4
2	18	4
3	18	4
4	17	3
5	17	3
6	17	3
7	17	3
8	17	3
9	17	3
10	16	3
11	16	3
12	16	2
13	16	2
14	16	2
15	16	2
16	16	2
17	16	2
18	15	2
19	15	2
20	15	2
21	15	2
22	15	2
23	15	1
24	15	1
25	15	1
26	15	1
27	14	1
28	14	1
29	14	1
30	14	1
31	14	1

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	84	16
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	82	18
7	82	18
8	81	19
9	81	19
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	81	19
13	81	19
14	81	19
15	81	19
16	81	19
17	81	19
18	81	19
19	81	19
20	82	18
21	82	18
22	82	18
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	82	18
28	81	19
29	80	20
30	79	21
31	79	21

	Rain chance (%)
1	5
2	5
3	6
4	6
5	6
6	6
7	7
8	7
9	7
10	8
11	8
12	8
13	8
14	8
15	8
16	8
17	8
18	8
19	8
20	8
21	8
22	8
23	8
24	8
25	8
26	9
27	9
28	9
29	9
30	10
31	10

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100