Ghardaïa weather in December

In December, Ghardaïa sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 5 mm of rain across 1.2 wet days and about 9.9 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 16°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 hours at the start of December to 9 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Ghardaïa's 6th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Ghardaïa's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 17°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 2nd coldest
Rainfall: 5 mm; 1.2 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 54 min; 7:45 AM – 5:38 PM
Cloud cover: 28%; 6th clearest
Wind: 16 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 3.28 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.1; out of 10

Ghardaïa is City and capital of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria.

Density: 242/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1048

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

← November Ghardaïa 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 18°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical December day in Ghardaïa reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°C cooler than November and about 1°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	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16
Avg low (°C)	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

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

How December really feels in Ghardaïa

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 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

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Ghardaïa weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	16° / 5°	9	1.6	10.1	6.6
Feb	18° / 7°	4	1.1	10.8	7.7
Mar	22° / 10°	7	1.5	11.8	8.6
Apr	26° / 14°	7	1.4	12.8	8.4
May	32° / 19°	3	0.8	13.6	5.5
Jun	37° / 24°	1	0.3	14.1	2.2
Jul	40° / 27°	1	0.2	13.9	0.0
Aug	39° / 27°	2	0.8	13.2	0.5
Sep	34° / 23°	8	1.5	12.2	3.7
Oct	28° / 17°	6	1.1	11.2	7.6
Nov	21° / 10°	6	1.4	10.3	8.4
Dec	17° / 7°	5	1.2	9.9	7.1

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 21%.

	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 (%)	78	79	79	79	78	78	78	78	78	77	77	78	77	77	77	77	77	77	78	79	79	79	81	81	82	82	83	84	84	84	85
Cloudier (%)	22	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	23	23	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	21	21	21	19	19	18	18	17	16	16	16	15

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	78	22
6	78	22
7	78	22
8	78	22
9	78	22
10	77	23
11	77	23
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	78	22
20	79	21
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	81	19
24	81	19
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	83	17
28	84	16
29	84	16
30	84	16
31	85	15

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Ghardaïa gets around 5 mm of rain over 1.2 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 4% and peaks near 6% 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 (%)	6	6	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3

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

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 16 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 15 km/h on the calmest days to 16 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)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 hours at the start of December to 9 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 7:34 AM to 7:52 AM, and sunset from 5:36 PM to 5:45 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)	10.0	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	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9
Sunrise (AM)	7:34	7:35	7:36	7:37	7:38	7:38	7:39	7:40	7:41	7:41	7:42	7:43	7:43	7:44	7:45	7:45	7:46	7:46	7:47	7:47	7:48	7:48	7:49	7:49	7:50	7:50	7:50	7:51	7:51	7:51	7:52
Sunset (PM)	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:38	5:38	5:39	5:39	5:40	5:40	5:41	5:41	5:42	5:42	5:43	5:43	5:44	5:45	5:45

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.0	7:34	5:36
2	10.0	7:35	5:36
3	10.0	7:36	5:36
4	10.0	7:37	5:36
5	10.0	7:38	5:36
6	10.0	7:38	5:36
7	9.9	7:39	5:36
8	9.9	7:40	5:36
9	9.9	7:41	5:36
10	9.9	7:41	5:36
11	9.9	7:42	5:36
12	9.9	7:43	5:37
13	9.9	7:43	5:37
14	9.9	7:44	5:37
15	9.9	7:45	5:37
16	9.9	7:45	5:38
17	9.9	7:46	5:38
18	9.9	7:46	5:38
19	9.9	7:47	5:39
20	9.9	7:47	5:39
21	9.9	7:48	5:40
22	9.9	7:48	5:40
23	9.9	7:49	5:41
24	9.9	7:49	5:41
25	9.9	7:50	5:42
26	9.9	7:50	5:42
27	9.9	7:50	5:43
28	9.9	7:51	5:43
29	9.9	7:51	5:44
30	9.9	7:51	5:45
31	9.9	7:52	5:45

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 3.28 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.28 kWh/m² to a high of 7.96 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 3.28 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)	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4
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	3.4	Moderate
2	3.4	Moderate
3	3.4	Moderate
4	3.4	Moderate
5	3.4	Moderate
6	3.4	Moderate
7	3.3	Moderate
8	3.3	Moderate
9	3.3	Moderate
10	3.3	Moderate
11	3.3	Moderate
12	3.3	Moderate
13	3.3	Moderate
14	3.3	Moderate
15	3.3	Moderate
16	3.3	Moderate
17	3.3	Moderate
18	3.3	Moderate
19	3.3	Moderate
20	3.3	Moderate
21	3.3	Moderate
22	3.3	Moderate
23	3.3	Moderate
24	3.3	Moderate
25	3.3	Moderate
26	3.3	Moderate
27	3.3	Moderate
28	3.3	Moderate
29	3.3	Moderate
30	3.4	Moderate
31	3.4	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Ghardaïa

In seasonPeak

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

Ghardaïa sees seasonal dust haze (March–September), heaviest in June.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Ghardaïa?

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

7.1

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

1.8

Beach & pool

11th-best month of the year

December is one of the better times to visit Ghardaïa for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Ghardaïa in December

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

In December, Ghardaïa sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer.

a warm layer

UV index in Ghardaïa 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 Ghardaïa peaks around June 21 at about 10 (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	5	7	6	8	11	10	9	8	6	4	3
Level	Moderate	High	Very high	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	5	High
Mar	7	Very high
Apr	6	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	10	Extreme
Aug	9	Very high
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Ghardaïa 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 Ghardaïa is worst in April — around 86 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.6× the cleanest month (December, 33 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)	37	51	70	86	78	75	51	53	53	41	36	33
Level	Poor	Poor	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	37	Poor
Feb	51	Poor
Mar	70	Unhealthy
Apr	86	Unhealthy
May	78	Unhealthy
Jun	75	Unhealthy
Jul	51	Poor
Aug	53	Poor
Sep	53	Poor
Oct	41	Poor
Nov	36	Poor
Dec	33	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Ghardaïa?

Ghardaïa sits at 32.5°N, 3.7°E, 503 m above sea level, in Algeria. The nearest listed city is Metlili Chaamba, 25 km away.

Topography around Ghardaïa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ghardaïa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 116 m around an average of 530 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 249 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 528 m.

The land around Ghardaïa is covered by bare terrain (60%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 3 km, bare terrain (95%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (100%) within 80 km.

3 km

116 m

bare terrain 60%

16 km

249 m

bare terrain 95%

80 km

528 m

bare terrain 100%

treesartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

December weather nearby: Metlili Chaamba 25 km · Berriane 38 km · Guerara 84 km · Laghouat 164 km · Ouargla 167 km · Rouissat 170 km · El Hadjira 173 km · Messaad 186 km

Algeria travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 33% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $6,051; 2025
Happiness: 5.7 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 69%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.2; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 20.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 468
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 Ghardaïa (32.4909°, 3.6735°, elevation 503 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	8
2	18	8
3	18	8
4	18	7
5	18	7
6	18	7
7	18	7
8	18	7
9	17	7
10	17	7
11	17	7
12	17	7
13	17	7
14	17	7
15	17	7
16	17	7
17	17	7
18	17	7
19	17	6
20	17	6
21	17	6
22	17	6
23	17	6
24	17	6
25	17	6
26	17	6
27	16	6
28	16	6
29	16	6
30	16	6
31	16	6

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	78	22
6	78	22
7	78	22
8	78	22
9	78	22
10	77	23
11	77	23
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	78	22
20	79	21
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	81	19
24	81	19
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	83	17
28	84	16
29	84	16
30	84	16
31	85	15

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	78	22
6	78	22
7	78	22
8	78	22
9	78	22
10	77	23
11	77	23
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	78	22
20	79	21
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	81	19
24	81	19
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	83	17
28	84	16
29	84	16
30	84	16
31	85	15

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	79	21
3	79	21
4	79	21
5	78	22
6	78	22
7	78	22
8	78	22
9	78	22
10	77	23
11	77	23
12	78	22
13	77	23
14	77	23
15	77	23
16	77	23
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	78	22
20	79	21
21	79	21
22	79	21
23	81	19
24	81	19
25	82	18
26	82	18
27	83	17
28	84	16
29	84	16
30	84	16
31	85	15

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

	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