Parakou weather in December

In December, Parakou sees average daytime highs of 34°C and overnight lows near 20°C, with 2 mm of rain across 0.3 wet days and about 11.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 34°C through the month. 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 11 h 30 min at the start of December to 11 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Parakou's 1st-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Parakou's year-round climate.

Daytime high
34°
5th warmest
Overnight low
20°
1st coldest
Rainfall
2 mm
0.3 wet days
Daylight
11 h 30 min
7:02 AM – 6:29 PM
Cloud cover
29%
1st clearest
Wind
7 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
5.8 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.2
out of 10

Parakou is city in Benin.

Density
579/km²
people per km²
Founded
1500

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 34°C through the month.

A typical December day in Parakou reaches about 34°C in the afternoon and slips back to 20°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 32°C and 35°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with January.

15°20°25°30°35°40°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
13421
23421
33420
43420
53420
63420
73420
83420
93420
103420
113420
123420
133420
143420
153420
163420
173420
183420
193420
203420
213420
223419
233319
243319
253319
263319
273319
283319
293319
303319
313319

How December really feels in Parakou

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 31 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
31
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in December is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Parakou weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 5th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan34° / 20°20.211.54.2
Feb35° / 22°61.311.72.9
Mar36° / 24°254.511.92.2
Apr35° / 24°7012.312.22.4
May33° / 24°12719.112.42.8
Jun31° / 23°13619.512.53.5
Jul29° / 22°20725.412.53.4
Aug29° / 22°24926.712.33.4
Sep30° / 22°22224.312.13.2
Oct32° / 22°9815.311.83.6
Nov34° / 21°61.611.63.8
Dec34° / 20°20.311.54.2

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 70% of the time in December, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 17%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
18020
28020
38020
48020
58020
68020
78020
88020
98020
108119
118218
128218
138317
148317
158416
168416
178416
188416
198515
208515
218515
228515
238614
248614
258614
268614
278515
288515
298515
308416
318317

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Parakou gets around 2 mm of rain over 0.3 wet days in December, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 1% and peaks near 2% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
12
22
32
42
51
61
71
81
91
101
111
121
131
141
151
161
171
181
191
201
211
221
230
240
250
260
270
280
290
300
310

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 60% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 14% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
1301424293
2311424283
3331424273
4351423262
5371423242
6391422232
7411422222
8431421212
9451320202
10471319191
11491319181
12521318161
13541317151
14561316141
15591215131
16611214121
17641213101
1866121291
1968121181
2071111071
217311961
227411861
237710751
247810741
25799741
26828640
27828640
28837640
29847630
30847630
31846640

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 8 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
198calm
208calm
218calm
228calm
238calm
248calm
258calm
268calm
278calm
288calm
298calm
308calm
318calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 30 min at the start of December to 11 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 0 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:54 AM to 7:09 AM, and sunset from 6:24 PM to 6:37 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.56:546:24
211.56:556:24
311.56:556:25
411.56:566:25
511.56:566:25
611.56:576:26
711.56:576:26
811.56:586:26
911.56:586:27
1011.56:596:27
1111.56:596:27
1211.57:006:28
1311.57:006:28
1411.57:016:29
1511.57:016:29
1611.57:026:29
1711.57:026:30
1811.57:036:30
1911.57:036:31
2011.57:046:31
2111.57:046:32
2211.57:056:32
2311.57:056:33
2411.57:066:33
2511.57:066:34
2611.57:076:34
2711.57:076:35
2811.57:086:35
2911.57:086:36
3011.57:086:36
3111.57:096:37

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.8 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4 kWh/m² to a high of 6.27 kWh/m² in February across the year — December's 5.8 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.8Bright
25.8Bright
35.8Bright
45.7Bright
55.7Bright
65.7Bright
75.7Bright
85.7Bright
95.7Bright
105.7Bright
115.8Bright
125.8Bright
135.8Bright
145.8Bright
155.8Bright
165.8Bright
175.8Bright
185.8Bright
195.8Bright
205.8Bright
215.8Bright
225.8Bright
235.9Bright
245.9Bright
255.9Bright
265.9Bright
275.9Bright
285.9Bright
295.9Bright
305.9Bright
315.9Bright
Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Parakou

In seasonPeak

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

Parakou's monsoon runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Parakou sees seasonal dust haze (January–May), heaviest in February.

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

Is December a good time to visit Parakou?

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

4.2
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
7.9
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Parakou for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Parakou in December

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

In December, Parakou sees daytime highs around 34°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Parakou in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 8 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Parakou peaks around March 22 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 8 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highMar 22UV 13Dec 17UV 8
UV index (midday)Level
Jan9Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar13Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct11Extreme
Nov9Very high
Dec8Very high

Air quality in Parakou 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 Parakou is worst in February — around 85 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 5.0× the cleanest month (August, 17 µg/m³).

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

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorModeratePoorUnhealthyFeb 1183 µg/m³Aug 1017 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan75Unhealthy
Feb85Unhealthy
Mar49Poor
Apr41Poor
May25Moderate
Jun20Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct34Moderate
Nov40Poor
Dec63Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Parakou?

Parakou sits at 9.3°N, 2.6°E, 369 m above sea level, in Benin. The nearest listed city is Tchaourou, 50 km away.

TchaourouNdaliOkutaPèrèrèNikkiOuesséBembèrèkèTobré

Topography around Parakou

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Parakou has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 80 m around an average of 364 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 108 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 406 m.

The land around Parakou is covered by artificial surfaces (71%) within 3 km, cropland (31%), shrubs (30%) and trees (26%) within 16 km, and shrubs (42%), trees (28%) and cropland (25%) within 80 km.

3 km
80 m
16 km
108 m
80 km
406 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
December weather nearby: Tchaourou 50 km · Ndali 59 km · Okuta 64 km · Pèrèrè 64 km · Nikki 92 km · Ouessé 97 km · Bembèrèkè 99 km · Tobré 110 km

Benin travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 34% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,658
2025
Happiness
4.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
18%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2017
Road deaths
26.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 406
Religion
Muslim 28%Roman Catholic 26%Protestant 14%Vodoun 12%

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 Parakou (9.3372°, 2.6303°, elevation 369 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).