Santa Cruz weather in December

In December, Santa Cruz sees average daytime highs of 32°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 10 mm of rain across 3 wet days and about 12.4 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 32°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time in December, and the air most often feels muggy.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 18 min at the start of December to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Santa Cruz's 5th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Santa Cruz's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 32°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 22°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 10 mm; 3 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 24 min; 5:09 AM – 5:31 PM
Cloud cover: 51%; 5th clearest
Wind: 16 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 6.19 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.5; out of 10

Santa Cruz is settlement in Brazil.

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

← November Santa Cruz 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 32°C through the month.

A typical December day in Santa Cruz reaches about 32°C in the afternoon and slips back to 22°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 31°C and 34°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with 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)	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32
Avg low (°C)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	32	22
2	32	22
3	32	22
4	32	22
5	32	22
6	32	22
7	32	22
8	32	22
9	32	22
10	32	22
11	32	22
12	32	22
13	32	22
14	32	22
15	32	23
16	32	23
17	32	23
18	32	23
19	32	23
20	32	23
21	32	23
22	32	23
23	32	23
24	32	23
25	32	23
26	32	23
27	32	23
28	32	23
29	32	23
30	32	23
31	32	23

How December really feels in Santa Cruz

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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Santa Cruz weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 1st-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	32° / 23°	32	8	12.3	4.1
Feb	32° / 23°	39	9.4	12.2	3.9
Mar	32° / 23°	61	12.5	12	3.8
Apr	31° / 23°	62	12.4	11.9	4.2
May	31° / 22°	39	7.4	11.7	5.0
Jun	29° / 21°	30	5.5	11.6	5.8
Jul	29° / 20°	22	4.1	11.7	6.2
Aug	30° / 20°	7	1.4	11.8	6.1
Sep	31° / 21°	3	0.9	12	5.6
Oct	32° / 21°	3	0.6	12.1	5.0
Nov	32° / 22°	4	0.8	12.3	4.8
Dec	32° / 22°	10	3	12.4	4.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 25% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 36%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	67	67	68	68	67	67	67	67	66	66	66	65	65	64	64	63	63	62	63	62	62	62	61	61	61	61	61	61	61	61	60
Cloudier (%)	33	33	32	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	35	35	36	36	37	37	38	37	38	38	38	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	40

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	68	32
4	68	32
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	65	35
13	65	35
14	64	36
15	64	36
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	62	38
19	63	37
20	62	38
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	61	39
24	61	39
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	61	39
31	60	40

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Santa Cruz gets around 10 mm of rain over 3 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 9% and peaks near 17% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	11	11	12	12	13	14	14	15	15	16	16	17

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

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the muggy band about 85% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 96% of them.

	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
Humid (%)	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Muggy (%)	90	89	90	90	89	89	89	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	87	87	87	86	86	84	84	83	82	81	81	80	79	79	78	78	78
Oppressive (%)	5	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	12	12	13	14	15	15	16	17	17	18	18	18

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	5	90	5
2	5	89	6
3	4	90	6
4	4	90	6
5	4	89	7
6	4	89	7
7	4	89	7
8	3	89	8
9	3	89	8
10	3	89	8
11	3	88	9
12	3	88	9
13	3	88	9
14	3	88	9
15	3	87	10
16	3	87	10
17	3	87	10
18	3	86	11
19	3	86	11
20	4	84	12
21	4	84	12
22	4	83	13
23	4	82	14
24	4	81	15
25	4	81	15
26	4	80	16
27	4	79	17
28	4	79	17
29	4	78	18
30	4	78	18
31	4	78	18

Wind in December

Winds average 16 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 16 km/h on the calmest days to 17 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)	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	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	17	light breeze
2	17	light breeze
3	17	light breeze
4	17	light breeze
5	16	light breeze
6	16	light breeze
7	16	light breeze
8	16	light breeze
9	16	light breeze
10	16	light breeze
11	16	light breeze
12	16	light breeze
13	16	light breeze
14	16	light breeze
15	16	light breeze
16	16	light breeze
17	16	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 12 h 18 min at the start of December to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:04 AM to 5:17 AM, and sunset from 5:24 PM to 5:38 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)	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4
Sunrise (AM)	5:04	5:04	5:04	5:05	5:05	5:05	5:06	5:06	5:07	5:07	5:07	5:08	5:08	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:10	5:10	5:11	5:11	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:13	5:14	5:14	5:15	5:15	5:16	5:16	5:17
Sunset (PM)	5:24	5:24	5:25	5:25	5:26	5:26	5:27	5:27	5:28	5:28	5:29	5:29	5:30	5:30	5:31	5:31	5:32	5:32	5:32	5:33	5:33	5:34	5:34	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:38

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.3	5:04	5:24
2	12.3	5:04	5:24
3	12.3	5:04	5:25
4	12.3	5:05	5:25
5	12.3	5:05	5:26
6	12.3	5:05	5:26
7	12.3	5:06	5:27
8	12.4	5:06	5:27
9	12.4	5:07	5:28
10	12.4	5:07	5:28
11	12.4	5:07	5:29
12	12.4	5:08	5:29
13	12.4	5:08	5:30
14	12.4	5:09	5:30
15	12.4	5:09	5:31
16	12.4	5:09	5:31
17	12.4	5:10	5:32
18	12.4	5:10	5:32
19	12.4	5:11	5:32
20	12.4	5:11	5:33
21	12.4	5:12	5:33
22	12.4	5:12	5:34
23	12.4	5:13	5:34
24	12.4	5:13	5:35
25	12.4	5:14	5:35
26	12.4	5:14	5:36
27	12.4	5:15	5:36
28	12.4	5:15	5:37
29	12.4	5:16	5:37
30	12.4	5:16	5:38
31	12.4	5:17	5:38

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 6.19 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.32 kWh/m² to a high of 6.44 kWh/m² in November across the year — December's 6.19 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.0
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.3	Intense
2	6.3	Intense
3	6.3	Intense
4	6.3	Intense
5	6.3	Intense
6	6.3	Intense
7	6.3	Intense
8	6.3	Intense
9	6.3	Intense
10	6.3	Intense
11	6.2	Intense
12	6.2	Intense
13	6.2	Intense
14	6.2	Intense
15	6.2	Intense
16	6.2	Intense
17	6.2	Intense
18	6.2	Intense
19	6.2	Intense
20	6.1	Intense
21	6.1	Intense
22	6.1	Intense
23	6.1	Intense
24	6.1	Intense
25	6.1	Intense
26	6.1	Intense
27	6.1	Intense
28	6.1	Intense
29	6.1	Intense
30	6.1	Intense
31	6.0	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Santa Cruz?

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

4.5

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

7.5

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Santa Cruz in December

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

In December, Santa Cruz sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 3 days see rain.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Santa Cruz in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 12 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Santa Cruz peaks around March 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 15 at about 10 (very high).

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)	14	15	16	14	11	10	10	10	13	12	12	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	15	Extreme
Mar	16	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	11	Extreme
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	10	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Santa Cruz?

Santa Cruz sits at 6.2°S, 36.0°W, 230 m above sea level, in Brazil. The nearest listed city is Cuité, 32 km away.

Topography around Santa Cruz

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Cruz has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 97 m around an average of 240 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 389 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 734 m.

The land around Santa Cruz is covered by grassland (57%) and shrubs (25%) within 3 km, shrubs (67%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and shrubs (62%) and grassland (35%) within 80 km.

3 km

97 m

grassland 57%

16 km

389 m

shrubs 67%

80 km

734 m

shrubs 62%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

December weather nearby: Cuité 32 km · São Paulo do Potengi 47 km · Picuí 48 km · Araruna 48 km · Lagoa Nova 52 km · Cacimba de Dentro 53 km · Currais Novos 55 km · Santo Antônio 61 km

Brazil travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / N; 127 / 220 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 46% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $10,713; 2025
Happiness: 6.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 89%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 19.3; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 16; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 482
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 Santa Cruz (-6.2294°, -36.0228°, elevation 230 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. 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	32	22
2	32	22
3	32	22
4	32	22
5	32	22
6	32	22
7	32	22
8	32	22
9	32	22
10	32	22
11	32	22
12	32	22
13	32	22
14	32	22
15	32	23
16	32	23
17	32	23
18	32	23
19	32	23
20	32	23
21	32	23
22	32	23
23	32	23
24	32	23
25	32	23
26	32	23
27	32	23
28	32	23
29	32	23
30	32	23
31	32	23

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	68	32
4	68	32
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	65	35
13	65	35
14	64	36
15	64	36
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	62	38
19	63	37
20	62	38
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	61	39
24	61	39
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	61	39
31	60	40

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

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	5	90	5
2	5	89	6
3	4	90	6
4	4	90	6
5	4	89	7
6	4	89	7
7	4	89	7
8	3	89	8
9	3	89	8
10	3	89	8
11	3	88	9
12	3	88	9
13	3	88	9
14	3	88	9
15	3	87	10
16	3	87	10
17	3	87	10
18	3	86	11
19	3	86	11
20	4	84	12
21	4	84	12
22	4	83	13
23	4	82	14
24	4	81	15
25	4	81	15
26	4	80	16
27	4	79	17
28	4	79	17
29	4	78	18
30	4	78	18
31	4	78	18

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	32	22
2	32	22
3	32	22
4	32	22
5	32	22
6	32	22
7	32	22
8	32	22
9	32	22
10	32	22
11	32	22
12	32	22
13	32	22
14	32	22
15	32	23
16	32	23
17	32	23
18	32	23
19	32	23
20	32	23
21	32	23
22	32	23
23	32	23
24	32	23
25	32	23
26	32	23
27	32	23
28	32	23
29	32	23
30	32	23
31	32	23

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	68	32
4	68	32
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	65	35
13	65	35
14	64	36
15	64	36
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	62	38
19	63	37
20	62	38
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	61	39
24	61	39
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	61	39
31	60	40

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

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	5	90	5
2	5	89	6
3	4	90	6
4	4	90	6
5	4	89	7
6	4	89	7
7	4	89	7
8	3	89	8
9	3	89	8
10	3	89	8
11	3	88	9
12	3	88	9
13	3	88	9
14	3	88	9
15	3	87	10
16	3	87	10
17	3	87	10
18	3	86	11
19	3	86	11
20	4	84	12
21	4	84	12
22	4	83	13
23	4	82	14
24	4	81	15
25	4	81	15
26	4	80	16
27	4	79	17
28	4	79	17
29	4	78	18
30	4	78	18
31	4	78	18

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	32	22
2	32	22
3	32	22
4	32	22
5	32	22
6	32	22
7	32	22
8	32	22
9	32	22
10	32	22
11	32	22
12	32	22
13	32	22
14	32	22
15	32	23
16	32	23
17	32	23
18	32	23
19	32	23
20	32	23
21	32	23
22	32	23
23	32	23
24	32	23
25	32	23
26	32	23
27	32	23
28	32	23
29	32	23
30	32	23
31	32	23

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	68	32
4	68	32
5	67	33
6	67	33
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	65	35
13	65	35
14	64	36
15	64	36
16	63	37
17	63	37
18	62	38
19	63	37
20	62	38
21	62	38
22	62	38
23	61	39
24	61	39
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	61	39
29	61	39
30	61	39
31	60	40

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

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	5	90	5
2	5	89	6
3	4	90	6
4	4	90	6
5	4	89	7
6	4	89	7
7	4	89	7
8	3	89	8
9	3	89	8
10	3	89	8
11	3	88	9
12	3	88	9
13	3	88	9
14	3	88	9
15	3	87	10
16	3	87	10
17	3	87	10
18	3	86	11
19	3	86	11
20	4	84	12
21	4	84	12
22	4	83	13
23	4	82	14
24	4	81	15
25	4	81	15
26	4	80	16
27	4	79	17
28	4	79	17
29	4	78	18
30	4	78	18
31	4	78	18