Bansko weather in December

In December, Bansko sees average daytime highs of 3°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 94 mm of precipitation across 10.1 wet days and about 9 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 5°C in the first days to 2°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 12 min at the start of December to 9 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Bansko's 9th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Bansko's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
-5°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
94 mm
10.1 wet days
Daylight
9 hours
7:53 AM – 4:51 PM
Cloud cover
59%
9th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
5th windiest
Solar energy
1.76 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Bansko is city in Bansko municipality, Blagoevgrad oblast, Bulgaria.

Density
62/km²
people per km²

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 5°C in the first days to 2°C by the end.

A typical December day in Bansko reaches about 3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -5°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -2°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 5°C cooler than November and about 1°C warmer than January.

-15°-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
15-3
25-3
35-3
44-3
54-3
64-3
74-4
84-4
94-4
103-4
113-4
123-5
133-5
143-5
153-5
162-5
172-5
182-5
192-5
202-5
212-6
222-6
232-6
242-6
252-6
262-6
272-6
282-6
292-6
302-6
311-6

How December really feels in Bansko

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
wind chill below the day's low

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

Bansko weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -7°759.38.59.30.0
Feb / -6°729.2810.30.0
Mar / -3°9212.67.911.70.8
Apr12° / 9715.8313.12.5
May17° / 12318.10.214.34.3
Jun21° / 11316.50155.6
Jul23° / 11°9411.8014.76.9
Aug23° / 11°7810.9013.77.1
Sep19° / 7010.1012.36.2
Oct14° / 718.70.910.94.3
Nov / -1°778.32.89.61.6
Dec / -5°9410.17.190.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 54%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14357
24555
34555
44456
54555
64555
74555
84654
94654
104654
114555
124753
134753
144654
154654
164654
174555
184555
194555
204555
214555
224555
234555
244654
254555
264654
274654
284753
294753
304654
314753

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Bansko gets around 94 mm of rain and snow over 10.1 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 32% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 7 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13518
23518
33518
43519
53519
63420
73421
83421
93422
103323
113324
123324
133225
143225
153225
163225
173225
183225
193225
203225
213225
223125
233125
243124
253124
263024
273024
283024
293024
303024
312924

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in December

Winds average 6 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 12 min at the start of December to 9 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 12 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 7:40 AM to 7:59 AM, and sunset from 4:51 PM to 4:59 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.27:404:51
29.27:414:51
39.17:424:51
49.17:434:51
59.17:444:51
69.17:454:50
79.17:464:50
89.17:474:50
99.07:484:50
109.07:494:50
119.07:494:51
129.07:504:51
139.07:514:51
149.07:524:51
159.07:524:51
169.07:534:51
179.07:544:52
189.07:544:52
199.07:554:52
209.07:554:53
219.07:564:53
229.07:564:54
239.07:574:54
249.07:574:55
259.07:584:55
269.07:584:56
279.07:584:56
289.07:594:57
299.07:594:58
309.07:594:58
319.07:594:59

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.76 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.76 kWh/m² to a high of 6.37 kWh/m² in July across the year — December's 1.76 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.8Dim
21.8Dim
31.8Dim
41.8Dim
51.8Dim
61.8Dim
71.8Dim
81.8Dim
91.8Dim
101.8Dim
111.8Dim
121.8Dim
131.8Dim
141.8Dim
151.8Dim
161.8Dim
171.8Dim
181.8Dim
191.8Dim
201.8Dim
211.8Dim
221.8Dim
231.8Dim
241.8Dim
251.8Dim
261.8Dim
271.8Dim
281.8Dim
291.8Dim
301.8Dim
311.9Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Bansko?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Bansko.

What to pack for Bansko in December

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

In December, Bansko sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Bansko in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bansko peaks around June 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateVery highHighModerateLowJun 23UV 9Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr8Very high
May7Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Bansko?

Bansko sits at 41.8°N, 23.5°E, 0 m above sea level, in Bulgaria. The nearest listed city is Sandanski, 34 km away.

SandanskiGotse DelchevBlagoevgradVelingradPetrichSamokovDupnitsaDelcevo

Topography around Bansko

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bansko has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 456 m around an average of 947 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,226 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,870 m.

The land around Bansko is covered by grassland (42%), trees (24%) and cropland (20%) within 3 km, trees (68%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and trees (69%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
456 m
16 km
2,226 m
80 km
2,870 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
December weather nearby: Sandanski 34 km · Gotse Delchev 36 km · Blagoevgrad 38 km · Velingrad 47 km · Petrich 54 km · Samokov 56 km · Dupnitsa 57 km · Delcevo 61 km

Bulgaria travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 23% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$20,328
2025
Happiness
5.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
96%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
9.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 594
Religion
Christian 65%Muslim 10%none 5%other 0%

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 Bansko (41.8361°, 23.4874°, elevation 0 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).