Cali in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Cali sees average daytime highs around 26°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 920 mm of rain over about 74 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 4% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.

Winter is Cali's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. Cali has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Cali's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
26°C
3rd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
18°C
Rainfall
920 mm
74 wet days
Avg wind
4 km/h
Travel score
4.2
3rd-best season
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Cali in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C.

A typical winter day in Cali reaches about 26°C and drops to 18°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

15°20°25°30°DecJanFeb

Cali weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 18°29624.511.84.3
Feb26° / 18°26123.511.94.1
Mar26° / 18°30225.7124.1
Apr26° / 19°29623.512.14.2
May26° / 19°21021.112.24.5
Jun26° / 18°12515.412.25.2
Jul27° / 18°11614.412.25.4
Aug27° / 18°14315.412.15.3
Sep26° / 18°20720.7124.5
Oct26° / 18°37625.911.94.0
Nov26° / 18°46327.111.83.8
Dec26° / 18°36325.511.84.2

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 4% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Cali gets around 920 mm of rain over 74 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%100%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 4 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.3 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Cali?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.2
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
4.0
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Cali for sightseeing.

What to pack for Cali in Winter

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

In winter, Cali sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 18°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 74 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

UV index in Cali in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cali peaks around March 13 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near August 11 at about 12 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 13UV 16Aug 11UV 12
UV index (midday)Level
Jan14Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar16Extreme
Apr13Extreme
May14Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec12Extreme

Air quality in Cali in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Cali is worst in March — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (November, 13 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateMar 1721 µg/m³Nov 1313 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan18Moderate
Feb20Moderate
Mar22Moderate
Apr20Moderate
May18Moderate
Jun18Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct15Moderate
Nov13Moderate
Dec16Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Cali?

Cali sits at 3.4°N, 76.5°W, 758 m above sea level, in Colombia. The nearest listed city is Yumbo, 17 km away.

Topography around Cali

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cali has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 117 m around an average of 966 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,023 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,352 m.

The land around Cali is covered by artificial surfaces (95%) within 3 km, trees (48%) within 16 km, and trees (73%) within 80 km.

3 km
117 m
16 km
2,023 m
80 km
5,352 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswatermangroves
Winter weather nearby: Yumbo 17 km · Jamundí 19 km · Candelaria 19 km · Puerto Tejada 25 km · Palmira 27 km · Pradera 31 km · Florida 34 km · El Cerrito 36 km

Colombia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 / 240 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 38% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$8,562
2025
Happiness
6.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
74%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
24.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
15.4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 480
Religion
Roman Catholic 64%Protestant 17%none 14%atheist 1%

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 Cali (3.4305°, -76.5199°, elevation 758 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.