Popayán weather in December

In December, Popayán sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 294 mm of rain across 25.3 wet days and about 11.9 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 20°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 1% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 54 min at the start of December to 11 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Popayán's 4th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Popayán's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 20°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 294 mm; 25.3 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 54 min; 6:07 AM – 5:58 PM
Cloud cover: 84%; 4th clearest
Wind: 4 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 4.49 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.9; out of 10

← November Popayán 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 20°C through the month.

A typical December day in Popayán reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 18°C and 22°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)	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
Avg low (°C)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

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

Popayán weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	20° / 11°	233	21.9	11.9	4.4
Feb	20° / 11°	230	21.3	11.9	4.2
Mar	20° / 12°	299	25.4	12	3.9
Apr	20° / 12°	289	24.3	12.1	3.8
May	20° / 12°	197	21.7	12.1	4.2
Jun	20° / 11°	93	13.9	12.1	5.1
Jul	20° / 11°	64	10	12.1	5.8
Aug	21° / 11°	64	9.9	12.1	6.0
Sep	21° / 11°	145	18.1	12	4.8
Oct	20° / 11°	268	26.4	11.9	3.7
Nov	19° / 11°	331	28.1	11.9	3.3
Dec	20° / 11°	294	25.3	11.9	3.9

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 1% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 90%.

	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 (%)	3	3	3	4	4	4	6	6	6	7	7	8	8	9	9	9	10	10	11	12	13	13	14	14	14	16	16	16	17	17	17
Cloudier (%)	97	97	97	96	96	96	94	94	94	93	93	92	92	91	91	91	90	90	89	88	87	87	86	86	86	84	84	84	83	83	83

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	6	94
8	6	94
9	6	94
10	7	93
11	7	93
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	9	91
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	10	90
18	10	90
19	11	89
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	14	86
24	14	86
25	14	86
26	16	84
27	16	84
28	16	84
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	17	83

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Popayán gets around 294 mm of rain over 25.3 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 81% and peaks near 90% on the wettest days. The odds ease 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 (%)	90	90	90	89	89	88	88	87	87	86	86	85	85	84	83	82	81	80	79	78	78	77	76	75	75	74	73	73	73	72	72

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	89
5	89
6	88
7	88
8	87
9	87
10	86
11	86
12	85
13	85
14	84
15	83
16	82
17	81
18	80
19	79
20	78
21	78
22	77
23	76
24	75
25	75
26	74
27	73
28	73
29	73
30	72
31	72

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 87% 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 (%)	81	82	82	83	84	84	85	85	86	86	87	87	87	87	87	88	88	88	88	88	89	89	89	89	89	90	90	90	90	91	91
Comfortable (%)	19	18	18	17	16	16	15	15	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	81	19
2	82	18
3	82	18
4	83	17
5	84	16
6	84	16
7	85	15
8	85	15
9	86	14
10	86	14
11	87	13
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	88	12
17	88	12
18	88	12
19	88	12
20	88	12
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	89	11
24	89	11
25	89	11
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	91	9
31	91	9

Wind in December

Winds average 4 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 4 km/h on the calmest days to 5 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)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 54 min at the start of December to 11 h 54 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 6:00 AM to 6:14 AM, and sunset from 5:52 PM to 6:05 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)	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9
Sunrise (AM)	6:00	6:01	6:01	6:01	6:02	6:02	6:03	6:03	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:05	6:05	6:06	6:06	6:07	6:07	6:08	6:08	6:09	6:09	6:10	6:10	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:13	6:13	6:14
Sunset (PM)	5:52	5:53	5:53	5:53	5:54	5:54	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:56	5:56	5:57	5:57	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:59	5:59	6:00	6:00	6:01	6:01	6:02	6:02	6:03	6:03	6:04	6:04	6:04	6:05	6:05

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.9	6:00	5:52
2	11.9	6:01	5:53
3	11.9	6:01	5:53
4	11.9	6:01	5:53
5	11.9	6:02	5:54
6	11.9	6:02	5:54
7	11.9	6:03	5:55
8	11.9	6:03	5:55
9	11.9	6:04	5:55
10	11.9	6:04	5:56
11	11.9	6:04	5:56
12	11.9	6:05	5:57
13	11.9	6:05	5:57
14	11.9	6:06	5:58
15	11.9	6:06	5:58
16	11.9	6:07	5:58
17	11.9	6:07	5:59
18	11.9	6:08	5:59
19	11.9	6:08	6:00
20	11.9	6:09	6:00
21	11.9	6:09	6:01
22	11.9	6:10	6:01
23	11.9	6:10	6:02
24	11.9	6:11	6:02
25	11.9	6:11	6:03
26	11.9	6:12	6:03
27	11.9	6:12	6:04
28	11.9	6:12	6:04
29	11.9	6:13	6:04
30	11.9	6:13	6:05
31	11.9	6:14	6:05

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 4.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.23 kWh/m² to a high of 4.99 kWh/m² in February across the year — December's 4.49 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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)	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.4	Bright
2	4.4	Bright
3	4.4	Bright
4	4.4	Bright
5	4.4	Bright
6	4.4	Bright
7	4.4	Bright
8	4.4	Bright
9	4.4	Bright
10	4.4	Bright
11	4.4	Bright
12	4.4	Bright
13	4.4	Bright
14	4.4	Bright
15	4.4	Bright
16	4.4	Bright
17	4.5	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.5	Bright
20	4.5	Bright
21	4.5	Bright
22	4.5	Bright
23	4.6	Bright
24	4.6	Bright
25	4.6	Bright
26	4.6	Bright
27	4.7	Bright
28	4.7	Bright
29	4.7	Bright
30	4.7	Bright
31	4.7	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Popayán?

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

3.9

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

1.9

Beach & pool

11th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Popayán.

What to pack for Popayán in December

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

In December, Popayán sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 11°C. Pack rain gear. About 25 days see rain.

rain gear

UV index in Popayán in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Popayán peaks around February 21 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near November 20 at about 12 (extreme).

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)	15	17	16	14	15	13	12	12	14	14	12	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	17	Extreme
Mar	16	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	15	Extreme
Jun	13	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	14	Extreme
Oct	14	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Air quality in Popayán 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 Popayán is worst in March — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (July, 9 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)	15	18	19	16	12	10	9	12	16	13	13	14
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	15	Moderate
Feb	18	Moderate
Mar	19	Moderate
Apr	16	Moderate
May	12	Moderate
Jun	10	Good
Jul	9	Good
Aug	12	Good
Sep	16	Moderate
Oct	13	Moderate
Nov	13	Moderate
Dec	14	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Popayán?

Popayán sits at 2.4°N, 76.6°W, 1,760 m above sea level, in Colombia. The nearest listed city is Piendamo, 24 km away.

Topography around Popayán

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Popayán has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 298 m around an average of 1,751 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,679 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,601 m.

The land around Popayán is covered by trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (37%) within 3 km, trees (65%) and grassland (32%) within 16 km, and trees (75%) and grassland (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

298 m

trees 44%

16 km

1,679 m

trees 65%

80 km

4,601 m

trees 75%

treesgrasslandartificial surfaces

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

December weather nearby: Piendamo 24 km · Villa Rica 28 km · Morales 35 km · Suárez 58 km · Patía 64 km · Santander de Quilichao 65 km · Isnos 70 km · San Agustin 73 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

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 Popayán (2.4382°, -76.6132°, elevation 1,760 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	20	11
2	20	11
3	20	11
4	20	11
5	20	11
6	20	11
7	20	11
8	20	11
9	20	11
10	20	11
11	20	11
12	20	11
13	20	11
14	20	11
15	20	11
16	20	11
17	20	11
18	20	11
19	20	11
20	20	11
21	20	11
22	20	11
23	20	11
24	20	11
25	20	11
26	20	11
27	20	11
28	20	11
29	20	11
30	20	11
31	20	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	6	94
8	6	94
9	6	94
10	7	93
11	7	93
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	9	91
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	10	90
18	10	90
19	11	89
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	14	86
24	14	86
25	14	86
26	16	84
27	16	84
28	16	84
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	17	83

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	89
5	89
6	88
7	88
8	87
9	87
10	86
11	86
12	85
13	85
14	84
15	83
16	82
17	81
18	80
19	79
20	78
21	78
22	77
23	76
24	75
25	75
26	74
27	73
28	73
29	73
30	72
31	72

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	81	19
2	82	18
3	82	18
4	83	17
5	84	16
6	84	16
7	85	15
8	85	15
9	86	14
10	86	14
11	87	13
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	88	12
17	88	12
18	88	12
19	88	12
20	88	12
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	89	11
24	89	11
25	89	11
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	91	9
31	91	9

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	6	94
8	6	94
9	6	94
10	7	93
11	7	93
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	9	91
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	10	90
18	10	90
19	11	89
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	14	86
24	14	86
25	14	86
26	16	84
27	16	84
28	16	84
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	17	83

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	89
5	89
6	88
7	88
8	87
9	87
10	86
11	86
12	85
13	85
14	84
15	83
16	82
17	81
18	80
19	79
20	78
21	78
22	77
23	76
24	75
25	75
26	74
27	73
28	73
29	73
30	72
31	72

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	81	19
2	82	18
3	82	18
4	83	17
5	84	16
6	84	16
7	85	15
8	85	15
9	86	14
10	86	14
11	87	13
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	88	12
17	88	12
18	88	12
19	88	12
20	88	12
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	89	11
24	89	11
25	89	11
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	91	9
31	91	9

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	4	96
6	4	96
7	6	94
8	6	94
9	6	94
10	7	93
11	7	93
12	8	92
13	8	92
14	9	91
15	9	91
16	9	91
17	10	90
18	10	90
19	11	89
20	12	88
21	13	87
22	13	87
23	14	86
24	14	86
25	14	86
26	16	84
27	16	84
28	16	84
29	17	83
30	17	83
31	17	83

	Rain chance (%)
1	90
2	90
3	90
4	89
5	89
6	88
7	88
8	87
9	87
10	86
11	86
12	85
13	85
14	84
15	83
16	82
17	81
18	80
19	79
20	78
21	78
22	77
23	76
24	75
25	75
26	74
27	73
28	73
29	73
30	72
31	72

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	81	19
2	82	18
3	82	18
4	83	17
5	84	16
6	84	16
7	85	15
8	85	15
9	86	14
10	86	14
11	87	13
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	88	12
17	88	12
18	88	12
19	88	12
20	88	12
21	89	11
22	89	11
23	89	11
24	89	11
25	89	11
26	90	10
27	90	10
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	91	9
31	91	9