Kinshasa weather in December

In December, Kinshasa sees average daytime highs of 29°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 156 mm of rain across 24.9 wet days and about 12.2 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 29°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 12 min at the start of December to 12 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Kinshasa's 9th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kinshasa's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 29°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 22°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 156 mm; 24.9 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 12 min; 5:47 AM – 6:02 PM
Cloud cover: 79%; 9th clearest
Wind: 4 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 4.76 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.5; out of 10

Kinshasa is capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo having the status of a province.

Density: 1,606/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1881

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

← November Kinshasa 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 29°C through the month.

A typical December day in Kinshasa reaches about 29°C in the afternoon and slips back to 22°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 27°C and 31°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)	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29
Avg low (°C)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23

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

How December really feels in Kinshasa

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.

Kinshasa weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 9th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	30° / 23°	116	20.9	12.2	3.7
Feb	30° / 23°	102	15.7	12.1	3.8
Mar	31° / 23°	109	17.9	12	3.5
Apr	31° / 23°	140	21.3	11.9	3.2
May	30° / 23°	73	14.5	11.8	4.4
Jun	29° / 21°	4	1.2	11.8	6.6
Jul	28° / 20°	1	0.2	11.8	6.9
Aug	29° / 20°	5	1	11.9	6.3
Sep	30° / 22°	16	5	12	5.1
Oct	30° / 22°	112	18.7	12.1	3.8
Nov	29° / 22°	183	25	12.2	3.3
Dec	29° / 22°	156	24.9	12.2	3.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 82%.

	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 (%)	22	21	21	21	20	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
Cloudier (%)	78	79	79	79	80	81	81	82	82	82	82	82	82	83	83	83	83	83	84	84	84	84	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83

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

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Kinshasa gets around 156 mm of rain over 24.9 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 80% and peaks near 83% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	83	82	82	82	81	81	81	80	80	80	80	80	79	79	79	79	79	79	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	79	79	79	78	78

	Rain chance (%)
1	83
2	82
3	82
4	82
5	81
6	81
7	81
8	80
9	80
10	80
11	80
12	80
13	79
14	79
15	79
16	79
17	79
18	79
19	80
20	80
21	80
22	80
23	80
24	80
25	80
26	80
27	79
28	79
29	79
30	78
31	78

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the oppressive band about 99% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% 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
Muggy (%)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Oppressive (%)	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	99
2	0	100
3	0	100
4	0	100
5	0	100
6	0	100
7	0	100
8	0	100
9	0	100
10	0	100
11	0	100
12	1	99
13	1	99
14	1	99
15	1	99
16	1	99
17	1	99
18	1	99
19	1	99
20	1	99
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	2	98
25	2	98
26	2	98
27	2	98
28	2	98
29	2	98
30	2	98
31	2	98

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	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	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	4	calm
23	4	calm
24	4	calm
25	4	calm
26	4	calm
27	4	calm
28	4	calm
29	5	calm
30	5	calm
31	5	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 12 min at the start of December to 12 h 12 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 5:42 AM to 5:54 AM, and sunset from 5:55 PM to 6:09 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)	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2
Sunrise (AM)	5:42	5:42	5:42	5:43	5:43	5:43	5:44	5:44	5:44	5:45	5:45	5:46	5:46	5:47	5:47	5:47	5:48	5:48	5:49	5:49	5:50	5:50	5:51	5:51	5:52	5:52	5:53	5:53	5:54	5:54	5:54
Sunset (PM)	5:55	5:56	5:56	5:57	5:57	5:58	5:58	5:59	5:59	6:00	6:00	6:00	6:01	6:01	6:02	6:02	6:03	6:03	6:04	6:04	6:05	6:05	6:06	6:06	6:07	6:07	6:08	6:08	6:08	6:09	6:09

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.2	5:42	5:55
2	12.2	5:42	5:56
3	12.2	5:42	5:56
4	12.2	5:43	5:57
5	12.2	5:43	5:57
6	12.2	5:43	5:58
7	12.2	5:44	5:58
8	12.2	5:44	5:59
9	12.2	5:44	5:59
10	12.2	5:45	6:00
11	12.2	5:45	6:00
12	12.2	5:46	6:00
13	12.2	5:46	6:01
14	12.2	5:47	6:01
15	12.2	5:47	6:02
16	12.2	5:47	6:02
17	12.2	5:48	6:03
18	12.3	5:48	6:03
19	12.3	5:49	6:04
20	12.3	5:49	6:04
21	12.3	5:50	6:05
22	12.3	5:50	6:05
23	12.3	5:51	6:06
24	12.3	5:51	6:06
25	12.3	5:52	6:07
26	12.3	5:52	6:07
27	12.2	5:53	6:08
28	12.2	5:53	6:08
29	12.2	5:54	6:08
30	12.2	5:54	6:09
31	12.2	5:54	6:09

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 4.76 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.38 kWh/m² to a high of 5.21 kWh/m² in March across the year — December's 4.76 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)	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8
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	4.8	Bright
2	4.8	Bright
3	4.8	Bright
4	4.8	Bright
5	4.8	Bright
6	4.8	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.8	Bright
11	4.8	Bright
12	4.8	Bright
13	4.8	Bright
14	4.8	Bright
15	4.8	Bright
16	4.8	Bright
17	4.8	Bright
18	4.8	Bright
19	4.8	Bright
20	4.8	Bright
21	4.8	Bright
22	4.8	Bright
23	4.8	Bright
24	4.8	Bright
25	4.8	Bright
26	4.8	Bright
27	4.8	Bright
28	4.8	Bright
29	4.8	Bright
30	4.8	Bright
31	4.8	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Kinshasa

In seasonPeak

In December, Kinshasa sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Kinshasa's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Kinshasa?

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

3.5

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

4.5

Beach & pool

11th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kinshasa.

What to pack for Kinshasa in December

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

In December, Kinshasa sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 25 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Kinshasa in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kinshasa peaks around March 17 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near August 11 at about 6 (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	13	15	13	9	7	7	6	10	13	12	10
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	15	Extreme
Apr	13	Extreme
May	9	Very high
Jun	7	High
Jul	7	High
Aug	6	High
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	13	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	10	Very high

Air quality in Kinshasa 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 Kinshasa is worst in June — around 60 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 1.8× the cleanest month (January, 33 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)	33	36	36	39	53	60	59	55	58	45	33	34
Level	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Unhealthy	Poor	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	33	Moderate
Feb	36	Poor
Mar	36	Poor
Apr	39	Poor
May	53	Poor
Jun	60	Unhealthy
Jul	59	Unhealthy
Aug	55	Poor
Sep	58	Unhealthy
Oct	45	Poor
Nov	33	Moderate
Dec	34	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Kinshasa?

Kinshasa sits at 4.3°S, 15.3°E, 281 m above sea level, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed city is Brazzaville, 8.0 km away.

Topography around Kinshasa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kinshasa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 30 m around an average of 284 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 346 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 578 m.

The land around Kinshasa is covered by artificial surfaces (86%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (39%) within 16 km, and grassland (55%) and trees (32%) within 80 km.

3 km

30 m

artificial surfaces 86%

16 km

346 m

artificial surfaces 39%

80 km

578 m

grassland 55%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland

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

December weather nearby: Brazzaville 8.0 km · Masina 11 km · Kasangulu 33 km · Inkisi 94 km · Mbanza-Ngungu 115 km · Mouyondzi 158 km · Loutété 162 km · Kimpese 168 km

Democratic Republic of the Congo travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / E; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 42% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $807; 2025
Happiness: 3.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 12%; of population, 2024
Road deaths: 34.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 400

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 Kinshasa (-4.3276°, 15.3136°, elevation 281 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	29	22
2	29	22
3	29	22
4	29	22
5	29	22
6	29	22
7	29	22
8	29	22
9	29	22
10	29	22
11	29	22
12	29	22
13	29	22
14	29	22
15	29	22
16	29	22
17	29	22
18	29	22
19	29	22
20	29	22
21	29	22
22	29	22
23	29	22
24	29	22
25	29	23
26	29	23
27	29	23
28	29	23
29	29	23
30	29	23
31	29	23

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	83
2	82
3	82
4	82
5	81
6	81
7	81
8	80
9	80
10	80
11	80
12	80
13	79
14	79
15	79
16	79
17	79
18	79
19	80
20	80
21	80
22	80
23	80
24	80
25	80
26	80
27	79
28	79
29	79
30	78
31	78

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	99
2	0	100
3	0	100
4	0	100
5	0	100
6	0	100
7	0	100
8	0	100
9	0	100
10	0	100
11	0	100
12	1	99
13	1	99
14	1	99
15	1	99
16	1	99
17	1	99
18	1	99
19	1	99
20	1	99
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	2	98
25	2	98
26	2	98
27	2	98
28	2	98
29	2	98
30	2	98
31	2	98

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	83
2	82
3	82
4	82
5	81
6	81
7	81
8	80
9	80
10	80
11	80
12	80
13	79
14	79
15	79
16	79
17	79
18	79
19	80
20	80
21	80
22	80
23	80
24	80
25	80
26	80
27	79
28	79
29	79
30	78
31	78

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	99
2	0	100
3	0	100
4	0	100
5	0	100
6	0	100
7	0	100
8	0	100
9	0	100
10	0	100
11	0	100
12	1	99
13	1	99
14	1	99
15	1	99
16	1	99
17	1	99
18	1	99
19	1	99
20	1	99
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	2	98
25	2	98
26	2	98
27	2	98
28	2	98
29	2	98
30	2	98
31	2	98

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	83
2	82
3	82
4	82
5	81
6	81
7	81
8	80
9	80
10	80
11	80
12	80
13	79
14	79
15	79
16	79
17	79
18	79
19	80
20	80
21	80
22	80
23	80
24	80
25	80
26	80
27	79
28	79
29	79
30	78
31	78

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	99
2	0	100
3	0	100
4	0	100
5	0	100
6	0	100
7	0	100
8	0	100
9	0	100
10	0	100
11	0	100
12	1	99
13	1	99
14	1	99
15	1	99
16	1	99
17	1	99
18	1	99
19	1	99
20	1	99
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	2	98
25	2	98
26	2	98
27	2	98
28	2	98
29	2	98
30	2	98
31	2	98