Tshikapa weather in December

In December, Tshikapa sees average daytime highs of 30°C and overnight lows near 21°C, with 174 mm of rain across 23.6 wet days and about 12.4 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 30°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 2% of the time in December, and the air most often feels oppressive.

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 Tshikapa's 12th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tshikapa's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 30°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 21°; 6th coldest
Rainfall: 174 mm; 23.6 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 24 min; 6:22 AM – 6:44 PM
Cloud cover: 84%; 12th clearest
Wind: 4 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 5.06 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.5; out of 10

Tshikapa is capital city of Kasaï province.

Founded: 2003

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

← November Tshikapa 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 30°C through the month.

A typical December day in Tshikapa reaches about 30°C in the afternoon and slips back to 21°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 27°C and 32°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	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30
Avg low (°C)	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21

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

How December really feels in Tshikapa

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.

Tshikapa weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 12th-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° / 22°	137	20.2	12.3	3.6
Feb	31° / 22°	127	18.7	12.2	3.3
Mar	31° / 22°	163	22.5	12	3.2
Apr	31° / 22°	153	20	11.9	3.5
May	32° / 21°	39	6.9	11.7	4.4
Jun	33° / 20°	6	1.3	11.6	4.7
Jul	33° / 19°	2	0.5	11.7	4.5
Aug	32° / 21°	33	6.2	11.8	4.2
Sep	31° / 22°	93	15.5	12	3.7
Oct	31° / 21°	134	22.2	12.1	3.3
Nov	30° / 21°	177	23.4	12.3	3.4
Dec	30° / 21°	174	23.6	12.4	3.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 2% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 88%.

	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 (%)	12	12	12	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	12	12	12	13	13	13
Cloudier (%)	88	88	88	87	87	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	89	88	88	88	88	89	89	89	88	88	88	87	87	87

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	12	88
4	13	87
5	13	87
6	12	88
7	12	88
8	12	88
9	12	88
10	12	88
11	12	88
12	12	88
13	12	88
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	11	89
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	12	88
22	12	88
23	11	89
24	11	89
25	11	89
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	13	87
30	13	87
31	13	87

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Tshikapa gets around 174 mm of rain over 23.6 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 75% and peaks near 78% 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 (%)	78	78	78	78	78	78	77	77	77	77	76	76	76	76	75	75	75	75	75	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	73	73	72

	Rain chance (%)
1	78
2	78
3	78
4	78
5	78
6	78
7	77
8	77
9	77
10	77
11	76
12	76
13	76
14	76
15	75
16	75
17	75
18	75
19	75
20	74
21	74
22	74
23	74
24	74
25	74
26	74
27	74
28	74
29	73
30	73
31	72

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 74% 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 (%)	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	25	25	26	26	27	27	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	27	27	27	28
Oppressive (%)	77	77	77	77	77	76	76	76	75	75	74	74	73	73	72	72	72	72	71	71	71	72	72	72	72	72	72	73	73	73	72

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	24	76
7	24	76
8	24	76
9	25	75
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	27	73
14	27	73
15	28	72
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	29	71
20	29	71
21	29	71
22	28	72
23	28	72
24	28	72
25	28	72
26	28	72
27	28	72
28	27	73
29	27	73
30	27	73
31	28	72

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 4 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	4	4	4
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	4	calm
30	4	calm
31	4	calm

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 6:16 AM to 6:29 AM, and sunset from 6:37 PM to 6:51 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	12.4	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	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4	12.4
Sunrise (AM)	6:16	6:16	6:17	6:17	6:17	6:18	6:18	6:19	6:19	6:19	6:20	6:20	6:21	6:21	6:21	6:22	6:22	6:23	6:23	6:24	6:24	6:25	6:25	6:26	6:26	6:27	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:29
Sunset (PM)	6:37	6:37	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:40	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:46	6:47	6:47	6:48	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:50	6:51	6:51

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.3	6:16	6:37
2	12.3	6:16	6:37
3	12.4	6:17	6:38
4	12.4	6:17	6:38
5	12.4	6:17	6:39
6	12.4	6:18	6:39
7	12.4	6:18	6:40
8	12.4	6:19	6:40
9	12.4	6:19	6:41
10	12.4	6:19	6:41
11	12.4	6:20	6:42
12	12.4	6:20	6:42
13	12.4	6:21	6:43
14	12.4	6:21	6:43
15	12.4	6:21	6:44
16	12.4	6:22	6:44
17	12.4	6:22	6:45
18	12.4	6:23	6:45
19	12.4	6:23	6:46
20	12.4	6:24	6:46
21	12.4	6:24	6:46
22	12.4	6:25	6:47
23	12.4	6:25	6:47
24	12.4	6:26	6:48
25	12.4	6:26	6:48
26	12.4	6:27	6:49
27	12.4	6:27	6:49
28	12.4	6:27	6:50
29	12.4	6:28	6:50
30	12.4	6:28	6:51
31	12.4	6:29	6:51

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.06 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 5.06 kWh/m² to a high of 5.48 kWh/m² in October across the year — December's 5.06 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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)	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1
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	5.1	Bright
2	5.0	Bright
3	5.0	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	5.0	Bright
6	5.1	Bright
7	5.1	Bright
8	5.1	Bright
9	5.1	Bright
10	5.1	Bright
11	5.1	Bright
12	5.1	Bright
13	5.1	Bright
14	5.1	Bright
15	5.1	Bright
16	5.1	Bright
17	5.1	Bright
18	5.1	Bright
19	5.1	Bright
20	5.1	Bright
21	5.1	Bright
22	5.1	Bright
23	5.1	Bright
24	5.1	Bright
25	5.1	Bright
26	5.1	Bright
27	5.1	Bright
28	5.1	Bright
29	5.1	Bright
30	5.1	Bright
31	5.1	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Tshikapa

In seasonPeak

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

Tshikapa's rainy season runs September–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 Tshikapa?

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

3.5

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

4.6

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Tshikapa.

What to pack for Tshikapa in December

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

In December, Tshikapa sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 24 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Tshikapa in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Tshikapa peaks around March 16 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near August 13 at about 5 (moderate).

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)	13	14	15	13	9	7	7	4	11	13	12	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	13	Extreme
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	15	Extreme
Apr	13	Extreme
May	9	Very high
Jun	7	Very high
Jul	7	High
Aug	4	Moderate
Sep	11	Extreme
Oct	13	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	11	Extreme

Air quality in Tshikapa 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 Tshikapa is worst in August — around 151 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 12.7× the cleanest month (November, 12 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)	19	23	15	15	59	140	136	151	38	17	12	13
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Very unhealthy	Poor	Moderate	Good	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	19	Moderate
Feb	23	Moderate
Mar	15	Moderate
Apr	15	Moderate
May	59	Unhealthy
Jun	140	Unhealthy
Jul	136	Unhealthy
Aug	151	Very unhealthy
Sep	38	Poor
Oct	17	Moderate
Nov	12	Good
Dec	13	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Tshikapa?

Tshikapa sits at 6.4°S, 20.8°E, 484 m above sea level, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed city is Chitato, 99 km away.

Topography around Tshikapa

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tshikapa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 117 m around an average of 477 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 230 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 495 m.

The land around Tshikapa is covered by grassland (30%), trees (29%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, grassland (54%) and shrubs (27%) within 16 km, and trees (40%), grassland (31%) and shrubs (28%) within 80 km.

3 km

117 m

grassland 30%

16 km

230 m

grassland 54%

80 km

495 m

trees 40%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

December weather nearby: Chitato 99 km · Dundo 106 km · Cassanguidi 131 km · Luebo 137 km · Kananga 188 km · Demba 192 km · Mweka 193 km · Idiofa 209 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 Tshikapa (-6.4162°, 20.7999°, elevation 484 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	21
2	29	21
3	29	21
4	29	21
5	29	21
6	29	21
7	29	21
8	29	21
9	29	21
10	29	21
11	29	21
12	29	21
13	30	21
14	30	21
15	30	21
16	30	21
17	30	21
18	30	21
19	30	21
20	30	21
21	30	21
22	30	21
23	30	21
24	30	21
25	30	21
26	30	21
27	30	21
28	30	21
29	30	21
30	30	21
31	30	21

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	12	88
4	13	87
5	13	87
6	12	88
7	12	88
8	12	88
9	12	88
10	12	88
11	12	88
12	12	88
13	12	88
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	11	89
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	12	88
22	12	88
23	11	89
24	11	89
25	11	89
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	13	87
30	13	87
31	13	87

	Rain chance (%)
1	78
2	78
3	78
4	78
5	78
6	78
7	77
8	77
9	77
10	77
11	76
12	76
13	76
14	76
15	75
16	75
17	75
18	75
19	75
20	74
21	74
22	74
23	74
24	74
25	74
26	74
27	74
28	74
29	73
30	73
31	72

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	24	76
7	24	76
8	24	76
9	25	75
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	27	73
14	27	73
15	28	72
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	29	71
20	29	71
21	29	71
22	28	72
23	28	72
24	28	72
25	28	72
26	28	72
27	28	72
28	27	73
29	27	73
30	27	73
31	28	72

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	12	88
4	13	87
5	13	87
6	12	88
7	12	88
8	12	88
9	12	88
10	12	88
11	12	88
12	12	88
13	12	88
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	11	89
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	12	88
22	12	88
23	11	89
24	11	89
25	11	89
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	13	87
30	13	87
31	13	87

	Rain chance (%)
1	78
2	78
3	78
4	78
5	78
6	78
7	77
8	77
9	77
10	77
11	76
12	76
13	76
14	76
15	75
16	75
17	75
18	75
19	75
20	74
21	74
22	74
23	74
24	74
25	74
26	74
27	74
28	74
29	73
30	73
31	72

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	24	76
7	24	76
8	24	76
9	25	75
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	27	73
14	27	73
15	28	72
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	29	71
20	29	71
21	29	71
22	28	72
23	28	72
24	28	72
25	28	72
26	28	72
27	28	72
28	27	73
29	27	73
30	27	73
31	28	72

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	12	88
4	13	87
5	13	87
6	12	88
7	12	88
8	12	88
9	12	88
10	12	88
11	12	88
12	12	88
13	12	88
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	11	89
19	12	88
20	12	88
21	12	88
22	12	88
23	11	89
24	11	89
25	11	89
26	12	88
27	12	88
28	12	88
29	13	87
30	13	87
31	13	87

	Rain chance (%)
1	78
2	78
3	78
4	78
5	78
6	78
7	77
8	77
9	77
10	77
11	76
12	76
13	76
14	76
15	75
16	75
17	75
18	75
19	75
20	74
21	74
22	74
23	74
24	74
25	74
26	74
27	74
28	74
29	73
30	73
31	72

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	23	77
2	23	77
3	23	77
4	23	77
5	23	77
6	24	76
7	24	76
8	24	76
9	25	75
10	25	75
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	27	73
14	27	73
15	28	72
16	28	72
17	28	72
18	28	72
19	29	71
20	29	71
21	29	71
22	28	72
23	28	72
24	28	72
25	28	72
26	28	72
27	28	72
28	27	73
29	27	73
30	27	73
31	28	72