Atuntaqui weather in December

In December, Atuntaqui sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 202 mm of rain across 23.4 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 2% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 hours at the start of December to 12 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Atuntaqui's 6th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Atuntaqui's year-round climate.

Daytime high
17°
10th warmest
Overnight low
10th coldest
Rainfall
202 mm
23.4 wet days
Daylight
12 hours
6:10 AM – 6:08 PM
Cloud cover
81%
6th clearest
Wind
4 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
4.67 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.8
out of 10

Atuntaqui is city of Imbabura Province, Ecuador.

Density
1,767/km²
people per km²
Founded
1566

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month.

A typical December day in Atuntaqui reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with January.

10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1179
2179
3179
4179
5179
6179
7179
8189
9189
10189
11189
12189
13179
14179
15179
16179
17179
18179
19179
20179
21179
22179
23179
24179
25179
26189
27189
28189
29189
30189
31189

Atuntaqui weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan18° / 17520.8124.1
Feb18° / 17020.6123.9
Mar18° / 21825.5123.5
Apr18° / 24126.1123.4
May18° / 16724.6123.7
Jun17° / 8417.7124.4
Jul17° / 5613.7125.0
Aug18° / 328.7125.8
Sep19° / 7413.9125.2
Oct18° / 16122.5124.1
Nov18° / 21625.3123.5
Dec17° / 20223.4123.8

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 2% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 88%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1991
2991
3991
4991
5991
6991
7991
8991
9991
10991
11991
12991
131090
141189
151189
161288
171288
181288
191387
201387
211486
221486
231585
241585
251684
261684
271684
281783
291783
301783
311684

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Atuntaqui gets around 202 mm of rain over 23.4 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 81% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
181
281
380
480
580
679
779
879
978
1078
1178
1278
1378
1477
1577
1677
1776
1876
1976
2075
2175
2274
2373
2472
2571
2670
2769
2869
2968
3068
3168

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 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.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
14calm
24calm
34calm
44calm
54calm
64calm
74calm
84calm
94calm
104calm
114calm
124calm
134calm
144calm
154calm
164calm
174calm
184calm
194calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 0 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:03 AM to 6:17 AM, and sunset from 6:02 PM to 6:15 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.06:036:02
212.06:046:02
312.06:046:03
412.06:046:03
512.06:056:04
612.06:056:04
712.06:066:04
812.06:066:05
912.06:066:05
1012.06:076:06
1112.06:076:06
1212.06:086:07
1312.06:086:07
1412.06:096:08
1512.06:096:08
1612.06:106:08
1712.06:106:09
1812.06:116:09
1912.06:116:10
2012.06:116:10
2112.06:126:11
2212.06:126:11
2312.06:136:12
2412.06:136:12
2512.06:146:13
2612.06:146:13
2712.06:156:14
2812.06:156:14
2912.06:166:15
3012.06:166:15
3112.06:176:15

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 4.67 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.67 kWh/m² to a high of 5.45 kWh/m² in September across the year — December's 4.67 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.7Bright
24.7Bright
34.7Bright
44.7Bright
54.7Bright
64.7Bright
74.7Bright
84.7Bright
94.7Bright
104.7Bright
114.6Bright
124.6Bright
134.6Bright
144.6Bright
154.6Bright
164.6Bright
174.6Bright
184.6Bright
194.6Bright
204.7Bright
214.7Bright
224.7Bright
234.7Bright
244.7Bright
254.7Bright
264.7Bright
274.7Bright
284.7Bright
294.7Bright
304.8Bright
314.8Bright
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Atuntaqui?

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

3.8
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
1.1
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Atuntaqui.

What to pack for Atuntaqui in December

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

In December, Atuntaqui sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 9°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 23 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Atuntaqui in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks 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 Atuntaqui peaks around March 11 at about 18 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 18 at about 13 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 11UV 18Jul 18UV 13
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb17Extreme
Mar18Extreme
Apr15Extreme
May15Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep15Extreme
Oct15Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec14Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Atuntaqui?

Atuntaqui sits at 0.3°N, 78.2°W, 2,391 m above sea level, in Ecuador. The nearest listed city is Ibarra, 11 km away.

Topography around Atuntaqui

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Atuntaqui has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 515 m around an average of 2,414 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,184 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,650 m.

The land around Atuntaqui is covered by cropland (38%), grassland (24%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, grassland (42%), trees (26%) and cropland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (66%) and grassland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
515 m
16 km
3,184 m
80 km
5,650 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Ibarra 11 km · Otavalo 11 km · Cayambe 33 km · Pomasqui 50 km · Quito 71 km · Mindo 75 km · Tulcán 78 km · Ipiales 85 km

Ecuador travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 43% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$7,125
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
70%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
45.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
20.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 466
Religion
Roman Catholic 68%Protestant 19%none 8%other 2%

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 Atuntaqui (0.3276°, -78.2191°, elevation 2,391 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).