Quito weather in December

In December, Quito sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 289 mm of rain across 30 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 3rd-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 1% 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 Quito's 6th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Quito's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 17°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 289 mm; 30 wet days
Daylight: 12 hours; 6:10 AM – 6:11 PM
Cloud cover: 84%; 6th clearest
Wind: 4 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 4.2 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.8; out of 10

Quito is capital of Ecuador.

Air quality: Elevated; PM2.5 19.8 µg/m³ · 2018
Density: 7,470/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1534

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

← November Quito 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 17°C through the month.

A typical December day in Quito reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 19°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)	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

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

Quito weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 8th-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	17° / 10°	273	29.9	12	2.9
Feb	17° / 10°	258	27.2	12	2.8
Mar	17° / 10°	311	30.1	12	2.8
Apr	17° / 10°	306	29.6	12	2.8
May	17° / 10°	248	29.9	12	3.0
Jun	18° / 10°	149	26	12	3.4
Jul	18° / 10°	109	24.7	12	3.8
Aug	18° / 10°	112	25.1	12	3.9
Sep	18° / 10°	199	28.5	12	3.3
Oct	17° / 10°	264	29.7	12	3.0
Nov	17° / 10°	282	28	12	2.9
Dec	17° / 10°	289	30	12	2.8

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 6% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 94%.

	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	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	6	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	11	11
Cloudier (%)	97	97	97	96	95	95	95	95	95	95	95	95	94	94	94	94	94	93	93	94	93	93	92	92	92	91	91	91	90	89	89

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	5	95
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	5	95
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	5	95
12	5	95
13	6	94
14	6	94
15	6	94
16	6	94
17	6	94
18	7	93
19	7	93
20	6	94
21	7	93
22	7	93
23	8	92
24	8	92
25	8	92
26	9	91
27	9	91
28	9	91
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Quito gets around 289 mm of rain over 30 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 97% and peaks near 98% 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 (%)	95	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98

	Rain chance (%)
1	95
2	95
3	95
4	95
5	96
6	96
7	96
8	96
9	96
10	96
11	96
12	97
13	97
14	97
15	97
16	97
17	97
18	97
19	97
20	97
21	98
22	98
23	98
24	98
25	98
26	98
27	98
28	98
29	98
30	98
31	98

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.

	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 (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

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 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 6:04 PM to 6:18 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)	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0
Sunrise (AM)	6:03	6:04	6:04	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:06	6:06	6:07	6:07	6:08	6:08	6:08	6:09	6:09	6:10	6:10	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:12	6:13	6:13	6:14	6:14	6:15	6:15	6:15	6:16	6:16	6:17
Sunset (PM)	6:04	6:05	6:05	6:05	6:06	6:06	6:07	6:07	6:07	6:08	6:08	6:09	6:09	6:10	6:10	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:12	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:14	6:14	6:15	6:15	6:16	6:16	6:17	6:17	6:18

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.0	6:03	6:04
2	12.0	6:04	6:05
3	12.0	6:04	6:05
4	12.0	6:05	6:05
5	12.0	6:05	6:06
6	12.0	6:05	6:06
7	12.0	6:06	6:07
8	12.0	6:06	6:07
9	12.0	6:07	6:07
10	12.0	6:07	6:08
11	12.0	6:08	6:08
12	12.0	6:08	6:09
13	12.0	6:08	6:09
14	12.0	6:09	6:10
15	12.0	6:09	6:10
16	12.0	6:10	6:11
17	12.0	6:10	6:11
18	12.0	6:11	6:12
19	12.0	6:11	6:12
20	12.0	6:12	6:13
21	12.0	6:12	6:13
22	12.0	6:13	6:13
23	12.0	6:13	6:14
24	12.0	6:14	6:14
25	12.0	6:14	6:15
26	12.0	6:15	6:15
27	12.0	6:15	6:16
28	12.0	6:15	6:16
29	12.0	6:16	6:17
30	12.0	6:16	6:17
31	12.0	6:17	6:18

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 4.2 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.2 kWh/m² to a high of 4.83 kWh/m² in September across the year — December's 4.2 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)	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2
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	4.3	Bright
2	4.3	Bright
3	4.3	Bright
4	4.3	Bright
5	4.3	Bright
6	4.3	Bright
7	4.3	Bright
8	4.3	Bright
9	4.3	Bright
10	4.2	Bright
11	4.2	Bright
12	4.2	Bright
13	4.2	Bright
14	4.2	Bright
15	4.2	Bright
16	4.2	Bright
17	4.2	Bright
18	4.2	Bright
19	4.2	Bright
20	4.2	Bright
21	4.1	Bright
22	4.1	Bright
23	4.2	Bright
24	4.2	Bright
25	4.2	Bright
26	4.2	Bright
27	4.2	Bright
28	4.2	Bright
29	4.2	Bright
30	4.2	Bright
31	4.2	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Quito?

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

2.8

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Quito.

What to pack for Quito in December

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

In December, Quito sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 30 days see rain.

rain geara warm layer

UV index in Quito in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 15 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Quito peaks around March 10 at about 19 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 15 at about 13 (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)	17	19	19	16	16	14	13	14	15	16	14	15
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	17	Extreme
Feb	19	Extreme
Mar	19	Extreme
Apr	16	Extreme
May	16	Extreme
Jun	14	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	14	Extreme
Sep	15	Extreme
Oct	16	Extreme
Nov	14	Extreme
Dec	15	Extreme

Air quality in Quito 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 Quito is worst in September — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Quito's WHO annual average of 19.8 µg/m³.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	19	20	21	20	20	18	17	19	23	20	20	20
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	19	Moderate
Feb	20	Moderate
Mar	21	Moderate
Apr	20	Moderate
May	20	Moderate
Jun	18	Moderate
Jul	17	Moderate
Aug	19	Moderate
Sep	23	Moderate
Oct	20	Moderate
Nov	20	Moderate
Dec	20	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Quito?

Quito sits at 0.2°S, 78.5°W, 2,854 m above sea level, in Ecuador. The nearest listed city is Pomasqui, 21 km away.

Topography around Quito

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Quito has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 850 m around an average of 2,983 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,658 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,644 m.

The land around Quito is covered by artificial surfaces (59%) and trees (27%) within 3 km, trees (38%), artificial surfaces (29%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and trees (58%) and grassland (30%) within 80 km.

3 km

850 m

artificial surfaces 59%

16 km

2,658 m

trees 38%

80 km

5,644 m

trees 58%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces

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

December weather nearby: Pomasqui 21 km · Machachi 32 km · Mindo 34 km · Cayambe 52 km · Otavalo 59 km · Atuntaqui 71 km · Santo Domingo de los Colorados 72 km · Ibarra 78 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

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 Quito (-0.2298°, -78.525°, elevation 2,854 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	17	10
2	17	10
3	17	10
4	17	10
5	17	10
6	17	10
7	17	10
8	17	10
9	17	10
10	17	10
11	17	10
12	17	10
13	17	10
14	17	10
15	17	10
16	17	10
17	17	10
18	17	10
19	17	10
20	17	10
21	17	10
22	17	10
23	17	10
24	17	10
25	17	10
26	17	10
27	17	10
28	17	10
29	17	10
30	17	10
31	17	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	5	95
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	5	95
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	5	95
12	5	95
13	6	94
14	6	94
15	6	94
16	6	94
17	6	94
18	7	93
19	7	93
20	6	94
21	7	93
22	7	93
23	8	92
24	8	92
25	8	92
26	9	91
27	9	91
28	9	91
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	95
2	95
3	95
4	95
5	96
6	96
7	96
8	96
9	96
10	96
11	96
12	97
13	97
14	97
15	97
16	97
17	97
18	97
19	97
20	97
21	98
22	98
23	98
24	98
25	98
26	98
27	98
28	98
29	98
30	98
31	98

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	5	95
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	5	95
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	5	95
12	5	95
13	6	94
14	6	94
15	6	94
16	6	94
17	6	94
18	7	93
19	7	93
20	6	94
21	7	93
22	7	93
23	8	92
24	8	92
25	8	92
26	9	91
27	9	91
28	9	91
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	95
2	95
3	95
4	95
5	96
6	96
7	96
8	96
9	96
10	96
11	96
12	97
13	97
14	97
15	97
16	97
17	97
18	97
19	97
20	97
21	98
22	98
23	98
24	98
25	98
26	98
27	98
28	98
29	98
30	98
31	98

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	3	97
2	3	97
3	3	97
4	4	96
5	5	95
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	5	95
9	5	95
10	5	95
11	5	95
12	5	95
13	6	94
14	6	94
15	6	94
16	6	94
17	6	94
18	7	93
19	7	93
20	6	94
21	7	93
22	7	93
23	8	92
24	8	92
25	8	92
26	9	91
27	9	91
28	9	91
29	10	90
30	11	89
31	11	89

	Rain chance (%)
1	95
2	95
3	95
4	95
5	96
6	96
7	96
8	96
9	96
10	96
11	96
12	97
13	97
14	97
15	97
16	97
17	97
18	97
19	97
20	97
21	98
22	98
23	98
24	98
25	98
26	98
27	98
28	98
29	98
30	98
31	98

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