Besançon weather in December

In December, Besançon sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 124 mm of precipitation across 15.2 wet days and about 8.3 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 6°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 36 min at the start of December to 8 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Besançon's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Besançon's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
124 mm
15.2 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
8:23 AM – 4:41 PM
Cloud cover
70%
11th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.96 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.5
out of 10

Besançon is commune in Doubs, France.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 9.2 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,974/km²
people per km²

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 6°C through the month.

A typical December day in Besançon reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-10°-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
172
272
372
472
572
672
772
872
972
1062
1162
1262
1362
1462
1561
1661
1761
1861
1961
2061
2161
2261
2361
2461
2561
2661
2761
2861
2961
3061
3161

How December really feels in Besançon

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
wind chill below the day's low

The story in December is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Besançon weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 10813.63.98.70.3
Feb / 9512.44.29.90.9
Mar12° / 9512.9211.62.9
Apr16° / 8812.80.513.34.4
May19° / 10°11014.2014.85.5
Jun23° / 13°8512.6015.66.4
Jul26° / 15°7611.9015.36.6
Aug25° / 15°7910.60146.8
Sep21° / 12°9311.2012.46.2
Oct16° / 10512.40.110.64.5
Nov10° / 11513.71.89.11.9
Dec / 12415.23.88.30.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23070
33169
43169
53169
63268
73367
83367
93367
103367
113367
123367
133367
143268
153268
163268
173169
183070
193070
203070
213070
222971
232971
242971
252872
262872
272872
282971
292971
302971
312971

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Besançon gets around 124 mm of rain and snow over 15.2 wet days in December, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 48% and peaks near 49% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14811
24811
34810
44910
54910
64910
74910
84910
94810
104810
114810
124810
134810
144811
154811
164811
174812
184812
194813
204913
214914
224914
234915
244915
254915
264915
274914
284914
294814
304814
314813

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 12 km/h in December, the windiest month of the year.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
812light breeze
912light breeze
1012light breeze
1112light breeze
1212light breeze
1312light breeze
1412light breeze
1512light breeze
1612light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2712light breeze
2812light breeze
2912light breeze
3012light breeze
3112light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 36 min at the start of December to 8 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 18 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:09 AM to 8:29 AM, and sunset from 4:42 PM to 4:49 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.68:094:42
28.58:104:42
38.58:114:42
48.58:124:41
58.58:134:41
68.48:144:41
78.48:154:41
88.48:164:41
98.48:174:40
108.48:184:40
118.48:194:40
128.38:204:40
138.38:214:40
148.38:224:41
158.38:234:41
168.38:234:41
178.38:244:41
188.38:254:41
198.38:254:42
208.38:264:42
218.38:264:43
228.38:274:43
238.38:274:44
248.38:284:44
258.38:284:45
268.38:284:45
278.38:294:46
288.38:294:47
298.38:294:47
308.38:294:48
318.38:294:49

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.96 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.96 kWh/m² to a high of 5.88 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.96 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.1Dim
21.1Dim
31.1Dim
41.0Dim
51.0Dim
61.0Dim
71.0Dim
81.0Dim
91.0Dim
101.0Dim
111.0Dim
121.0Dim
131.0Dim
141.0Dim
150.9Dim
160.9Dim
170.9Dim
180.9Dim
190.9Dim
200.9Dim
210.9Dim
220.9Dim
230.9Dim
240.9Dim
250.9Dim
260.9Dim
270.9Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
300.9Dim
311.0Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Besançon?

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

0.5
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Besançon.

What to pack for Besançon in December

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

In December, Besançon sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in Besançon in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Besançon peaks around July 14 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 14UV 8Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May6High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Besançon?

Besançon sits at 47.2°N, 6.0°E, 300 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Vesoul, 43 km away.

Topography around Besançon

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Besançon has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 222 m around an average of 310 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 477 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,488 m.

The land around Besançon is covered by trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (42%) within 3 km, trees (57%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and trees (49%), grassland (28%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
222 m
16 km
477 m
80 km
1,488 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Vesoul 43 km · Dole 44 km · Pontarlier 46 km · La Chaux-de-Fonds 63 km · Montbéliard 65 km · Audincourt 68 km · Yverdon-les-Bains 70 km · Lons-le-Saunier 73 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 77% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$48,986
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.3
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 539
Religion
Roman Catholic 47%none 33%Muslim 4%Protestant 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 Besançon (47.2488°, 6.0182°, elevation 300 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).