Firminy weather in December

In December, Firminy sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 59 mm of precipitation across 11.1 wet days and about 8.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 9th-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 18% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 48 min at the start of December to 8 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Firminy's 11th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Firminy's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
59 mm
11.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 30 min
8:23 AM – 4:55 PM
Cloud cover
70%
11th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
1.14 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.6
out of 10
Air quality
Good
PM10 24.4 µg/m³ · 2010

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 Firminy reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°C overnight — a 6°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)
171
271
371
471
571
671
771
871
971
1071
1161
1261
1361
1460
1560
1660
1760
1860
1960
2060
2160
2260
2360
2460
2560
2660
2760
2860
2960
3060
3160

How December really feels in Firminy

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.

Firminy weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -0°5811.64.88.90.3
Feb / -0°4610.24.810.10.9
Mar11° / 4910.42.311.62.8
Apr14° / 7612.61.313.24.0
May18° / 8713.10.314.75.4
Jun22° / 12°7511.7015.46.4
Jul25° / 14°639.7015.17.1
Aug25° / 13°659.2013.97.2
Sep20° / 10°779.3012.36.4
Oct15° / 8411.10.410.74.5
Nov10° / 8512.22.29.31.9
Dec / 5911.13.68.60.6

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13169
23070
33070
43169
53169
63169
73169
83268
93268
103268
113268
123268
133268
143268
153169
163070
173070
183070
193070
202971
212971
222971
232971
242971
252971
263070
273070
283070
293070
303070
313070

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Firminy gets around 59 mm of rain and snow over 11.1 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 36% and peaks near 38% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13812
23812
33812
43712
53712
63612
73612
83612
93512
103512
113512
123512
133512
143512
153512
163411
173411
183411
193411
203512
213512
223512
233612
243612
253712
263712
273712
283712
293712
303712
313712

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 10 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 48 min at the start of December to 8 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 12 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:09 AM to 8:29 AM, and sunset from 4:56 PM to 5:03 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.88:094:56
28.88:104:56
38.78:114:56
48.78:124:55
58.78:134:55
68.78:144:55
78.78:154:55
88.68:164:55
98.68:174:55
108.68:184:55
118.68:194:55
128.68:204:55
138.68:204:55
148.68:214:55
158.68:224:55
168.58:234:55
178.58:234:56
188.58:244:56
198.58:254:56
208.58:254:57
218.58:264:57
228.58:264:58
238.58:274:58
248.58:274:59
258.58:274:59
268.58:285:00
278.58:285:00
288.58:285:01
298.68:285:02
308.68:295:02
318.68:295:03

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.14 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.14 kWh/m² to a high of 6.15 kWh/m² in July across the year — December's 1.14 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.3Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.2Dim
51.2Dim
61.2Dim
71.2Dim
81.2Dim
91.2Dim
101.2Dim
111.2Dim
121.2Dim
131.1Dim
141.1Dim
151.1Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.1Dim
221.1Dim
231.1Dim
241.1Dim
251.1Dim
261.1Dim
271.1Dim
281.1Dim
291.1Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Firminy?

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

0.6
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Firminy.

What to pack for Firminy in December

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

In December, Firminy sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Firminy 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 Firminy peaks around July 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 9Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Firminy 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 Firminy is worst in March — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateMar 2216 µg/m³Jul 2311 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan14Moderate
Feb14Moderate
Mar16Moderate
Apr16Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul11Good
Aug11Good
Sep11Good
Oct12Good
Nov12Good
Dec12Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Firminy?

Firminy sits at 45.4°N, 4.3°E, 477 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Saint-Étienne, 9.0 km away.

Topography around Firminy

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Firminy has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 403 m around an average of 545 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 890 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,641 m.

The land around Firminy is covered by trees (46%), artificial surfaces (26%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, trees (49%) and grassland (34%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
403 m
16 km
890 m
80 km
1,641 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Saint-Étienne 9.0 km · Saint-Chamond 20 km · Montbrison 30 km · Annonay 34 km · Givors 44 km · Vienne 48 km · Le Puy-en-Velay 50 km · Saint-Genis-Laval 52 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 Firminy (45.3896°, 4.2886°, elevation 477 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).