Heraklion weather in December

In December, Heraklion sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 64 mm of precipitation across 11.3 wet days and about 9.7 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 14°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 48 min at the start of December to 9 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Heraklion's 12th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Heraklion's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 4th coldest
Precipitation: 64 mm; 11.3 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 36 min; 7:27 AM – 5:04 PM
Cloud cover: 60%; 12th clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 2.28 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.5; out of 10

Heraklion is city in the island of Crete, Greece.

Density: 1,258/km²; people per km²

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

← November Heraklion 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

Highs ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 14°C by the end.

A typical December day in Heraklion reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°C cooler than November and about 1°C warmer than 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	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8

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

Heraklion weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-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	14° / 8°	68	12	9.9	3.9
Feb	14° / 8°	64	10.5	10.7	4.2
Mar	17° / 9°	54	8.3	11.7	5.6
Apr	20° / 11°	36	5.6	12.9	7.3
May	25° / 15°	31	4.3	13.8	8.3
Jun	28° / 19°	13	1.9	14.3	7.9
Jul	30° / 21°	5	0.7	14.1	7.2
Aug	29° / 22°	6	0.7	13.3	7.2
Sep	27° / 19°	19	2.9	12.2	8.1
Oct	24° / 16°	38	5.9	11.1	7.8
Nov	19° / 12°	45	7.1	10.1	6.6
Dec	15° / 9°	64	11.3	9.7	4.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 24% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 53%.

	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 (%)	50	50	50	50	50	51	50	50	50	49	50	49	49	47	47	47	46	45	45	45	45	45	45	44	44	45	45	45	45	46	45
Cloudier (%)	50	50	50	50	50	49	50	50	50	51	50	51	51	53	53	53	54	55	55	55	55	55	55	56	56	55	55	55	55	54	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	49	51
11	50	50
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	47	53
17	46	54
18	45	55
19	45	55
20	45	55
21	45	55
22	45	55
23	45	55
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	45	55
27	45	55
28	45	55
29	45	55
30	46	54
31	45	55

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Heraklion gets around 64 mm of rain and snow over 11.3 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 42% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	31	32	32	33	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	36	37	37	36	36	37	37	37	37	38	39	39	40	40	41	41	42

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	37
17	37
18	36
19	36
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	38
25	39
26	39
27	40
28	40
29	41
30	41
31	42

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 97% 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 (%)	89	90	91	92	93	93	94	95	95	96	97	97	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100
Comfortable (%)	11	10	9	8	7	7	6	5	5	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	94	6
8	95	5
9	95	5
10	96	4
11	97	3
12	97	3
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	100	0

Wind in December

Winds average 9 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 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)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
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	9	calm
2	9	calm
3	9	calm
4	9	calm
5	9	calm
6	9	calm
7	9	calm
8	9	calm
9	9	calm
10	9	calm
11	9	calm
12	9	calm
13	9	calm
14	9	calm
15	9	calm
16	9	calm
17	9	calm
18	9	calm
19	9	calm
20	9	calm
21	9	calm
22	9	calm
23	9	calm
24	9	calm
25	9	calm
26	9	calm
27	9	calm
28	9	calm
29	9	calm
30	9	calm
31	9	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min at the start of December to 9 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 7:15 AM to 7:33 AM, and sunset from 5:03 PM to 5:12 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)	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6
Sunrise (AM)	7:15	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:27	7:28	7:28	7:29	7:30	7:30	7:30	7:31	7:31	7:32	7:32	7:32	7:33	7:33	7:33
Sunset (PM)	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:04	5:04	5:04	5:04	5:05	5:05	5:06	5:06	5:06	5:07	5:07	5:08	5:08	5:09	5:09	5:10	5:11	5:11	5:12

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.8	7:15	5:03
2	9.8	7:16	5:03
3	9.8	7:17	5:03
4	9.7	7:18	5:03
5	9.7	7:19	5:03
6	9.7	7:20	5:03
7	9.7	7:20	5:03
8	9.7	7:21	5:03
9	9.7	7:22	5:03
10	9.7	7:23	5:03
11	9.7	7:23	5:03
12	9.7	7:24	5:03
13	9.6	7:25	5:04
14	9.6	7:25	5:04
15	9.6	7:26	5:04
16	9.6	7:27	5:04
17	9.6	7:27	5:05
18	9.6	7:28	5:05
19	9.6	7:28	5:06
20	9.6	7:29	5:06
21	9.6	7:30	5:06
22	9.6	7:30	5:07
23	9.6	7:30	5:07
24	9.6	7:31	5:08
25	9.6	7:31	5:08
26	9.6	7:32	5:09
27	9.6	7:32	5:09
28	9.6	7:32	5:10
29	9.6	7:33	5:11
30	9.6	7:33	5:11
31	9.6	7:33	5:12

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 2.28 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.28 kWh/m² to a high of 7.87 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 2.28 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)	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.5	Moderate
2	2.5	Moderate
3	2.4	Moderate
4	2.4	Moderate
5	2.4	Moderate
6	2.4	Moderate
7	2.4	Moderate
8	2.3	Moderate
9	2.3	Moderate
10	2.3	Moderate
11	2.3	Moderate
12	2.3	Moderate
13	2.3	Moderate
14	2.3	Moderate
15	2.3	Moderate
16	2.3	Moderate
17	2.3	Moderate
18	2.3	Moderate
19	2.2	Moderate
20	2.2	Moderate
21	2.2	Moderate
22	2.2	Moderate
23	2.3	Moderate
24	2.3	Moderate
25	2.3	Moderate
26	2.3	Moderate
27	2.3	Moderate
28	2.3	Moderate
29	2.3	Moderate
30	2.3	Moderate
31	2.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Heraklion

In seasonPeak

None of Heraklion's seasonal hazards are active in December. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Heraklion sees seasonal dust haze (May), heaviest in May.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Heraklion?

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

4.5

Sightseeing

10th-best month of the year

0.3

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Heraklion for sightseeing.

What to pack for Heraklion in December

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

In December, Heraklion sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Heraklion in December

The nearest coast averages about 18°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 25°C and coldest in February near 16°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 25 to Nov 19 — about 5.9 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	16	16	16	17	19	23	25	25	25	23	20	18
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Refreshing	Warm	Warm	Warm	Refreshing	Refreshing	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	16	Cool
Feb	16	Cool
Mar	16	Cool
Apr	17	Cool
May	19	Cool
Jun	23	Refreshing
Jul	25	Warm
Aug	25	Warm
Sep	25	Warm
Oct	23	Refreshing
Nov	20	Refreshing
Dec	18	Cool

UV index in Heraklion in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Heraklion peaks around July 13 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	3	3	6	8	7	10	10	10	8	6	4	3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	3	Moderate
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	6	High
Apr	8	Very high
May	7	Very high
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Heraklion?

Heraklion sits at 35.3°N, 25.1°E, 60 m above sea level, in Greece. The nearest listed city is Rethymno, 60 km away.

Topography around Heraklion

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Heraklion has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 188 m around an average of 49 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 822 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,433 m.

The land around Heraklion is covered by artificial surfaces (53%) within 3 km, water (39%), trees (27%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and water (69%) within 80 km.

3 km

188 m

artificial surfaces 53%

16 km

822 m

water 39%

80 km

2,433 m

water 69%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

December weather nearby: Rethymno 60 km · Chania 103 km · Fira 124 km · Oia 128 km · Paros 195 km · Naxos 199 km · Mykonos 236 km · Kos 260 km

Greece travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 60% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $26,948; 2025
Happiness: 5.7 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 97%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 0.8; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 8.3; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: High; EF EPI 592
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 Heraklion (35.3279°, 25.1434°, elevation 60 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	49	51
11	50	50
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	47	53
17	46	54
18	45	55
19	45	55
20	45	55
21	45	55
22	45	55
23	45	55
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	45	55
27	45	55
28	45	55
29	45	55
30	46	54
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	37
17	37
18	36
19	36
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	38
25	39
26	39
27	40
28	40
29	41
30	41
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	94	6
8	95	5
9	95	5
10	96	4
11	97	3
12	97	3
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	49	51
11	50	50
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	47	53
17	46	54
18	45	55
19	45	55
20	45	55
21	45	55
22	45	55
23	45	55
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	45	55
27	45	55
28	45	55
29	45	55
30	46	54
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	37
17	37
18	36
19	36
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	38
25	39
26	39
27	40
28	40
29	41
30	41
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	94	6
8	95	5
9	95	5
10	96	4
11	97	3
12	97	3
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	50	50
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	49	51
11	50	50
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	47	53
15	47	53
16	47	53
17	46	54
18	45	55
19	45	55
20	45	55
21	45	55
22	45	55
23	45	55
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	45	55
27	45	55
28	45	55
29	45	55
30	46	54
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	34
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	36
15	36
16	37
17	37
18	36
19	36
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	38
25	39
26	39
27	40
28	40
29	41
30	41
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	94	6
8	95	5
9	95	5
10	96	4
11	97	3
12	97	3
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	100	0