Kópavogur weather in December

In December, Kópavogur sees average daytime highs of 3°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 129 mm of precipitation across 17.5 wet days and about 3.8 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 3°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 4 h 30 min at the start of December to 3 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Kópavogur's 6th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kópavogur's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10th warmest
Overnight low
-2°
4th coldest
Precipitation
129 mm
17.5 wet days
Daylight
3 h 36 min
11:34 AM – 3:13 PM
Cloud cover
77%
6th clearest
Wind
17 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0.05 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Kópavogur is city of Iceland.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 5.9 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
364/km²
people per km²
Founded
1948

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 3°C through the month.

A typical December day in Kópavogur reaches about 3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -2°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -3°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 1°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
13-1
23-1
33-1
43-1
53-1
63-1
73-1
83-1
93-1
103-1
113-1
123-1
133-1
143-1
153-1
163-1
173-1
183-2
193-2
203-2
213-2
223-2
232-2
242-2
252-2
262-2
272-2
282-2
292-2
302-2
312-2

How December really feels in Kópavogur

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.

Kópavogur weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°12817.811.64.90.0
Feb / -2°12616.912.17.90.0
Mar / -2°11817.211.411.20.0
Apr / 10116.55.614.60.5
May10° / 9015.80.717.91.7
Jun12° / 7914.20.120.22.8
Jul14° / 8514.5019.23.5
Aug13° / 10415.8016.13.2
Sep11° / 13417.60.212.72.0
Oct / 11614.92.39.30.7
Nov / 11716.36.660.0
Dec / -2°12917.5113.80.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 78%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12377
22278
32278
42179
52179
62179
72080
82080
92080
102080
112179
122179
132080
142080
152179
162179
172179
182179
192278
202377
212278
222278
232278
242278
252377
262377
272377
282377
292278
302278
312377

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Kópavogur gets around 129 mm of rain and snow over 17.5 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 57% and peaks near 58% on the wettest days, and about 11 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
15733
25833
35834
45834
55834
65834
75834
85834
95834
105734
115735
125735
135735
145735
155736
165736
175736
185636
195636
205636
215637
225637
235637
245637
255637
265637
275537
285536
295536
305536
315436

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 17 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 17 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
117light breeze
217light breeze
317light breeze
417light breeze
517light breeze
617light breeze
717light breeze
817light breeze
917light breeze
1017light breeze
1117light breeze
1217light breeze
1317light breeze
1417light breeze
1517light breeze
1617light breeze
1717light breeze
1817light breeze
1917light breeze
2017light breeze
2117light breeze
2217light breeze
2317light breeze
2417light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 4 h 30 min at the start of December to 3 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 42 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 11:02 AM to 11:38 AM, and sunset from 3:33 PM to 3:24 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
14.511:023:33
24.411:043:31
34.411:073:29
44.311:103:27
54.211:123:26
64.211:153:24
74.111:173:22
84.011:203:21
94.011:223:20
103.911:243:18
113.911:263:17
123.811:283:16
133.811:303:15
143.711:313:14
153.711:333:14
163.611:343:13
173.611:363:13
183.611:373:13
193.611:383:13
203.611:393:13
213.611:393:13
223.611:403:13
233.611:403:14
243.611:403:15
253.611:413:16
263.611:413:16
273.611:403:18
283.611:403:19
293.711:393:20
303.711:393:22
313.811:383:24

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.05 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.05 kWh/m² to a high of 5.21 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.05 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.1Dim
20.1Dim
30.1Dim
40.1Dim
50.1Dim
60.1Dim
70.1Dim
80.1Dim
90.1Dim
100.1Dim
110.1Dim
120.1Dim
130.1Dim
140.1Dim
150.1Dim
160.1Dim
170.1Dim
180.1Dim
190.1Dim
200.1Dim
210.1Dim
220.1Dim
230.1Dim
240.1Dim
250.1Dim
260.1Dim
270.1Dim
280.1Dim
290.1Dim
300.1Dim
310.1Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Kópavogur?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kópavogur.

What to pack for Kópavogur in December

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

In December, Kópavogur sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear. About 18 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Kópavogur in December

The nearest coast averages about 6°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 11°C and coldest in March near 5°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

4°6°8°10°12°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan5Bracing
Feb5Bracing
Mar5Bracing
Apr6Bracing
May7Bracing
Jun10Bracing
Jul11Bracing
Aug11Bracing
Sep10Bracing
Oct8Bracing
Nov7Bracing
Dec6Bracing

UV index in Kópavogur in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kópavogur peaks around June 21 at about 4 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 21UV 4Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep2Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kópavogur?

Kópavogur sits at 64.1°N, 21.9°W, 37 m above sea level, in Iceland. The nearest listed city is Reykjavik, 3.0 km away.

KeflavikReykjanesbærVikAkureyri

Topography around Kópavogur

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kópavogur has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 91 m around an average of 23 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 849 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,332 m.

The land around Kópavogur is covered by artificial surfaces (36%), grassland (28%) and water (22%) within 3 km, grassland (45%) and water (43%) within 16 km, and water (49%) and grassland (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
91 m
16 km
849 m
80 km
1,332 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Reykjavik 3.0 km · Hafnarfjörður 5.0 km · Keflavik 34 km · Reykjanesbær 34 km · Vik 162 km · Akureyri 251 km · Tórshavn 796 km · Isle of Lewis 1,055 km

Iceland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 118% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$98,323
2025
Happiness
7.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.3
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland 59%other or unspecified 19%none 8%Independent Congregation of Reykjavik 3%

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 Kópavogur (64.1123°, -21.913°, elevation 37 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).