Darjeeling weather in December

In December, Darjeeling sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 17 mm of rain across 4 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 19°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 61% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 24 min at the start of December to 10 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Darjeeling's 1st-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Darjeeling's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 18°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 2nd coldest
Rainfall: 17 mm; 4 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 18 min; 6:24 AM – 4:42 PM
Cloud cover: 34%; 1st clearest
Wind: 3 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 3.18 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.1; out of 10

Darjeeling is City in West Bengal, India.

Air quality: Elevated; PM2.5 24 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 11,712/km²; people per km²

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

← November Darjeeling 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 19°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical December day in Darjeeling reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 20°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 2°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)	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6

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

Darjeeling weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	16° / 6°	34	7.3	10.5	5.8
Feb	18° / 8°	71	12.5	11	5.6
Mar	22° / 11°	137	18.9	11.8	5.5
Apr	24° / 14°	221	22.8	12.6	4.9
May	25° / 17°	377	29	13.3	3.9
Jun	26° / 20°	617	29.4	13.7	3.5
Jul	25° / 21°	864	30.6	13.5	3.4
Aug	26° / 21°	548	29.7	13	3.5
Sep	25° / 19°	416	27.4	12.2	3.9
Oct	24° / 15°	164	19.1	11.4	5.7
Nov	21° / 11°	35	7.7	10.7	7.2
Dec	18° / 8°	17	4	10.3	7.1

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 61% of the time in December, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 19%.

	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 (%)	83	83	82	82	81	81	80	79	79	79	79	78	78	78	77	78	78	79	80	80	81	81	82	82	83	83	83	83	83	83	83
Cloudier (%)	17	17	18	18	19	19	20	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	23	22	22	21	20	20	19	19	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	83	17
2	83	17
3	82	18
4	82	18
5	81	19
6	81	19
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	78	22
14	78	22
15	77	23
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	79	21
19	80	20
20	80	20
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	83	17
26	83	17
27	83	17
28	83	17
29	83	17
30	83	17
31	83	17

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Darjeeling gets around 17 mm of rain over 4 wet days in December, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 13% and peaks near 18% 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 (%)	12	12	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	15	15	16	16	17	17	18

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

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 99% 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 (%)	96	96	97	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	4	4	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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

Wind in December

Winds average 3 km/h in December.

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 24 min at the start of December to 10 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:14 AM to 6:31 AM, and sunset from 4:39 PM to 4:50 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)	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3
Sunrise (AM)	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:20	6:21	6:22	6:22	6:23	6:23	6:24	6:24	6:25	6:26	6:26	6:27	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:30	6:30	6:31
Sunset (PM)	4:39	4:39	4:39	4:39	4:40	4:40	4:40	4:40	4:40	4:40	4:41	4:41	4:41	4:42	4:42	4:42	4:43	4:43	4:43	4:44	4:44	4:45	4:45	4:46	4:46	4:47	4:47	4:48	4:48	4:49	4:50

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.4	6:14	4:39
2	10.4	6:15	4:39
3	10.4	6:16	4:39
4	10.4	6:16	4:39
5	10.4	6:17	4:40
6	10.4	6:18	4:40
7	10.4	6:18	4:40
8	10.4	6:19	4:40
9	10.3	6:20	4:40
10	10.3	6:20	4:40
11	10.3	6:21	4:41
12	10.3	6:22	4:41
13	10.3	6:22	4:41
14	10.3	6:23	4:42
15	10.3	6:23	4:42
16	10.3	6:24	4:42
17	10.3	6:24	4:43
18	10.3	6:25	4:43
19	10.3	6:26	4:43
20	10.3	6:26	4:44
21	10.3	6:27	4:44
22	10.3	6:27	4:45
23	10.3	6:27	4:45
24	10.3	6:28	4:46
25	10.3	6:28	4:46
26	10.3	6:29	4:47
27	10.3	6:29	4:47
28	10.3	6:30	4:48
29	10.3	6:30	4:48
30	10.3	6:30	4:49
31	10.3	6:31	4:50

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 3.18 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.18 kWh/m² to a high of 5.58 kWh/m² in April across the year — December's 3.18 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)	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3
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	3.3	Moderate
2	3.3	Moderate
3	3.3	Moderate
4	3.2	Moderate
5	3.2	Moderate
6	3.2	Moderate
7	3.2	Moderate
8	3.2	Moderate
9	3.2	Moderate
10	3.1	Moderate
11	3.1	Moderate
12	3.1	Moderate
13	3.1	Moderate
14	3.1	Moderate
15	3.1	Moderate
16	3.1	Moderate
17	3.1	Moderate
18	3.1	Moderate
19	3.2	Moderate
20	3.2	Moderate
21	3.2	Moderate
22	3.2	Moderate
23	3.2	Moderate
24	3.2	Moderate
25	3.2	Moderate
26	3.2	Moderate
27	3.2	Moderate
28	3.3	Moderate
29	3.3	Moderate
30	3.3	Moderate
31	3.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Darjeeling

In seasonPeak

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

Darjeeling's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Darjeeling?

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

7.1

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

2.3

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is one of the better times to visit Darjeeling for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Darjeeling in December

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

In December, Darjeeling sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Darjeeling in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Darjeeling peaks around July 14 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 4 (moderate).

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)	4	5	8	8	11	12	13	11	11	7	4	5
Level	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	5	High
Mar	8	Very high
Apr	8	Very high
May	11	Extreme
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	11	Extreme
Oct	7	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	5	Moderate

Air quality in Darjeeling 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 Darjeeling is worst in January — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 3.8× the cleanest month (July, 10 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Darjeeling's WHO annual average of 24 µg/m³.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	39	38	31	25	19	13	10	12	15	22	29	35
Level	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	39	Poor
Feb	38	Poor
Mar	31	Moderate
Apr	25	Moderate
May	19	Moderate
Jun	13	Moderate
Jul	10	Good
Aug	12	Moderate
Sep	15	Moderate
Oct	22	Moderate
Nov	29	Moderate
Dec	35	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Darjeeling?

Darjeeling sits at 27.0°N, 88.3°E, 2,127 m above sea level, in India. The nearest listed city is Ilām, 36 km away.

Topography around Darjeeling

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Darjeeling has very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,468 m around an average of 1,773 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,493 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 8,404 m.

The land around Darjeeling is covered by trees (90%) within 3 km, trees (96%) within 16 km, and trees (70%) within 80 km.

3 km

1,468 m

trees 90%

16 km

2,493 m

trees 96%

80 km

8,404 m

trees 70%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen

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

December weather nearby: Ilām 36 km · Bhadrapur 57 km · Dhankutā 93 km · Dharān 101 km · Īṭahari̇̄ 107 km · Khā̃dbāri̇̄ 111 km · Phuentsholing 113 km · Biratnagar 118 km

India travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / D / M; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 23% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $2,702; 2025
Happiness: 4.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 76%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 2.8; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 15.6; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 484
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 Darjeeling (27.0333°, 88.2667°, elevation 2,127 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	19	9
2	19	9
3	19	9
4	19	9
5	19	9
6	19	8
7	19	8
8	19	8
9	19	8
10	18	8
11	18	8
12	18	8
13	18	8
14	18	8
15	18	8
16	18	7
17	18	7
18	18	7
19	18	7
20	18	7
21	17	7
22	17	7
23	17	7
24	17	7
25	17	7
26	17	7
27	17	6
28	17	6
29	17	6
30	17	6
31	17	6

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	83	17
2	83	17
3	82	18
4	82	18
5	81	19
6	81	19
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	78	22
14	78	22
15	77	23
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	79	21
19	80	20
20	80	20
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	83	17
26	83	17
27	83	17
28	83	17
29	83	17
30	83	17
31	83	17

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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	83	17
2	83	17
3	82	18
4	82	18
5	81	19
6	81	19
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	78	22
14	78	22
15	77	23
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	79	21
19	80	20
20	80	20
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	83	17
26	83	17
27	83	17
28	83	17
29	83	17
30	83	17
31	83	17

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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	83	17
2	83	17
3	82	18
4	82	18
5	81	19
6	81	19
7	80	20
8	79	21
9	79	21
10	79	21
11	79	21
12	78	22
13	78	22
14	78	22
15	77	23
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	79	21
19	80	20
20	80	20
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	83	17
26	83	17
27	83	17
28	83	17
29	83	17
30	83	17
31	83	17

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

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