Ar Ruţbah weather in December

In December, Ar Ruţbah sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 12 mm of precipitation across 2.8 wet days and about 9.9 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 13°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 hours at the start of December to 9 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Ar Ruţbah's 12th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Ar Ruţbah's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 4°; 2nd coldest
Precipitation: 12 mm; 2.8 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 48 min; 7:20 AM – 5:10 PM
Cloud cover: 39%; 12th clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 3.03 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.3; out of 10

Ar Ruţbah is city.

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

← November Ar Ruţbah 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 16°C in the first days to 13°C by the end.

A typical December day in Ar Ruţbah reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 5°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)	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13
Avg low (°C)	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

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

How December really feels in Ar Ruţbah

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 5 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Ar Ruţbah weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	13° / 3°	16	3.8	10.1	4.3
Feb	15° / 4°	15	3.3	10.8	5.6
Mar	20° / 8°	15	3	11.7	7.7
Apr	26° / 13°	9	2.3	12.8	8.4
May	31° / 18°	4	0.9	13.7	5.7
Jun	36° / 22°	0	0	14.1	3.0
Jul	38° / 24°	0	0	14	1.3
Aug	38° / 24°	0	0	13.2	1.3
Sep	35° / 21°	0	0.1	12.2	3.7
Oct	29° / 16°	7	1.4	11.2	7.3
Nov	20° / 8°	16	2.7	10.3	7.8
Dec	15° / 4°	12	2.8	9.9	5.3

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 31%.

	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 (%)	70	69	69	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	70	70	70	70	70	70	69	69	69	69	69	69
Cloudier (%)	30	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	31	31	31

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	68	32
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	70	30
23	70	30
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Ar Ruţbah gets around 12 mm of rain and snow over 2.8 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 9% and peaks near 11% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	11

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

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.

	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 (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in December

Winds average 14 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 14 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)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	13	light breeze
2	13	light breeze
3	13	light breeze
4	13	light breeze
5	13	light breeze
6	13	light breeze
7	13	light breeze
8	14	light breeze
9	14	light breeze
10	14	light breeze
11	14	light breeze
12	14	light breeze
13	14	light breeze
14	14	light breeze
15	14	light breeze
16	14	light breeze
17	14	light breeze
18	14	light breeze
19	14	light breeze
20	14	light breeze
21	14	light breeze
22	14	light breeze
23	14	light breeze
24	14	light breeze
25	14	light breeze
26	14	light breeze
27	14	light breeze
28	14	light breeze
29	14	light breeze
30	14	light breeze
31	14	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 hours at the start of December to 9 h 48 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 7:09 AM to 7:27 AM, and sunset from 5:08 PM to 5:17 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)	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8
Sunrise (AM)	7:09	7:10	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:20	7:21	7:21	7:22	7:22	7:23	7:23	7:24	7:24	7:25	7:25	7:25	7:26	7:26	7:26	7:27
Sunset (PM)	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:08	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:10	5:10	5:10	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:13	5:14	5:14	5:15	5:16	5:16	5:17	5:17

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.0	7:09	5:08
2	10.0	7:10	5:08
3	9.9	7:11	5:08
4	9.9	7:12	5:08
5	9.9	7:13	5:08
6	9.9	7:13	5:08
7	9.9	7:14	5:08
8	9.9	7:15	5:08
9	9.9	7:16	5:08
10	9.9	7:16	5:08
11	9.9	7:17	5:09
12	9.9	7:18	5:09
13	9.8	7:18	5:09
14	9.8	7:19	5:09
15	9.8	7:20	5:10
16	9.8	7:20	5:10
17	9.8	7:21	5:10
18	9.8	7:21	5:11
19	9.8	7:22	5:11
20	9.8	7:22	5:11
21	9.8	7:23	5:12
22	9.8	7:23	5:12
23	9.8	7:24	5:13
24	9.8	7:24	5:13
25	9.8	7:25	5:14
26	9.8	7:25	5:14
27	9.8	7:25	5:15
28	9.8	7:26	5:16
29	9.8	7:26	5:16
30	9.8	7:26	5:17
31	9.8	7:27	5:17

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 3.03 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.03 kWh/m² to a high of 8.16 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 3.03 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)	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
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	3.2	Moderate
2	3.2	Moderate
3	3.2	Moderate
4	3.1	Moderate
5	3.1	Moderate
6	3.1	Moderate
7	3.1	Moderate
8	3.1	Moderate
9	3.1	Moderate
10	3.0	Moderate
11	3.0	Moderate
12	3.0	Moderate
13	3.0	Moderate
14	3.0	Moderate
15	3.0	Moderate
16	3.0	Moderate
17	3.0	Moderate
18	3.0	Moderate
19	3.0	Moderate
20	3.0	Moderate
21	3.0	Moderate
22	3.0	Moderate
23	3.0	Moderate
24	3.0	Moderate
25	3.0	Moderate
26	3.0	Moderate
27	3.0	Moderate
28	3.0	Moderate
29	3.0	Moderate
30	3.0	Moderate
31	3.0	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Ar Ruţbah

In seasonPeak

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

Ar Ruţbah sees seasonal dust haze (March–September), heaviest in May.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Ar Ruţbah?

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

5.3

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.2

Beach & pool

11th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Ar Ruţbah for sightseeing.

What to pack for Ar Ruţbah in December

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

In December, Ar Ruţbah sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer.

a warm layer

UV index in Ar Ruţbah in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ar Ruţbah peaks around June 18 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	3	4	6	6	9	11	10	10	8	6	4	3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	3	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	6	High
Apr	6	High
May	9	Very high
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Ar Ruţbah 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 Ar Ruţbah is worst in May — around 71 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.0× the cleanest month (November, 35 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	42	45	63	62	71	62	60	55	51	52	35	40
Level	Poor	Poor	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	42	Poor
Feb	45	Poor
Mar	63	Unhealthy
Apr	62	Unhealthy
May	71	Unhealthy
Jun	62	Unhealthy
Jul	60	Unhealthy
Aug	55	Poor
Sep	51	Poor
Oct	52	Poor
Nov	35	Poor
Dec	40	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Ar Ruţbah?

Ar Ruţbah sits at 33.0°N, 40.3°E, 620 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Rukban, 150 km away.

Topography around Ar Ruţbah

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ar Ruţbah has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 35 m around an average of 622 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 411 m.

The land around Ar Ruţbah is covered by bare terrain (82%) within 3 km, bare terrain (98%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (100%) within 80 km.

3 km

35 m

bare terrain 82%

16 km

157 m

bare terrain 98%

80 km

411 m

bare terrain 100%

artificial surfacesbare terrain

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

December weather nearby: Rukban 150 km · Al Qā’im 164 km · Ālbū Kamāl 168 km · Hajīn 191 km · Subaykhān 204 km · Turaif 215 km · Ţurayf 215 km · ‘Anah 216 km

Iraq travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / D / G; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 38% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,410; 2025
Happiness: 5.2 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 60%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 9.5; per 100k, 2013
Road deaths: 27.3; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 406
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 Ar Ruţbah (33.0372°, 40.2859°, elevation 620 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	16	6
2	16	5
3	16	5
4	16	5
5	16	5
6	16	5
7	15	5
8	15	5
9	15	5
10	15	5
11	15	5
12	15	4
13	15	4
14	14	4
15	14	4
16	14	4
17	14	4
18	14	4
19	14	4
20	14	4
21	14	4
22	14	4
23	14	4
24	14	4
25	14	3
26	14	3
27	13	3
28	13	3
29	13	3
30	13	3
31	13	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	68	32
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	70	30
23	70	30
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	68	32
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	70	30
23	70	30
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	69	31
3	69	31
4	68	32
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	70	30
21	70	30
22	70	30
23	70	30
24	70	30
25	70	30
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

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

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