Erbil weather in December

In December, Erbil sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 87 mm of precipitation across 8.4 wet days and about 9.6 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 4th-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 43% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 42 min at the start of December to 9 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Erbil's 10th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Erbil's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 3rd coldest
Precipitation: 87 mm; 8.4 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 30 min; 7:14 AM – 4:47 PM
Cloud cover: 48%; 10th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 2.36 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.5; out of 10

Erbil is capital of Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

Density: 134/km²; people per km²

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

← November Erbil 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 Erbil reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°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 6°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)	17	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3

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

How December really feels in Erbil

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 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

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Erbil weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	12° / 3°	101	10.7	9.8	3.3
Feb	14° / 4°	94	10.1	10.6	4.1
Mar	18° / 8°	93	10	11.7	6.1
Apr	24° / 12°	62	7.7	12.9	7.4
May	31° / 18°	22	4.6	13.9	5.4
Jun	38° / 23°	1	0.4	14.4	1.5
Jul	42° / 26°	0	0.1	14.2	0.0
Aug	41° / 26°	0	0.1	13.4	0.0
Sep	37° / 21°	1	0.2	12.2	2.2
Oct	30° / 16°	26	3.1	11.1	6.2
Nov	20° / 9°	64	6.6	10.1	7.2
Dec	14° / 5°	87	8.4	9.6	4.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 41%.

	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 (%)	64	63	62	61	60	59	59	57	57	57	57	56	56	56	56	56	56	57	58	59	59	59	60	60	60	60	60	59	59	59	59
Cloudier (%)	36	37	38	39	40	41	41	43	43	43	43	44	44	44	44	44	44	43	42	41	41	41	40	40	40	40	40	41	41	41	41

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	63	37
3	62	38
4	61	39
5	60	40
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	57	43
9	57	43
10	57	43
11	57	43
12	56	44
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	56	44
16	56	44
17	56	44
18	57	43
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	60	40
26	60	40
27	60	40
28	59	41
29	59	41
30	59	41
31	59	41

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Erbil gets around 87 mm of rain and snow over 8.4 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 28% and peaks near 30% 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 (%)	24	25	25	26	27	27	28	29	29	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	28	28	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	27	27	28	29	29	30
Snow chance (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	0
2	25	0
3	25	0
4	26	0
5	27	0
6	27	0
7	28	0
8	29	0
9	29	0
10	30	0
11	30	0
12	30	0
13	30	0
14	30	0
15	29	0
16	29	0
17	28	0
18	28	0
19	27	1
20	27	1
21	27	1
22	26	1
23	26	1
24	26	1
25	26	1
26	27	1
27	27	1
28	28	1
29	29	1
30	29	2
31	30	2

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 7 km/h in December.

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 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 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 7:02 AM to 7:20 AM, and sunset from 4:45 PM to 4:54 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)	9.7	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	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.6	9.6	9.6
Sunrise (AM)	7:02	7:03	7:04	7:05	7:06	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:10	7:11	7:12	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:14	7:15	7:15	7:16	7:16	7:17	7:17	7:18	7:18	7:19	7:19	7:19	7:20	7:20	7:20
Sunset (PM)	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:45	4:46	4:46	4:46	4:46	4:47	4:47	4:47	4:48	4:48	4:48	4:49	4:49	4:50	4:50	4:51	4:52	4:52	4:53	4:53	4:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.7	7:02	4:45
2	9.7	7:03	4:45
3	9.7	7:04	4:45
4	9.7	7:05	4:45
5	9.7	7:06	4:45
6	9.6	7:06	4:45
7	9.6	7:07	4:45
8	9.6	7:08	4:45
9	9.6	7:09	4:45
10	9.6	7:10	4:45
11	9.6	7:10	4:45
12	9.6	7:11	4:46
13	9.6	7:12	4:46
14	9.6	7:12	4:46
15	9.6	7:13	4:46
16	9.5	7:14	4:47
17	9.5	7:14	4:47
18	9.5	7:15	4:47
19	9.5	7:15	4:48
20	9.5	7:16	4:48
21	9.5	7:16	4:48
22	9.5	7:17	4:49
23	9.5	7:17	4:49
24	9.5	7:18	4:50
25	9.5	7:18	4:50
26	9.5	7:19	4:51
27	9.5	7:19	4:52
28	9.5	7:19	4:52
29	9.6	7:20	4:53
30	9.6	7:20	4:53
31	9.6	7:20	4:54

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 2.36 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.36 kWh/m² to a high of 7.95 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 2.36 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)	2.6	2.6	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.4	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	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4
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	2.6	Moderate
2	2.6	Moderate
3	2.5	Moderate
4	2.5	Moderate
5	2.5	Moderate
6	2.4	Moderate
7	2.4	Moderate
8	2.4	Moderate
9	2.4	Moderate
10	2.4	Moderate
11	2.4	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	2.3	Moderate
20	2.3	Moderate
21	2.3	Moderate
22	2.3	Moderate
23	2.3	Moderate
24	2.4	Moderate
25	2.4	Moderate
26	2.4	Moderate
27	2.4	Moderate
28	2.4	Moderate
29	2.4	Moderate
30	2.4	Moderate
31	2.4	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Erbil

In seasonPeak

In December, Erbil sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Erbil's rainy season runs November–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Erbil sees seasonal dust haze (April–May), heaviest in May.

Rainy season

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Erbil?

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

4.5

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

0.2

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Erbil for sightseeing.

What to pack for Erbil in December

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

In December, Erbil sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Erbil 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 Erbil peaks around June 14 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 13 at about 2 (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)	2	3	4	6	8	10	6	10	7	5	3	3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme	High	Very high	Very high	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Moderate
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	6	High
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	7	Very high
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	3	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Erbil 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 Erbil is worst in March — around 49 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	37	41	49	49	47	42	38	38	40	42	37	36
Level	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	37	Poor
Feb	41	Poor
Mar	49	Poor
Apr	49	Poor
May	47	Poor
Jun	42	Poor
Jul	38	Poor
Aug	38	Poor
Sep	40	Poor
Oct	42	Poor
Nov	37	Poor
Dec	36	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Erbil?

Erbil sits at 36.2°N, 44.0°E, 429 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Khasnahzān, 12 km away.

Topography around Erbil

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Erbil has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m around an average of 415 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 483 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,473 m.

The land around Erbil is covered by artificial surfaces (84%) within 3 km, cropland (55%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 16 km, and cropland (46%) and grassland (45%) within 80 km.

3 km

57 m

artificial surfaces 84%

16 km

483 m

cropland 55%

80 km

2,473 m

cropland 46%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

December weather nearby: Khasnahzān 12 km · Baḥarkah 14 km · Pīrmām 27 km · Shaqlāwah 37 km · Ḩarir 50 km · Koysinceq 57 km · Al-Hamdaniya 57 km · Khalīfān 58 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 Erbil (36.1912°, 44.0094°, elevation 429 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	17	6
2	16	6
3	16	6
4	16	6
5	16	6
6	16	6
7	15	6
8	15	5
9	15	5
10	15	5
11	15	5
12	14	5
13	14	5
14	14	5
15	14	5
16	14	5
17	14	4
18	14	4
19	14	4
20	14	4
21	13	4
22	13	4
23	13	4
24	13	4
25	13	4
26	13	4
27	13	4
28	13	3
29	13	3
30	13	3
31	13	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	63	37
3	62	38
4	61	39
5	60	40
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	57	43
9	57	43
10	57	43
11	57	43
12	56	44
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	56	44
16	56	44
17	56	44
18	57	43
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	60	40
26	60	40
27	60	40
28	59	41
29	59	41
30	59	41
31	59	41

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	0
2	25	0
3	25	0
4	26	0
5	27	0
6	27	0
7	28	0
8	29	0
9	29	0
10	30	0
11	30	0
12	30	0
13	30	0
14	30	0
15	29	0
16	29	0
17	28	0
18	28	0
19	27	1
20	27	1
21	27	1
22	26	1
23	26	1
24	26	1
25	26	1
26	27	1
27	27	1
28	28	1
29	29	1
30	29	2
31	30	2

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	63	37
3	62	38
4	61	39
5	60	40
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	57	43
9	57	43
10	57	43
11	57	43
12	56	44
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	56	44
16	56	44
17	56	44
18	57	43
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	60	40
26	60	40
27	60	40
28	59	41
29	59	41
30	59	41
31	59	41

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	0
2	25	0
3	25	0
4	26	0
5	27	0
6	27	0
7	28	0
8	29	0
9	29	0
10	30	0
11	30	0
12	30	0
13	30	0
14	30	0
15	29	0
16	29	0
17	28	0
18	28	0
19	27	1
20	27	1
21	27	1
22	26	1
23	26	1
24	26	1
25	26	1
26	27	1
27	27	1
28	28	1
29	29	1
30	29	2
31	30	2

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	63	37
3	62	38
4	61	39
5	60	40
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	57	43
9	57	43
10	57	43
11	57	43
12	56	44
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	56	44
16	56	44
17	56	44
18	57	43
19	58	42
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	60	40
26	60	40
27	60	40
28	59	41
29	59	41
30	59	41
31	59	41

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	0
2	25	0
3	25	0
4	26	0
5	27	0
6	27	0
7	28	0
8	29	0
9	29	0
10	30	0
11	30	0
12	30	0
13	30	0
14	30	0
15	29	0
16	29	0
17	28	0
18	28	0
19	27	1
20	27	1
21	27	1
22	26	1
23	26	1
24	26	1
25	26	1
26	27	1
27	27	1
28	28	1
29	29	1
30	29	2
31	30	2

	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