Petra weather in December

In December, Petra sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 8 mm of precipitation across 2.1 wet days and about 10.1 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 4th-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 68% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 12 min at the start of December to 10 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Petra's 10th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Petra's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 3rd coldest
Precipitation: 8 mm; 2.1 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 06 min; 6:33 AM – 4:36 PM
Cloud cover: 29%; 10th clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 3.51 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.0; out of 10

Petra is human settlement in Jordan.

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

← November Petra 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 Petra reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 20°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)	17	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
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

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

How December really feels in Petra

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.

Petra 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	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	13° / 4°	20	3.9	0.6	10.3	4.6
Feb	15° / 5°	17	3.6	0.3	10.9	5.5
Mar	19° / 8°	13	2.9	0.3	11.8	7.6
Apr	23° / 12°	4	1.1	0	12.7	8.9
May	28° / 15°	3	0.9	0	13.5	8.3
Jun	30° / 18°	0	0.1	0	13.9	6.8
Jul	32° / 20°	0	0	0	13.8	5.8
Aug	32° / 20°	0	0.2	0	13.1	5.7
Sep	30° / 19°	1	0.3	0	12.2	6.9
Oct	26° / 15°	5	1.4	0	11.3	8.8
Nov	20° / 10°	7	1.7	0	10.5	8.1
Dec	15° / 6°	8	2.1	0.3	10.1	6.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 68% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 21%.

	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 (%)	80	80	80	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	79	80	80	80	80	81	80	80	80	79	79	79	79	79	78	78
Cloudier (%)	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	19	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	22	22

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

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Petra gets around 8 mm of rain and snow over 2.1 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 7% and peaks near 9% 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 (%)	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	9

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

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 8 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 8 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)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	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	8	calm
2	8	calm
3	8	calm
4	8	calm
5	8	calm
6	8	calm
7	8	calm
8	8	calm
9	8	calm
10	8	calm
11	8	calm
12	8	calm
13	8	calm
14	8	calm
15	8	calm
16	8	calm
17	8	calm
18	8	calm
19	8	calm
20	8	calm
21	8	calm
22	8	calm
23	8	calm
24	8	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 10 h 12 min at the start of December to 10 h 06 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 6:22 AM to 6:39 AM, and sunset from 4:33 PM to 4:43 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)	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1
Sunrise (AM)	6:22	6:23	6:24	6:25	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:29	6:30	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:37	6:38	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:39
Sunset (PM)	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:34	4:34	4:34	4:34	4:34	4:34	4:35	4:35	4:35	4:36	4:36	4:36	4:37	4:37	4:37	4:38	4:38	4:39	4:39	4:40	4:40	4:41	4:41	4:42	4:43	4:43

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.2	6:22	4:33
2	10.2	6:23	4:33
3	10.2	6:24	4:33
4	10.1	6:25	4:33
5	10.1	6:25	4:33
6	10.1	6:26	4:34
7	10.1	6:27	4:34
8	10.1	6:27	4:34
9	10.1	6:28	4:34
10	10.1	6:29	4:34
11	10.1	6:30	4:34
12	10.1	6:30	4:35
13	10.1	6:31	4:35
14	10.1	6:31	4:35
15	10.1	6:32	4:36
16	10.1	6:33	4:36
17	10.0	6:33	4:36
18	10.0	6:34	4:37
19	10.0	6:34	4:37
20	10.0	6:35	4:37
21	10.0	6:35	4:38
22	10.0	6:36	4:38
23	10.0	6:36	4:39
24	10.0	6:37	4:39
25	10.0	6:37	4:40
26	10.0	6:38	4:40
27	10.0	6:38	4:41
28	10.1	6:38	4:41
29	10.1	6:39	4:42
30	10.1	6:39	4:43
31	10.1	6:39	4:43

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 3.51 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.51 kWh/m² to a high of 8.22 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 3.51 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)	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
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	3.7	Moderate
2	3.7	Moderate
3	3.7	Moderate
4	3.6	Moderate
5	3.6	Moderate
6	3.6	Moderate
7	3.6	Moderate
8	3.6	Moderate
9	3.6	Moderate
10	3.5	Moderate
11	3.5	Moderate
12	3.5	Moderate
13	3.5	Moderate
14	3.5	Moderate
15	3.5	Moderate
16	3.5	Moderate
17	3.5	Moderate
18	3.5	Moderate
19	3.5	Moderate
20	3.5	Moderate
21	3.5	Moderate
22	3.5	Moderate
23	3.5	Moderate
24	3.5	Moderate
25	3.5	Moderate
26	3.5	Moderate
27	3.5	Moderate
28	3.5	Moderate
29	3.5	Moderate
30	3.5	Moderate
31	3.5	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Petra

In seasonPeak

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

Petra 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 Petra?

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

6.0

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.5

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Petra for sightseeing.

What to pack for Petra in December

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

In December, Petra sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer.

a warm layer

UV index in Petra in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Petra peaks around June 21 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 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	4	8	8	11	12	12	12	11	8	6	4
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	8	Very high
Apr	8	Very high
May	11	Extreme
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	11	Extreme
Oct	8	Very high
Nov	6	High
Dec	4	Moderate

Air quality in Petra 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 Petra is worst in May — around 37 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)	30	31	31	36	37	29	26	27	29	28	29	30
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	30	Moderate
Feb	31	Moderate
Mar	31	Moderate
Apr	36	Poor
May	37	Poor
Jun	29	Moderate
Jul	26	Moderate
Aug	27	Moderate
Sep	29	Moderate
Oct	28	Moderate
Nov	29	Moderate
Dec	30	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Petra?

Petra sits at 30.3°N, 35.5°E, 0 m above sea level, in Jordan. The nearest listed city is Ma'an, 28 km away.

Topography around Petra

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Petra has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 670 m around an average of 1,261 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,506 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,122 m.

The land around Petra is covered by bare terrain (70%) within 3 km, bare terrain (83%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (96%) within 80 km.

3 km

670 m

bare terrain 70%

16 km

1,506 m

bare terrain 83%

80 km

2,122 m

bare terrain 96%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

December weather nearby: Ma'an 28 km · Aţ Ţafīlah 59 km · Safi 80 km · Wadi Rum 82 km · ‘Izrā 95 km · Karak City 98 km · Kerak 98 km · Aqaba 99 km

Jordan travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 3; Reconsider Travel
Power plugs: Type B / C / D / F / G / J; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 42% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,348; 2025
Happiness: 4.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 89%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 17; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 426
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 Petra (30.321°, 35.4789°, elevation 0 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	7
2	17	7
3	17	7
4	17	7
5	17	7
6	16	7
7	16	7
8	16	7
9	16	6
10	16	6
11	16	6
12	16	6
13	15	6
14	15	6
15	15	6
16	15	6
17	15	6
18	15	5
19	15	5
20	15	5
21	15	5
22	15	5
23	15	5
24	15	5
25	14	5
26	14	5
27	14	5
28	14	5
29	14	5
30	14	5
31	14	5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

	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