Qacha’s Nek weather in December

In December, Qacha’s Nek sees average daytime highs of 23°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 143 mm of precipitation across 18.4 wet days and about 13.9 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 23°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 48 min at the start of December to 13 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Qacha’s Nek's 11th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Qacha’s Nek's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 23°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 10th coldest
Precipitation: 143 mm; 18.4 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 54 min; 5:03 AM – 6:59 PM
Cloud cover: 54%; 11th clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 7.14 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.7; out of 10

Qacha’s Nek is mountain pass in Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho.

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

← November Qacha’s Nek 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 23°C through the month.

A typical December day in Qacha’s Nek reaches about 23°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 18°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 1°C warmer than November and on par with 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)	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24
Avg low (°C)	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

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

How December really feels in Qacha’s Nek

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.

Qacha’s Nek weather by month

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

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	24° / 12°	156	18.6	0	13.7	5.8
Feb	23° / 11°	134	15.4	0	13.1	5.9
Mar	22° / 9°	100	14.1	0.1	12.2	6.3
Apr	19° / 6°	46	7.5	0.2	11.3	6.8
May	17° / 2°	20	4	0.5	10.5	6.8
Jun	15° / -2°	14	2.3	0.9	10.1	5.7
Jul	14° / -2°	14	2.2	1.1	10.3	5.5
Aug	16° / 0°	25	4.1	1.2	10.9	6.5
Sep	20° / 5°	30	5.7	0.6	11.8	7.4
Oct	21° / 7°	85	12.8	0.5	12.7	6.4
Nov	22° / 9°	111	15.3	0.5	13.5	5.9
Dec	23° / 11°	143	18.4	0	13.9	5.7

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 25% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 43%.

	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 (%)	57	57	56	55	55	54	54	54	54	53	54	54	55	55	55	56	58	58	59	59	59	59	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	59
Cloudier (%)	43	43	44	45	45	46	46	46	46	47	46	46	45	45	45	44	42	42	41	41	41	41	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	41

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	57	43
2	57	43
3	56	44
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	54	46
7	54	46
8	54	46
9	54	46
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	54	46
13	55	45
14	55	45
15	55	45
16	56	44
17	58	42
18	58	42
19	59	41
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	60	40
29	60	40
30	60	40
31	59	41

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Qacha’s Nek gets around 143 mm of rain and snow over 18.4 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 59% and peaks near 60% 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 (%)	58	59	59	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	59	59	59	59	59	58	58	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	60
Snow chance (%)	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	58	2
2	59	1
3	59	1
4	60	1
5	60	1
6	60	1
7	60	1
8	60	0
9	60	0
10	60	0
11	60	0
12	60	0
13	60	0
14	60	0
15	59	0
16	59	0
17	59	0
18	59	0
19	59	0
20	58	0
21	58	0
22	59	0
23	59	0
24	59	0
25	59	0
26	59	0
27	59	0
28	59	0
29	59	0
30	59	0
31	60	0

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 98% 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 (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	98	98	97	97	97	97	96	96	96	95	95	95	94	94
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	95	5
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6

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 9 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)	9	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	9	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 13 h 48 min at the start of December to 13 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:01 AM to 5:11 AM, and sunset from 6:49 PM to 7:06 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)	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9
Sunrise (AM)	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:01	5:02	5:02	5:02	5:02	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:03	5:04	5:04	5:05	5:05	5:05	5:06	5:06	5:07	5:07	5:08	5:09	5:09	5:10	5:10	5:11
Sunset (PM)	6:49	6:50	6:51	6:51	6:52	6:53	6:53	6:54	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:57	6:58	6:59	6:59	7:00	7:00	7:01	7:01	7:02	7:02	7:03	7:03	7:04	7:04	7:05	7:05	7:05	7:06	7:06

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.8	5:01	6:49
2	13.8	5:01	6:50
3	13.8	5:01	6:51
4	13.8	5:01	6:51
5	13.8	5:01	6:52
6	13.9	5:01	6:53
7	13.9	5:01	6:53
8	13.9	5:01	6:54
9	13.9	5:02	6:55
10	13.9	5:02	6:56
11	13.9	5:02	6:56
12	13.9	5:02	6:57
13	13.9	5:03	6:57
14	13.9	5:03	6:58
15	13.9	5:03	6:59
16	13.9	5:03	6:59
17	13.9	5:04	7:00
18	13.9	5:04	7:00
19	13.9	5:05	7:01
20	13.9	5:05	7:01
21	13.9	5:05	7:02
22	13.9	5:06	7:02
23	13.9	5:06	7:03
24	13.9	5:07	7:03
25	13.9	5:07	7:04
26	13.9	5:08	7:04
27	13.9	5:09	7:05
28	13.9	5:09	7:05
29	13.9	5:10	7:05
30	13.9	5:10	7:06
31	13.9	5:11	7:06

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 7.14 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.61 kWh/m² to a high of 7.14 kWh/m² in December across the year — December's 7.14 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	7.1	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	7.1	Intense
2	7.0	Intense
3	7.0	Intense
4	7.0	Intense
5	7.0	Intense
6	7.0	Intense
7	7.0	Intense
8	7.1	Intense
9	7.1	Intense
10	7.1	Intense
11	7.1	Intense
12	7.1	Intense
13	7.1	Intense
14	7.1	Intense
15	7.1	Intense
16	7.2	Intense
17	7.2	Intense
18	7.2	Intense
19	7.2	Intense
20	7.2	Intense
21	7.2	Intense
22	7.2	Intense
23	7.2	Intense
24	7.2	Intense
25	7.2	Intense
26	7.2	Intense
27	7.2	Intense
28	7.1	Intense
29	7.1	Intense
30	7.1	Intense
31	7.1	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Qacha’s Nek

In seasonPeak

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

Qacha’s Nek's rainy season runs October–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Qacha’s Nek?

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

5.7

Sightseeing

10th-best month of the year

4.5

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Qacha’s Nek for sightseeing.

What to pack for Qacha’s Nek in December

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

In December, Qacha’s Nek sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 11°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 18 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Qacha’s Nek in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 14 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Qacha’s Nek peaks around January 14 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 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)	15	14	12	8	6	4	5	7	8	12	13	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	12	Extreme
Apr	8	Very high
May	6	High
Jun	4	Moderate
Jul	5	Moderate
Aug	7	High
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	13	Extreme
Dec	14	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Qacha’s Nek?

Qacha’s Nek sits at 30.1°S, 28.7°E, 1,974 m above sea level, in Lesotho. The nearest listed city is Thaba-Tseka, 66 km away.

Topography around Qacha’s Nek

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Qacha’s Nek.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Qacha’s Nek has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 559 m around an average of 1,983 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,290 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,517 m.

The land around Qacha’s Nek is covered by grassland (72%) within 3 km, grassland (80%) within 16 km, and grassland (87%) within 80 km.

3 km

559 m

grassland 72%

16 km

1,290 m

grassland 80%

80 km

2,517 m

grassland 87%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces

← November Qacha’s Nek year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Thaba-Tseka 66 km · Tlokoeng 67 km · Kokstad 85 km · Quthing 100 km · Mohale's Hoek 117 km · Clydesdale 122 km · Ugie 128 km · Teyateyaneng 141 km

Lesotho travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type M; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 34% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $1,089; 2025
Happiness: 4.4 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 31%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 38.2; per 100k, 2008
Road deaths: 31.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Lower middle; World Bank
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 Qacha’s Nek (-30.1154°, 28.6894°, elevation 1,974 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. 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	22	9
2	22	10
3	22	10
4	23	10
5	23	10
6	23	10
7	23	10
8	23	10
9	23	10
10	23	10
11	23	10
12	23	10
13	23	10
14	23	10
15	23	11
16	23	11
17	23	11
18	23	11
19	23	11
20	23	11
21	23	11
22	24	11
23	24	11
24	24	11
25	24	11
26	24	11
27	24	11
28	24	11
29	24	11
30	24	11
31	24	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	57	43
2	57	43
3	56	44
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	54	46
7	54	46
8	54	46
9	54	46
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	54	46
13	55	45
14	55	45
15	55	45
16	56	44
17	58	42
18	58	42
19	59	41
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	60	40
29	60	40
30	60	40
31	59	41

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	58	2
2	59	1
3	59	1
4	60	1
5	60	1
6	60	1
7	60	1
8	60	0
9	60	0
10	60	0
11	60	0
12	60	0
13	60	0
14	60	0
15	59	0
16	59	0
17	59	0
18	59	0
19	59	0
20	58	0
21	58	0
22	59	0
23	59	0
24	59	0
25	59	0
26	59	0
27	59	0
28	59	0
29	59	0
30	59	0
31	60	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	95	5
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	57	43
2	57	43
3	56	44
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	54	46
7	54	46
8	54	46
9	54	46
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	54	46
13	55	45
14	55	45
15	55	45
16	56	44
17	58	42
18	58	42
19	59	41
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	60	40
29	60	40
30	60	40
31	59	41

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	58	2
2	59	1
3	59	1
4	60	1
5	60	1
6	60	1
7	60	1
8	60	0
9	60	0
10	60	0
11	60	0
12	60	0
13	60	0
14	60	0
15	59	0
16	59	0
17	59	0
18	59	0
19	59	0
20	58	0
21	58	0
22	59	0
23	59	0
24	59	0
25	59	0
26	59	0
27	59	0
28	59	0
29	59	0
30	59	0
31	60	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	95	5
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	57	43
2	57	43
3	56	44
4	55	45
5	55	45
6	54	46
7	54	46
8	54	46
9	54	46
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	54	46
13	55	45
14	55	45
15	55	45
16	56	44
17	58	42
18	58	42
19	59	41
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	60	40
29	60	40
30	60	40
31	59	41

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	58	2
2	59	1
3	59	1
4	60	1
5	60	1
6	60	1
7	60	1
8	60	0
9	60	0
10	60	0
11	60	0
12	60	0
13	60	0
14	60	0
15	59	0
16	59	0
17	59	0
18	59	0
19	59	0
20	58	0
21	58	0
22	59	0
23	59	0
24	59	0
25	59	0
26	59	0
27	59	0
28	59	0
29	59	0
30	59	0
31	60	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	95	5
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6