Antananarivo weather in December

In December, Antananarivo sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 17°C, with 181 mm of rain across 17.5 wet days and about 13.1 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in December, and the air most often feels humid.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 06 min at the start of December to 13 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Antananarivo's 10th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Antananarivo's year-round climate.

Daytime high
26°
2nd warmest
Overnight low
17°
10th coldest
Rainfall
181 mm
17.5 wet days
Daylight
13 h 06 min
5:12 AM – 6:20 PM
Cloud cover
70%
10th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
12th windiest
Solar energy
6.32 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.3
out of 10

Antananarivo is capital and largest city of Madagascar.

Air quality
High
PM2.5 32 µg/m³ · 2020
Founded
1625

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 26°C through the month.

A typical December day in Antananarivo reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 17°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 24°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and about 1°C warmer than January.

10°15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12716
22716
32716
42716
52716
62716
72716
82716
92717
102717
112717
122717
132717
142717
152717
162617
172617
182617
192617
202617
212617
222617
232617
242617
252617
262617
272617
282617
292617
302617
312617

Antananarivo weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 2nd-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 17°28722.1134.7
Feb25° / 17°2482012.64.8
Mar25° / 17°14315.412.15.8
Apr24° / 15°32711.67.5
May23° / 13°122.411.18.1
Jun20° / 11°40.710.97.8
Jul19° / 10°51117.6
Aug21° / 10°30.711.48.1
Sep23° / 11°51.111.98.6
Oct25° / 13°274.812.47.9
Nov27° / 15°7910.312.96.6
Dec26° / 17°18117.513.15.3

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13862
23664
33763
43664
53565
63466
73268
83268
93169
103070
113070
122872
132872
142674
152674
162575
172575
182674
192575
202575
212674
222674
232674
242674
252773
262773
272674
282575
292476
302476
312278

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Antananarivo gets around 181 mm of rain over 17.5 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 57% and peaks near 65% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
149
250
350
451
551
652
752
853
954
1054
1155
1255
1356
1457
1557
1658
1758
1858
1959
2059
2159
2260
2360
2461
2561
2662
2763
2863
2964
3065
3165

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of December feels humid — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, December lands in the humid band about 56% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
11245420
21145430
31145440
41044461
5943471
6943481
7842491
8841501
9741511
10740521
11739531
12638551
13637561
14636562
15536572
16535582
17535582
18534592
19434602
20434593
21433603
22433603
23432613
24332623
25331633
26330643
27329644
28228664
29227674
30227674
31226684

Wind in December

Winds average 9 km/h in December, the calmest month.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 06 min at the start of December to 13 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 0 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:08 AM to 5:19 AM, and sunset from 6:11 PM to 6:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.15:086:11
213.15:086:12
313.15:086:13
413.15:086:13
513.15:096:14
613.15:096:14
713.15:096:15
813.15:096:15
913.15:106:16
1013.15:106:17
1113.15:106:17
1213.15:116:18
1313.15:116:18
1413.15:116:19
1513.15:126:19
1613.15:126:20
1713.15:126:21
1813.15:136:21
1913.15:136:22
2013.15:146:22
2113.15:146:23
2213.15:156:23
2313.15:156:23
2413.15:166:24
2513.15:166:24
2613.15:176:25
2713.15:176:25
2813.15:186:26
2913.15:186:26
3013.15:196:26
3113.15:196:27

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 6.32 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.8 kWh/m² to a high of 6.7 kWh/m² in November across the year — December's 6.32 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.5Intense
26.5Intense
36.5Intense
46.5Intense
56.5Intense
66.5Intense
76.5Intense
86.5Intense
96.5Intense
106.4Intense
116.4Intense
126.4Intense
136.4Intense
146.3Intense
156.3Intense
166.3Intense
176.3Intense
186.3Intense
196.2Intense
206.2Intense
216.2Intense
226.2Intense
236.1Intense
246.1Intense
256.0Intense
266.0Intense
276.0Bright
285.9Bright
295.9Bright
305.8Bright
315.8Bright
Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Antananarivo

In seasonPeak

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

Antananarivo's monsoon runs December–March, 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 Antananarivo?

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

5.3
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
5.2
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Antananarivo for sightseeing.

What to pack for Antananarivo in December

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

In December, Antananarivo sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 17°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 18 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Antananarivo in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 15 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Antananarivo peaks around February 11 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 7 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highVery highExtremeFeb 11UV 16Jun 17UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May9Very high
Jun7High
Jul8Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep12Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov13Extreme
Dec15Extreme

Air quality in Antananarivo 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 Antananarivo is worst in October — around 49 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 3.7× the cleanest month (January, 13 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Antananarivo's WHO annual average of 32 µg/m³.

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorPoorModerateOct 1747 µg/m³Jan 1514 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb18Moderate
Mar23Moderate
Apr30Moderate
May43Poor
Jun45Poor
Jul43Poor
Aug38Poor
Sep31Moderate
Oct49Poor
Nov34Moderate
Dec17Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Antananarivo?

Antananarivo sits at 18.9°S, 47.5°E, 1,274 m above sea level, in Madagascar. The nearest listed city is Ivato, 14 km away.

Topography around Antananarivo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Antananarivo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 181 m around an average of 1,278 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 366 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,018 m.

The land around Antananarivo is covered by artificial surfaces (76%) within 3 km, cropland (47%) and grassland (32%) within 16 km, and grassland (62%) and cropland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
181 m
16 km
366 m
80 km
2,018 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
December weather nearby: Ivato 14 km · Ambohidratrimo 15 km · Alarobia 22 km · Imerintsiatosika 24 km · Manjakandriana 28 km · Ambohitrolomahitsy 28 km · Ankazondandy 35 km · Sadabe 36 km

Madagascar travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 31% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$599
2025
Happiness
4.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
22%
of population, 2024
Road deaths
29.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 457
Religion
Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%Roman Catholic 32%none 22%other Christian 8%

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 Antananarivo (-18.9137°, 47.5361°, elevation 1,274 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).