Timbuktu weather in December

In December, Timbuktu sees average daytime highs of 30°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 0 mm of rain across 0 wet days and about 11 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 31°C in the first days to 28°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 06 min at the start of December to 11 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Timbuktu's 11th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Timbuktu's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 30°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 16°; 2nd coldest
Rainfall: 0 mm; 0 wet days
Daylight: 11 hours; 6:38 AM – 5:38 PM
Cloud cover: 39%; 11th clearest
Wind: 16 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 5.23 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.7; out of 10

Timbuktu is city in Mali.

Founded: ~450 BCE

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

← November Timbuktu 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 31°C in the first days to 28°C by the end.

A typical December day in Timbuktu reaches about 30°C in the afternoon and slips back to 16°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 26°C and 33°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°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)	31	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28
Avg low (°C)	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15

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

How December really feels in Timbuktu

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.

Timbuktu weather by month

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

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 15°	1	0.1	11.1	7.8
Feb	31° / 17°	0	0	11.4	5.7
Mar	35° / 21°	0	0.1	11.9	3.1
Apr	39° / 25°	0	0.1	12.4	0.6
May	41° / 28°	2	0.6	12.8	0.0
Jun	41° / 30°	5	2.2	13	0.0
Jul	38° / 28°	25	5.5	12.9	1.0
Aug	37° / 27°	47	8.8	12.6	1.9
Sep	38° / 27°	16	3.7	12.1	1.3
Oct	38° / 25°	3	0.9	11.6	1.5
Nov	34° / 20°	0	0	11.2	3.9
Dec	30° / 16°	0	0	11	6.7

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 53% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 33%.

	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 (%)	67	67	67	67	67	66	66	66	66	66	66	66	66	67	67	67	67	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	67	67	67
Cloudier (%)	33	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	33	33	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	33

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	66	34
8	66	34
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	66	34
13	66	34
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	68	32
28	68	32
29	67	33
30	67	33
31	67	33

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Timbuktu gets around 0 mm of rain over 0 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 0% and peaks near 0% 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 (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	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 (%)
1	0
2	0
3	0
4	0
5	0
6	0
7	0
8	0
9	0
10	0
11	0
12	0
13	0
14	0
15	0
16	0
17	0
18	0
19	0
20	0
21	0
22	0
23	0
24	0
25	0
26	0
27	0
28	0
29	0
30	0
31	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 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	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in December

Winds average 16 km/h in December.

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 06 min at the start of December to 11 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:30 AM to 6:45 AM, and sunset from 5:34 PM to 5:46 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)	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0
Sunrise (AM)	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	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:40	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:44	6:45
Sunset (PM)	5:34	5:34	5:34	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:38	5:38	5:39	5:39	5:40	5:40	5:40	5:41	5:41	5:42	5:42	5:43	5:43	5:44	5:44	5:45	5:46

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.1	6:30	5:34
2	11.1	6:30	5:34
3	11.1	6:31	5:34
4	11.1	6:31	5:35
5	11.0	6:32	5:35
6	11.0	6:33	5:35
7	11.0	6:33	5:35
8	11.0	6:34	5:36
9	11.0	6:34	5:36
10	11.0	6:35	5:36
11	11.0	6:35	5:36
12	11.0	6:36	5:37
13	11.0	6:36	5:37
14	11.0	6:37	5:38
15	11.0	6:38	5:38
16	11.0	6:38	5:38
17	11.0	6:39	5:39
18	11.0	6:39	5:39
19	11.0	6:40	5:40
20	11.0	6:40	5:40
21	11.0	6:41	5:40
22	11.0	6:41	5:41
23	11.0	6:42	5:41
24	11.0	6:42	5:42
25	11.0	6:42	5:42
26	11.0	6:43	5:43
27	11.0	6:43	5:43
28	11.0	6:44	5:44
29	11.0	6:44	5:44
30	11.0	6:44	5:45
31	11.0	6:45	5:46

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.23 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 5.23 kWh/m² to a high of 7.35 kWh/m² in April across the year — December's 5.23 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)	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.4	Bright
2	5.3	Bright
3	5.3	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.3	Bright
6	5.3	Bright
7	5.3	Bright
8	5.3	Bright
9	5.2	Bright
10	5.2	Bright
11	5.2	Bright
12	5.2	Bright
13	5.2	Bright
14	5.2	Bright
15	5.2	Bright
16	5.2	Bright
17	5.2	Bright
18	5.2	Bright
19	5.2	Bright
20	5.2	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.2	Bright
23	5.2	Bright
24	5.2	Bright
25	5.2	Bright
26	5.2	Bright
27	5.2	Bright
28	5.2	Bright
29	5.2	Bright
30	5.2	Bright
31	5.2	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Timbuktu

In seasonPeak

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

Timbuktu sees dust haze year-round, heaviest in June.

Dust

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Timbuktu?

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

6.7

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

8.7

Beach & pool

2nd-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Timbuktu for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Timbuktu in December

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

In December, Timbuktu sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 16°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Timbuktu in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Timbuktu peaks around March 20 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 7 (very high).

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)	8	10	13	12	11	10	11	13	12	11	8	7
Level	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	8	Very high
Feb	10	Very high
Mar	13	Extreme
Apr	12	Extreme
May	11	Extreme
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	13	Extreme
Sep	12	Extreme
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	7	High

Air quality in Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu is worst in February — around 92 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 3.6× the cleanest month (August, 25 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)	89	92	84	65	67	57	36	25	27	50	52	78
Level	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Unhealthy

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	89	Unhealthy
Feb	92	Unhealthy
Mar	84	Unhealthy
Apr	65	Unhealthy
May	67	Unhealthy
Jun	57	Unhealthy
Jul	36	Poor
Aug	25	Moderate
Sep	27	Moderate
Oct	50	Poor
Nov	52	Poor
Dec	78	Unhealthy

Location & terrain

Where is Timbuktu?

Timbuktu sits at 16.8°N, 3.0°W, 274 m above sea level, in Mali. The nearest listed city is Diré, 71 km away.

Topography around Timbuktu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Timbuktu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 19 m around an average of 263 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 21 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 294 m.

The land around Timbuktu is covered by bare terrain (78%) within 3 km, bare terrain (45%) and grassland (42%) within 16 km, and grassland (52%) and bare terrain (42%) within 80 km.

3 km

19 m

bare terrain 78%

16 km

21 m

bare terrain 45%

80 km

294 m

grassland 52%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland

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

December weather nearby: Diré 71 km · Goundam 81 km · Douentza 197 km · Bandiagara 277 km · Bourem 284 km · Mopti 284 km · Koro 301 km · I-n-Tillit 304 km

Mali travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 4; Do Not Travel
Power plugs: Type C / E; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 34% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $1,193; 2025
Happiness: 4.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Road deaths: 22.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Low; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 408
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 Timbuktu (16.7735°, -3.0074°, elevation 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	66	34
8	66	34
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	66	34
13	66	34
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	68	32
28	68	32
29	67	33
30	67	33
31	67	33

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	66	34
8	66	34
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	66	34
13	66	34
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	68	32
28	68	32
29	67	33
30	67	33
31	67	33

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	66	34
8	66	34
9	66	34
10	66	34
11	66	34
12	66	34
13	66	34
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	68	32
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	68	32
28	68	32
29	67	33
30	67	33
31	67	33

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0