Oaxaca weather in December

In December, Oaxaca sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 4 mm of rain across 0.8 wet days and about 11 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 63% 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 Oaxaca's 3rd-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Oaxaca's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 24°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 10°; 2nd coldest
Rainfall: 4 mm; 0.8 wet days
Daylight: 11 hours; 6:53 AM – 5:53 PM
Cloud cover: 31%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 5.02 kWh/m²
Travel score: 9.1; out of 10

Oaxaca is capital of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Density: 2,984/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1486

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

← November Oaxaca 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 24°C through the month.

A typical December day in Oaxaca reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 20°C and 27°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with 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)	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9

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

Oaxaca weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-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	24° / 9°	3	0.6	11.1	9.0
Feb	26° / 10°	5	1.1	11.4	8.8
Mar	27° / 11°	16	2.9	11.9	8.0
Apr	28° / 13°	29	5	12.4	6.8
May	27° / 14°	73	9.3	12.8	6.5
Jun	25° / 14°	163	17	13	5.5
Jul	25° / 14°	104	13.9	12.9	6.0
Aug	25° / 14°	125	15.1	12.6	5.8
Sep	24° / 14°	160	17.2	12.1	5.5
Oct	24° / 13°	71	8.7	11.6	7.0
Nov	24° / 11°	10	2	11.2	8.5
Dec	24° / 10°	4	0.8	11	9.1

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 63% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 20%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	81	83	83	83	83	83	83	82	82	81	81	80	79	79	79	78	78	78	78	78	78	78	78	79	79	79	80	81	81	81	82
Cloudier (%)	19	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	19	19	20	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	20	19	19	19	18

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	81	19
2	83	17
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	82	18
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	80	20
13	79	21
14	79	21
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	78	22
22	78	22
23	78	22
24	79	21
25	79	21
26	79	21
27	80	20
28	81	19
29	81	19
30	81	19
31	82	18

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Oaxaca gets around 4 mm of rain over 0.8 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 2% and peaks near 4% 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 (%)	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	4	4	4	4	3

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

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 99% 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 (%)	98	98	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
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 6 km/h in December.

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

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 6:45 AM to 7:00 AM, and sunset from 5:48 PM to 6:00 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	11.0	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	11.0	11.0	11.0
Sunrise (AM)	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:47	6:47	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:50	6:51	6:51	6:52	6:52	6:53	6:53	6:54	6:54	6:55	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:57	6:58	6:58	6:59	6:59	6:59	7:00	7:00
Sunset (PM)	5:48	5:48	5:49	5:49	5:49	5:49	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:51	5:51	5:52	5:52	5:52	5:53	5:53	5:53	5:54	5:54	5:55	5:55	5:56	5:56	5:57	5:57	5:58	5:58	5:59	5:59	6:00

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.1	6:45	5:48
2	11.0	6:46	5:48
3	11.0	6:46	5:49
4	11.0	6:47	5:49
5	11.0	6:47	5:49
6	11.0	6:48	5:49
7	11.0	6:49	5:50
8	11.0	6:49	5:50
9	11.0	6:50	5:50
10	11.0	6:50	5:50
11	11.0	6:51	5:51
12	11.0	6:51	5:51
13	11.0	6:52	5:52
14	11.0	6:52	5:52
15	11.0	6:53	5:52
16	11.0	6:53	5:53
17	11.0	6:54	5:53
18	11.0	6:54	5:53
19	11.0	6:55	5:54
20	11.0	6:55	5:54
21	11.0	6:56	5:55
22	11.0	6:56	5:55
23	11.0	6:57	5:56
24	11.0	6:57	5:56
25	11.0	6:58	5:57
26	11.0	6:58	5:57
27	11.0	6:59	5:58
28	11.0	6:59	5:58
29	11.0	6:59	5:59
30	11.0	7:00	5:59
31	11.0	7:00	6:00

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.02 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.88 kWh/m² to a high of 7.09 kWh/m² in April across the year — December's 5.02 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)	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
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	5.1	Bright
2	5.1	Bright
3	5.1	Bright
4	5.1	Bright
5	5.1	Bright
6	5.0	Bright
7	5.0	Bright
8	5.0	Bright
9	5.0	Bright
10	5.0	Bright
11	5.0	Bright
12	5.0	Bright
13	5.0	Bright
14	5.0	Bright
15	5.0	Bright
16	5.0	Bright
17	5.0	Bright
18	5.0	Bright
19	5.0	Bright
20	4.9	Bright
21	5.0	Bright
22	5.0	Bright
23	5.0	Bright
24	5.0	Bright
25	5.0	Bright
26	5.0	Bright
27	5.0	Bright
28	5.0	Bright
29	5.0	Bright
30	5.0	Bright
31	5.0	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Oaxaca

In seasonPeak

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

Oaxaca's rainy season runs June–September, 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 Oaxaca?

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

9.1

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

7.6

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

December is one of the better times to visit Oaxaca for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Oaxaca in December

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

In December, Oaxaca sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 10°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Oaxaca in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Oaxaca peaks around April 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 9 (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)	10	13	14	15	12	14	13	14	13	12	9	9
Level	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	10	Very high
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	14	Extreme
Apr	15	Extreme
May	12	Extreme
Jun	14	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	14	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	9	Very high

Air quality in Oaxaca 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 Oaxaca is worst in May — around 31 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.7× the cleanest month (January, 8 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)	8	11	13	21	31	17	18	14	13	10	9	9
Level	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	8	Good
Feb	11	Good
Mar	13	Moderate
Apr	21	Moderate
May	31	Moderate
Jun	17	Moderate
Jul	18	Moderate
Aug	14	Moderate
Sep	13	Moderate
Oct	10	Good
Nov	9	Good
Dec	9	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Oaxaca?

Oaxaca sits at 17.1°N, 96.7°W, 1,571 m above sea level, in Mexico. The nearest listed city is Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, 4.0 km away.

Topography around Oaxaca

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Oaxaca has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 282 m around an average of 1,568 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,802 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,193 m.

The land around Oaxaca is covered by artificial surfaces (79%) within 3 km, trees (35%), grassland (21%) and cropland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (66%) within 80 km.

3 km

282 m

artificial surfaces 79%

16 km

1,802 m

trees 35%

80 km

3,193 m

trees 66%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces

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

December weather nearby: Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán 4.0 km · San Antonio de la Cal 4.0 km · Santa María Atzompa 7.0 km · Ocotlán de Morelos 30 km · Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz 82 km · Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco 104 km · Tuxtepec 131 km · Puerto Escondido 138 km

Mexico travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 / 127 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 54% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $13,889; 2025
Happiness: 7.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 43%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 24.9; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 12.8; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very low; EF EPI 440
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 Oaxaca (17.0602°, -96.7254°, elevation 1,571 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	24	10
2	24	10
3	24	10
4	24	10
5	24	10
6	24	10
7	24	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	24	10
16	24	10
17	24	10
18	24	10
19	24	10
20	24	10
21	24	10
22	24	10
23	24	10
24	24	10
25	24	10
26	24	10
27	24	10
28	24	10
29	24	10
30	24	9
31	24	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	81	19
2	83	17
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	82	18
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	80	20
13	79	21
14	79	21
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	78	22
22	78	22
23	78	22
24	79	21
25	79	21
26	79	21
27	80	20
28	81	19
29	81	19
30	81	19
31	82	18

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
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	24	10
2	24	10
3	24	10
4	24	10
5	24	10
6	24	10
7	24	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	24	10
16	24	10
17	24	10
18	24	10
19	24	10
20	24	10
21	24	10
22	24	10
23	24	10
24	24	10
25	24	10
26	24	10
27	24	10
28	24	10
29	24	10
30	24	9
31	24	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	81	19
2	83	17
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	82	18
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	80	20
13	79	21
14	79	21
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	78	22
22	78	22
23	78	22
24	79	21
25	79	21
26	79	21
27	80	20
28	81	19
29	81	19
30	81	19
31	82	18

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
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	24	10
2	24	10
3	24	10
4	24	10
5	24	10
6	24	10
7	24	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	24	10
14	24	10
15	24	10
16	24	10
17	24	10
18	24	10
19	24	10
20	24	10
21	24	10
22	24	10
23	24	10
24	24	10
25	24	10
26	24	10
27	24	10
28	24	10
29	24	10
30	24	9
31	24	9

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	81	19
2	83	17
3	83	17
4	83	17
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	82	18
9	82	18
10	81	19
11	81	19
12	80	20
13	79	21
14	79	21
15	79	21
16	78	22
17	78	22
18	78	22
19	78	22
20	78	22
21	78	22
22	78	22
23	78	22
24	79	21
25	79	21
26	79	21
27	80	20
28	81	19
29	81	19
30	81	19
31	82	18

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
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