Tekapo weather in December

In December, Tekapo sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 114 mm of precipitation across 12.5 wet days and about 15.2 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 15°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 06 min at the start of December to 15 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Tekapo's 12th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tekapo's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 16°; 3rd warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 9th coldest
Precipitation: 114 mm; 12.5 wet days
Daylight: 15 h 18 min; 5:56 AM – 9:13 PM
Cloud cover: 65%; 12th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 6.46 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.6; out of 10

Tekapo is locality in Mackenzie District, Canterbury Region, New Zealand.

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

← November Tekapo 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 climb over the month, from about 15°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical December day in Tekapo reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 9°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 2°C warmer than November and about 2°C cooler 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)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

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

How December really feels in Tekapo

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.

Tekapo weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 3rd-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	18° / 9°	108	10.9	0.1	14.9	5.6
Feb	18° / 9°	86	9.4	0.1	13.8	5.8
Mar	16° / 7°	93	9.4	0.2	12.4	5.0
Apr	13° / 5°	97	10.6	0.9	10.8	3.5
May	9° / 2°	105	11.4	2	9.5	1.9
Jun	5° / -1°	97	10.6	4.3	8.8	0.2
Jul	4° / -2°	94	10.3	5.6	9	0.0
Aug	5° / -1°	88	11.2	5.1	10.2	0.2
Sep	9° / 1°	103	12.7	4	11.7	1.5
Oct	11° / 3°	119	13.6	3.5	13.2	2.5
Nov	14° / 5°	111	12.7	2	14.6	3.6
Dec	16° / 7°	114	12.5	0.4	15.2	4.6

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%.

	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 (%)	40	40	40	40	40	39	38	38	39	38	39	38	39	39	38	39	39	39	39	38	39	39	39	38	38	38	40	40	40	40	40
Cloudier (%)	60	60	60	60	60	61	62	62	61	62	61	62	61	61	62	61	61	61	61	62	61	61	61	62	62	62	60	60	60	60	60

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	40	60
28	40	60
29	40	60
30	40	60
31	40	60

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Tekapo gets around 114 mm of rain and snow over 12.5 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 41% and peaks near 42% 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 (%)	42	41	41	41	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	40	40	40	39	39	39	39
Snow chance (%)	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	3
2	41	3
3	41	3
4	41	3
5	40	2
6	40	2
7	40	2
8	40	2
9	40	2
10	40	2
11	40	1
12	40	1
13	41	1
14	41	1
15	41	1
16	41	1
17	41	1
18	42	1
19	42	1
20	42	1
21	42	1
22	41	1
23	41	1
24	41	1
25	40	1
26	40	1
27	40	1
28	39	1
29	39	1
30	39	1
31	39	1

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	99
Comfortable (%)	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	1

	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	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
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	99	1

Wind in December

Winds average 7 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 7 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	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	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	8	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	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 15 h 06 min at the start of December to 15 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 12 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:56 AM to 6:04 AM, and sunset from 8:59 PM to 9:19 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)	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3	15.3
Sunrise (AM)	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:57	5:57	5:58	5:58	5:59	5:59	6:00	6:00	6:01	6:01	6:02	6:03	6:04
Sunset (PM)	8:59	9:00	9:01	9:02	9:03	9:04	9:05	9:06	9:07	9:08	9:09	9:10	9:10	9:11	9:12	9:13	9:13	9:14	9:15	9:15	9:16	9:16	9:17	9:17	9:17	9:18	9:18	9:18	9:18	9:19	9:19

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	15.1	5:56	8:59
2	15.1	5:56	9:00
3	15.1	5:56	9:01
4	15.1	5:56	9:02
5	15.1	5:55	9:03
6	15.2	5:55	9:04
7	15.2	5:55	9:05
8	15.2	5:55	9:06
9	15.2	5:55	9:07
10	15.2	5:55	9:08
11	15.2	5:55	9:09
12	15.2	5:55	9:10
13	15.3	5:55	9:10
14	15.3	5:55	9:11
15	15.3	5:56	9:12
16	15.3	5:56	9:13
17	15.3	5:56	9:13
18	15.3	5:56	9:14
19	15.3	5:57	9:15
20	15.3	5:57	9:15
21	15.3	5:58	9:16
22	15.3	5:58	9:16
23	15.3	5:59	9:17
24	15.3	5:59	9:17
25	15.3	6:00	9:17
26	15.3	6:00	9:18
27	15.3	6:01	9:18
28	15.3	6:01	9:18
29	15.3	6:02	9:18
30	15.3	6:03	9:19
31	15.3	6:04	9:19

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 6.46 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.45 kWh/m² to a high of 6.55 kWh/m² in January across the year — December's 6.46 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)	6.3	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9
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	6.3	Intense
2	6.3	Intense
3	6.4	Intense
4	6.4	Intense
5	6.4	Intense
6	6.4	Intense
7	6.4	Intense
8	6.4	Intense
9	6.4	Intense
10	6.4	Intense
11	6.4	Intense
12	6.4	Intense
13	6.4	Intense
14	6.4	Intense
15	6.4	Intense
16	6.4	Intense
17	6.4	Intense
18	6.5	Intense
19	6.5	Intense
20	6.5	Intense
21	6.6	Intense
22	6.6	Intense
23	6.7	Intense
24	6.7	Intense
25	6.8	Intense
26	6.8	Intense
27	6.9	Intense
28	6.9	Intense
29	6.9	Intense
30	6.9	Intense
31	6.9	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Tekapo?

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

4.6

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

0.5

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Tekapo for sightseeing.

What to pack for Tekapo in December

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

In December, Tekapo sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 7°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

UV index in Tekapo in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Tekapo peaks around January 16 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	10	6	3	2	1	2	3	5	6	9	10
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Extreme
Mar	6	High
Apr	3	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	10	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Tekapo?

Tekapo sits at 44.0°S, 170.5°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Franz Josef, 73 km away.

Topography around Tekapo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tekapo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 358 m around an average of 746 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,523 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,635 m.

The land around Tekapo is covered by grassland (65%) within 3 km, grassland (84%) within 16 km, and grassland (61%) within 80 km.

3 km

358 m

grassland 65%

16 km

1,523 m

grassland 84%

80 km

3,635 m

grassland 61%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater

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

December weather nearby: Franz Josef 73 km · Timaru 75 km · Ashburton 101 km · Wanaka 131 km · Rolleston 160 km · Christchurch 181 km · Queenstown 184 km · Rangiora 186 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type I; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 86% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $49,591; 2025
Happiness: 7.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.5; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 9.6; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; 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 Tekapo (-44.0064°, 170.4803°, 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. 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	15	6
2	15	6
3	15	6
4	15	6
5	15	7
6	15	7
7	15	7
8	15	7
9	16	7
10	16	7
11	16	7
12	16	7
13	16	7
14	16	7
15	16	7
16	16	7
17	16	7
18	16	7
19	16	7
20	16	7
21	16	8
22	16	8
23	16	8
24	16	8
25	16	8
26	17	8
27	17	8
28	17	8
29	17	8
30	17	8
31	17	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	40	60
28	40	60
29	40	60
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	3
2	41	3
3	41	3
4	41	3
5	40	2
6	40	2
7	40	2
8	40	2
9	40	2
10	40	2
11	40	1
12	40	1
13	41	1
14	41	1
15	41	1
16	41	1
17	41	1
18	42	1
19	42	1
20	42	1
21	42	1
22	41	1
23	41	1
24	41	1
25	40	1
26	40	1
27	40	1
28	39	1
29	39	1
30	39	1
31	39	1

	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	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
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	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	40	60
28	40	60
29	40	60
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	3
2	41	3
3	41	3
4	41	3
5	40	2
6	40	2
7	40	2
8	40	2
9	40	2
10	40	2
11	40	1
12	40	1
13	41	1
14	41	1
15	41	1
16	41	1
17	41	1
18	42	1
19	42	1
20	42	1
21	42	1
22	41	1
23	41	1
24	41	1
25	40	1
26	40	1
27	40	1
28	39	1
29	39	1
30	39	1
31	39	1

	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	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
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	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	39	61
23	39	61
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	40	60
28	40	60
29	40	60
30	40	60
31	40	60

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	3
2	41	3
3	41	3
4	41	3
5	40	2
6	40	2
7	40	2
8	40	2
9	40	2
10	40	2
11	40	1
12	40	1
13	41	1
14	41	1
15	41	1
16	41	1
17	41	1
18	42	1
19	42	1
20	42	1
21	42	1
22	41	1
23	41	1
24	41	1
25	40	1
26	40	1
27	40	1
28	39	1
29	39	1
30	39	1
31	39	1

	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	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
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	99	1