Whanganui weather in December

In December, Whanganui sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 14°C, with 100 mm of rain across 12.7 wet days and about 14.8 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 36 min at the start of December to 14 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Whanganui's 12th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Whanganui's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 17°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 14°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 100 mm; 12.7 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 48 min; 5:51 AM – 8:41 PM
Cloud cover: 59%; 12th clearest
Wind: 22 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 6.53 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.4; out of 10

Whanganui is city in New Zealand's North Island.

Density: 20,736/km²; people per km²

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

← November Whanganui 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 17°C through the month.

A typical December day in Whanganui reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 14°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°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)	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18
Avg low (°C)	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15

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

Whanganui weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	19° / 15°	71	9.3	14.5	6.3
Feb	20° / 16°	66	8.1	13.6	6.5
Mar	18° / 15°	68	9.6	12.3	6.2
Apr	17° / 13°	98	11	11	5.2
May	15° / 11°	97	12.4	9.8	4.3
Jun	13° / 10°	109	14.1	9.2	3.2
Jul	12° / 9°	105	14.3	9.5	2.9
Aug	12° / 9°	102	14.7	10.4	3.0
Sep	13° / 10°	97	13.6	11.7	3.4
Oct	14° / 11°	107	14.2	13.1	3.8
Nov	16° / 12°	89	12.2	14.2	4.6
Dec	17° / 14°	100	12.7	14.8	5.4

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 50%.

	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 (%)	52	51	51	51	51	51	50	50	49	49	48	48	48	48	47	48	48	48	48	48	47	48	48	49	49	50	51	51	52	52	54
Cloudier (%)	48	49	49	49	49	49	50	50	51	51	52	52	52	52	53	52	52	52	52	52	53	52	52	51	51	50	49	49	48	48	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	51	49
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	48	52
14	48	52
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	49	51
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	54	46

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Whanganui gets around 100 mm of rain over 12.7 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 41% and peaks near 42% 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 (%)	40	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	41	41	40	40	39	38	38	37	36	35

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	41
3	41
4	41
5	41
6	41
7	41
8	41
9	41
10	42
11	42
12	42
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	42
17	42
18	42
19	42
20	42
21	42
22	41
23	41
24	40
25	40
26	39
27	38
28	38
29	37
30	36
31	35

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 57% 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 (%)	69	67	66	64	63	62	61	61	60	60	60	60	59	59	58	58	58	57	56	56	55	54	54	52	52	51	50	50	49	48	48
Comfortable (%)	29	30	31	32	33	33	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	35	36	36	37	37	37	38	38	39	39	39	39	40	40
Humid (%)	2	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	12	12	12

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	69	29	2
2	67	30	3
3	66	31	3
4	64	32	4
5	63	33	4
6	62	33	5
7	61	34	5
8	61	34	5
9	60	34	6
10	60	34	6
11	60	34	6
12	60	34	6
13	59	34	7
14	59	34	7
15	58	35	7
16	58	35	7
17	58	35	7
18	57	35	8
19	56	36	8
20	56	36	8
21	55	37	8
22	54	37	9
23	54	37	9
24	52	38	10
25	52	38	10
26	51	39	10
27	50	39	11
28	50	39	11
29	49	39	12
30	48	40	12
31	48	40	12

Wind in December

Winds average 22 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 22 km/h on the calmest days to 23 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)	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22
Feels	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	23	breezy
2	23	breezy
3	23	breezy
4	22	breezy
5	22	breezy
6	22	breezy
7	22	breezy
8	22	breezy
9	22	breezy
10	22	breezy
11	22	breezy
12	22	breezy
13	22	breezy
14	22	breezy
15	22	breezy
16	22	breezy
17	22	breezy
18	22	breezy
19	22	breezy
20	22	breezy
21	22	breezy
22	22	breezy
23	22	breezy
24	22	breezy
25	22	breezy
26	22	breezy
27	22	breezy
28	22	breezy
29	22	breezy
30	22	breezy
31	22	breezy

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 36 min at the start of December to 14 h 48 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 5:51 AM to 5:59 AM, and sunset from 8:28 PM to 8:47 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)	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8
Sunrise (AM)	5:51	5:51	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:51	5:51	5:51	5:51	5:52	5:52	5:52	5:53	5:53	5:54	5:54	5:55	5:55	5:56	5:56	5:57	5:58	5:58	5:59
Sunset (PM)	8:28	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:39	8:40	8:41	8:41	8:42	8:42	8:43	8:43	8:44	8:44	8:45	8:45	8:46	8:46	8:46	8:46	8:47	8:47

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.6	5:51	8:28
2	14.6	5:51	8:29
3	14.7	5:50	8:30
4	14.7	5:50	8:31
5	14.7	5:50	8:32
6	14.7	5:50	8:33
7	14.7	5:50	8:34
8	14.7	5:50	8:35
9	14.8	5:50	8:35
10	14.8	5:50	8:36
11	14.8	5:50	8:37
12	14.8	5:50	8:38
13	14.8	5:51	8:39
14	14.8	5:51	8:39
15	14.8	5:51	8:40
16	14.8	5:51	8:41
17	14.8	5:52	8:41
18	14.8	5:52	8:42
19	14.8	5:52	8:42
20	14.8	5:53	8:43
21	14.8	5:53	8:43
22	14.8	5:54	8:44
23	14.8	5:54	8:44
24	14.8	5:55	8:45
25	14.8	5:55	8:45
26	14.8	5:56	8:46
27	14.8	5:56	8:46
28	14.8	5:57	8:46
29	14.8	5:58	8:46
30	14.8	5:58	8:47
31	14.8	5:59	8:47

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 6.53 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 7 kWh/m² in January across the year — December's 6.53 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)	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.8	6.8	6.9	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.3
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	6.4	Intense
2	6.4	Intense
3	6.4	Intense
4	6.4	Intense
5	6.4	Intense
6	6.5	Intense
7	6.5	Intense
8	6.5	Intense
9	6.5	Intense
10	6.5	Intense
11	6.5	Intense
12	6.5	Intense
13	6.5	Intense
14	6.5	Intense
15	6.6	Intense
16	6.6	Intense
17	6.6	Intense
18	6.6	Intense
19	6.7	Intense
20	6.7	Intense
21	6.7	Intense
22	6.8	Intense
23	6.8	Intense
24	6.9	Intense
25	7.0	Intense
26	7.0	Intense
27	7.1	Intense
28	7.1	Intense
29	7.2	Intense
30	7.2	Intense
31	7.3	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Whanganui?

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

5.4

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

1.5

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Whanganui for sightseeing.

What to pack for Whanganui in December

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

In December, Whanganui sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 14°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear and a windbreaker. About 13 days see rain.

sun protectionrain geara windbreaker

Sea temperature near Whanganui in December

The nearest coast averages about 16°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 16 km away) is warmest in February at about 19°C and coldest in August near 13°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	18	19	18	17	16	14	13	13	13	14	15	16
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	18	Cool
Feb	19	Cool
Mar	18	Cool
Apr	17	Cool
May	16	Cool
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	13	Bracing
Aug	13	Bracing
Sep	13	Bracing
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	15	Bracing
Dec	16	Cool

UV index in Whanganui in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Whanganui peaks around January 12 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	12	11	7	5	2	2	2	3	4	7	10	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	7	High
Apr	5	Moderate
May	2	Moderate
Jun	2	Low
Jul	2	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	7	High
Nov	10	Very high
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Whanganui?

Whanganui sits at 39.9°S, 175.1°E, 18 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Palmerston North, 67 km away.

Topography around Whanganui

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Whanganui has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 103 m around an average of 28 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 300 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,746 m.

The land around Whanganui is covered by grassland (39%), artificial surfaces (28%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, grassland (42%), water (32%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (44%), trees (29%) and water (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

103 m

grassland 39%

16 km

300 m

grassland 42%

80 km

1,746 m

grassland 44%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

December weather nearby: Palmerston North 67 km · Levin 80 km · Paraparaumu 109 km · Masterton 125 km · New Plymouth 127 km · Upper Hutt 134 km · Porirua 135 km · Lower Hutt 143 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 Whanganui (-39.9333°, 175.05°, elevation 18 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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	17	13
2	17	13
3	17	13
4	17	13
5	17	13
6	17	13
7	17	14
8	17	14
9	17	14
10	17	14
11	17	14
12	17	14
13	17	14
14	17	14
15	17	14
16	17	14
17	18	14
18	18	14
19	18	14
20	18	14
21	18	14
22	18	14
23	18	14
24	18	14
25	18	14
26	18	14
27	18	15
28	18	15
29	18	15
30	18	15
31	18	15

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	51	49
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	48	52
14	48	52
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	49	51
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	54	46

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	41
3	41
4	41
5	41
6	41
7	41
8	41
9	41
10	42
11	42
12	42
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	42
17	42
18	42
19	42
20	42
21	42
22	41
23	41
24	40
25	40
26	39
27	38
28	38
29	37
30	36
31	35

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	69	29	2
2	67	30	3
3	66	31	3
4	64	32	4
5	63	33	4
6	62	33	5
7	61	34	5
8	61	34	5
9	60	34	6
10	60	34	6
11	60	34	6
12	60	34	6
13	59	34	7
14	59	34	7
15	58	35	7
16	58	35	7
17	58	35	7
18	57	35	8
19	56	36	8
20	56	36	8
21	55	37	8
22	54	37	9
23	54	37	9
24	52	38	10
25	52	38	10
26	51	39	10
27	50	39	11
28	50	39	11
29	49	39	12
30	48	40	12
31	48	40	12

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	51	49
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	48	52
14	48	52
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	49	51
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	54	46

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	41
3	41
4	41
5	41
6	41
7	41
8	41
9	41
10	42
11	42
12	42
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	42
17	42
18	42
19	42
20	42
21	42
22	41
23	41
24	40
25	40
26	39
27	38
28	38
29	37
30	36
31	35

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	69	29	2
2	67	30	3
3	66	31	3
4	64	32	4
5	63	33	4
6	62	33	5
7	61	34	5
8	61	34	5
9	60	34	6
10	60	34	6
11	60	34	6
12	60	34	6
13	59	34	7
14	59	34	7
15	58	35	7
16	58	35	7
17	58	35	7
18	57	35	8
19	56	36	8
20	56	36	8
21	55	37	8
22	54	37	9
23	54	37	9
24	52	38	10
25	52	38	10
26	51	39	10
27	50	39	11
28	50	39	11
29	49	39	12
30	48	40	12
31	48	40	12

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	52	48
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	51	49
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	48	52
14	48	52
15	47	53
16	48	52
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	49	51
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	54	46

	Rain chance (%)
1	40
2	41
3	41
4	41
5	41
6	41
7	41
8	41
9	41
10	42
11	42
12	42
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	42
17	42
18	42
19	42
20	42
21	42
22	41
23	41
24	40
25	40
26	39
27	38
28	38
29	37
30	36
31	35

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	69	29	2
2	67	30	3
3	66	31	3
4	64	32	4
5	63	33	4
6	62	33	5
7	61	34	5
8	61	34	5
9	60	34	6
10	60	34	6
11	60	34	6
12	60	34	6
13	59	34	7
14	59	34	7
15	58	35	7
16	58	35	7
17	58	35	7
18	57	35	8
19	56	36	8
20	56	36	8
21	55	37	8
22	54	37	9
23	54	37	9
24	52	38	10
25	52	38	10
26	51	39	10
27	50	39	11
28	50	39	11
29	49	39	12
30	48	40	12
31	48	40	12