Old City in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Old City sees average daytime highs around 16°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 198 mm of rain over about 28 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 16°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 46% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Old City's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Old City's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
16°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
8°C
Rainfall
198 mm
28 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
5.4
3rd-best season
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Old City in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 16°C.

A typical winter day in Old City reaches about 16°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

10°15°20°25°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Old City

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Old City weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan15° / 7710.110.24.8
Feb16° / 679.510.85.3
Mar19° / 10°46711.87.0
Apr24° / 13°183.212.88.4
May29° / 16°91.913.67.3
Jun32° / 19°10.4145.5
Jul34° / 21°0013.94.3
Aug34° / 22°0013.24.2
Sep32° / 20°30.612.25.3
Oct28° / 17°203.911.27.1
Nov22° / 13°376.210.47.6
Dec17° / 548106.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 46% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Old City gets around 198 mm of rain over 28 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 8 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min in early December to 11 h 12 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.4 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Old City

In seasonPeak

None of Old City's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Old City sees seasonal dust haze (May), heaviest in May.

Dust
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Old City?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.4
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
0.8
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Old City for sightseeing.

What to pack for Old City in Winter

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

In winter, Old City sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 28 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Old City in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 19°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 59 km away) is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 18°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 1 to Dec 27 — about 7.9 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan19Cool
Feb18Cool
Mar18Cool
Apr19Cool
May21Refreshing
Jun25Warm
Jul27Warm
Aug28Tropical
Sep28Warm
Oct26Warm
Nov24Refreshing
Dec21Refreshing

UV index in Old City in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Old City peaks around June 18 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 18UV 11Jan 11UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7Very high
May10Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep10Very high
Oct6High
Nov5Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Old City in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Old City is worst in December — around 70 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 2.0× the cleanest month (July, 35 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

020406080JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyDec 2070 µg/m³Jul 2135 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan68Unhealthy
Feb68Unhealthy
Mar63Unhealthy
Apr58Unhealthy
May50Poor
Jun40Poor
Jul35Poor
Aug36Poor
Sep41Poor
Oct48Poor
Nov64Unhealthy
Dec70Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Old City?

Old City sits at 31.8°N, 35.2°E, 760 m above sea level, in Palestinian Territory. The nearest listed city is East Jerusalem, 1.0 km away.

Bethlehem

Topography around Old City

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Old City has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 308 m around an average of 734 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,084 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,660 m.

The land around Old City is covered by artificial surfaces (78%) within 3 km, grassland (40%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (25%) and bare terrain (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
308 m
16 km
1,084 m
80 km
1,660 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: East Jerusalem 1.0 km · Al ‘Ayzarīyah 3.0 km · Shu‘fāţ 4.0 km · Bayt Ḩanīnā 6.0 km · Ma‘ale Adummim 6.0 km · Bayt Jālā 8.0 km · Ar Rām wa Ḑāḩiyat al Barīd 8.0 km · Bethlehem 8.0 km

Palestinian Territory travel facts

Power plugs
Type C / H
230 V · 50 Hz
GDP per capita
$3,171
2025
Happiness
4.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
81%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2016
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 463

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 Old City (31.7767°, 35.2342°, elevation 760 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.