Apatity weather in December

In December, Apatity sees average daytime highs of -7°C and overnight lows near -12°C, with 46 mm of precipitation across 11.1 wet days and about 0.2 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -5°C in the first days to -9°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 1 h 42 min at the start of December to 0 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Apatity's 11th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Apatity's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-7°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-12°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
46 mm
11.1 wet days
Daylight
0 hours
— – —
Cloud cover
90%
11th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
0 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Apatity is city in Murmansk Oblast, Russia.

Density
1,632/km²
people per km²
Founded
1926

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -5°C in the first days to -9°C by the end.

A typical December day in Apatity reaches about -7°C in the afternoon and slips back to -12°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -15°C and -0°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 3°C warmer than January.

-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-5-10
2-5-10
3-5-10
4-5-10
5-5-10
6-5-10
7-5-10
8-6-10
9-6-10
10-6-11
11-6-11
12-6-11
13-6-11
14-6-11
15-6-11
16-7-12
17-7-12
18-7-12
19-7-12
20-7-12
21-8-13
22-8-13
23-8-13
24-8-13
25-9-14
26-9-14
27-9-14
28-9-14
29-9-14
30-9-14
31-9-14

How December really feels in Apatity

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in December is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Apatity weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-10° / -15°379.911.72.30.0
Feb-10° / -15°349.311.47.10.0
Mar-5° / -11°378.811.211.10.0
Apr / -6°348.38.415.10.0
May / 47115.219.40.9
Jun13° / 6512.70.623.83.4
Jul17° / 10°8213.8021.94.8
Aug14° / 6813016.93.8
Sep / 6311.31.212.81.7
Oct / -2°63127.78.80.0
Nov-4° / -8°5211.512.64.40.0
Dec-7° / -12°4611.113.80.20.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 5% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 92%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1595
2595
3595
4595
5595
6595
7793
8892
9892
10892
11892
12892
13892
141090
151090
161090
171090
181090
191090
20991
21991
22991
23991
241090
25991
26991
27991
28991
29991
30991
31991

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Apatity gets around 46 mm of rain and snow over 11.1 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 36% and peaks near 41% on the wettest days, and about 14 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14047
24048
34149
44149
54149
64150
74150
84050
94049
104049
113949
123949
133948
143848
153847
163746
173645
183544
193442
203341
213240
223240
233139
243139
253138
263038
273037
282937
292936
302836
312836

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in December

Winds average 10 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 1 h 42 min at the start of December to 0 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
11.711:451:27
21.411:541:19
31.112:031:11
40.712:1512:59
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
110.0
120.0
130.0
140.0
150.0
160.0
170.0
180.0
190.0
200.0
210.0
220.0
230.0
240.0
250.0
260.0
270.0
280.0
290.0
300.0
310.0

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0 kWh/m² to a high of 5.05 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.0Dim
20.0Dim
30.0Dim
40.0Dim
50.0Dim
60.0Dim
70.0Dim
80.0Dim
90.0Dim
100.0Dim
110.0Dim
120.0Dim
130.0Dim
140.0Dim
150.0Dim
160.0Dim
170.0Dim
180.0Dim
190.0Dim
200.0Dim
210.0Dim
220.0Dim
230.0Dim
240.0Dim
250.0Dim
260.0Dim
270.0Dim
280.0Dim
290.0Dim
300.0Dim
310.0Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Apatity?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
6th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Apatity.

What to pack for Apatity in December

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

In December, Apatity sees daytime highs around -7°C and nights near -12°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Apatity in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Apatity peaks around July 14 at about 4 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 14UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep1Low
Oct0Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Apatity?

Apatity sits at 67.6°N, 33.4°E, 169 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Kirovsk, 12 km away.

Topography around Apatity

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Apatity has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 151 m around an average of 169 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,074 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,364 m.

The land around Apatity is covered by trees (67%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, trees (54%) within 16 km, and trees (67%) within 80 km.

3 km
151 m
16 km
1,074 m
80 km
1,364 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Kirovsk 12 km · Monchegorsk 46 km · Polyarnyye Zori 46 km · Olenegorsk 63 km · Kandalaksha 64 km · Kovdor 125 km · Murmansk 155 km · Severomorsk 165 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 2%

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 Apatity (67.5827°, 33.4134°, elevation 169 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).