Norilsk weather in December

In December, Norilsk sees average daytime highs of -23°C and overnight lows near -28°C, with 42 mm of precipitation across 10 wet days and about 0 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -22°C in the first days to -24°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 0 hours at the start of December to 0 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Norilsk's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Norilsk's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-23°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-28°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
42 mm
10 wet days
Daylight
0 hours
— – —
Cloud cover
82%
9th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Norilsk is city in Russia.

Density
6,079/km²
people per km²
Founded
1935

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 -22°C in the first days to -24°C by the end.

A typical December day in Norilsk reaches about -23°C in the afternoon and slips back to -28°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -35°C and -10°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 5°C cooler than November and about 2°C warmer than January.

-40°-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-22-27
2-22-27
3-22-27
4-22-27
5-22-27
6-22-27
7-22-27
8-22-27
9-22-27
10-22-27
11-22-27
12-22-27
13-22-27
14-22-27
15-22-27
16-22-27
17-22-27
18-22-27
19-22-28
20-22-28
21-22-28
22-23-28
23-23-28
24-23-28
25-23-28
26-23-29
27-24-29
28-24-29
29-24-29
30-24-29
31-24-30

How December really feels in Norilsk

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.

Norilsk weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-24° / -30°328.81210.0
Feb-23° / -29°307.810.86.50.0
Mar-16° / -23°389.712.1110.0
Apr-9° / -16°459.510.915.40.0
May-1° / -7°5010.39.620.90.0
Jun11° / 6411.72.5242.3
Jul17° / 10°7511.2023.25.1
Aug14° / 8513.50.217.53.6
Sep / 7012.44.512.90.7
Oct-6° / -11°7414.114.88.50.0
Nov-18° / -23°479.612.32.90.0
Dec-23° / -28°421013.500.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 4% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 82%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11981
22080
32080
42080
52080
62080
72080
82080
91882
101882
111882
121882
131783
141783
151783
161783
171783
181783
191783
201783
211783
221783
231783
241882
251882
261882
271882
281882
291981
301981
311981

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Norilsk gets around 42 mm of rain and snow over 10 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 33% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 14 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12939
22939
32939
43039
53039
63140
73140
83241
93342
103443
113544
123645
133646
143746
153747
163747
173748
183748
193748
203648
213548
223547
233446
243346
253245
263144
273143
283043
292942
302941
312840

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 16 km/h in December, the windiest month of the year.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 16 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
114light breeze
214light breeze
314light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2516light breeze
2616light breeze
2716light breeze
2816light breeze
2916light breeze
3016light breeze
3116light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 0 hours 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)
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
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 5.55 kWh/m² in May 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 Norilsk?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Norilsk.

What to pack for Norilsk in December

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

In December, Norilsk sees daytime highs around -23°C and nights near -28°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Norilsk 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 Norilsk peaks around July 15 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 3 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 15UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun3Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep1Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Norilsk?

Norilsk sits at 69.4°N, 88.2°E, 76 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Talnakh, 17 km away.

Novyy UrengoyTarko-SaleGubkinskiyNadymMuravlenko

Topography around Norilsk

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Norilsk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 86 m around an average of 64 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 657 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,136 m.

The land around Norilsk is covered by water (35%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 3 km, moss and lichen (30%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%) and moss and lichen (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
86 m
16 km
657 m
80 km
1,136 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Talnakh 17 km · Kayyerkan 18 km · Dudinka 80 km · Novyy Urengoy 607 km · Tarko-Sale 666 km · Gubkinskiy 746 km · Nadym 789 km · Muravlenko 862 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 Norilsk (69.3535°, 88.2027°, elevation 76 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).