Vorkuta weather in December

In December, Vorkuta sees average daytime highs of -15°C and overnight lows near -21°C, with 43 mm of precipitation across 11.2 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 -13°C in the first days to -17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 1 h 48 min at the start of December to 0 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Vorkuta's 12th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Vorkuta's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-15°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-21°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
43 mm
11.2 wet days
Daylight
0 hours
— – —
Cloud cover
86%
12th clearest
Wind
19 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Vorkuta is town in the Komi Republic, Russia.

Density
2,686/km²
people per km²
Founded
1932

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 -13°C in the first days to -17°C by the end.

A typical December day in Vorkuta reaches about -15°C in the afternoon and slips back to -21°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -28°C and -3°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°C cooler than November and about 3°C warmer than January.

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

How December really feels in Vorkuta

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.

Vorkuta 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-18° / -25°309.112.52.40.0
Feb-17° / -24°258.110.87.10.0
Mar-11° / -19°341012.311.10.0
Apr-5° / -13°389.810.715.10.0
May / -5°5110.67.719.40.0
Jun12° / 63122.623.82.8
Jul17° / 7011.40.221.85.1
Aug13° / 76130.116.93.2
Sep / 6112.52.212.81.0
Oct-2° / -6°6614.912.68.80.0
Nov-10° / -17°5011.713.74.50.0
Dec-15° / -21°4311.214.30.20.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 5% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 87%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11387
21288
31288
41288
51288
61189
71189
81189
91288
101189
111189
121189
131189
141288
151288
161288
171288
181288
191288
201288
211387
221387
231387
241585
251585
261486
271486
281585
291585
301585
311684

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Vorkuta gets around 43 mm of rain and snow over 11.2 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 37% on the wettest days, and about 14 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13746
23746
33746
43747
53747
63748
73748
83748
93748
103748
113748
123748
133747
143747
153747
163747
173747
183747
193747
203746
213646
223645
233545
243544
253544
263444
273444
283443
293343
303342
313242

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 19 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 19 km/h on the calmest days to 20 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
119light breeze
219light breeze
319light breeze
419light breeze
519light breeze
619light breeze
719light breeze
819light breeze
919light breeze
1019light breeze
1120light breeze
1220light breeze
1320light breeze
1420light breeze
1520light breeze
1620light breeze
1720light breeze
1820light breeze
1920light breeze
2020light breeze
2120light breeze
2220light breeze
2319light breeze
2419light breeze
2519light breeze
2619light breeze
2719light breeze
2819light breeze
2919light breeze
3019light breeze
3119light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 1 h 48 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)
11.89:3911:28
21.69:4711:21
31.39:5511:13
41.010:0511:04
50.510:1910:51
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 4.94 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 Vorkuta?

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 Vorkuta.

What to pack for Vorkuta in December

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

In December, Vorkuta sees daytime highs around -15°C and nights near -21°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 Vorkuta 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 Vorkuta peaks around June 18 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 18UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep2Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Vorkuta?

Vorkuta sits at 67.5°N, 64.1°E, 174 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Vorgashor, 14 km away.

Topography around Vorkuta

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Vorkuta has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 176 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 150 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,210 m.

The land around Vorkuta is covered by trees (38%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, trees (54%) and grassland (35%) within 16 km, and grassland (60%) and trees (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
150 m
80 km
1,210 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Vorgashor 14 km · Labytnangi 139 km · Salekhard 155 km · Inta 237 km · Usinsk 332 km · Pechora 402 km · Nadym 434 km · Beloyarskiy 439 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 Vorkuta (67.5087°, 64.0667°, elevation 174 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).