Apia weather in December

In December, Apia sees average daytime highs of 28°C and overnight lows near 26°C, with 346 mm of rain across 27.2 wet days and about 12.8 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 28°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in December, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 48 min at the start of December to 12 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Apia's 10th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Apia's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 28°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 26°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 346 mm; 27.2 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 48 min; 6:59 AM – 7:48 PM
Cloud cover: 75%; 10th clearest
Wind: 15 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 5.75 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.9; out of 10

Apia is capital of Samoa.

Density: 326/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1850

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

← November Apia 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 28°C through the month.

A typical December day in Apia reaches about 28°C in the afternoon and slips back to 26°C overnight — a 2°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 27°C and 28°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with 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)	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28
Avg low (°C)	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26

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

Apia weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 4th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 26°	360	27.6	12.7	3.7
Feb	28° / 26°	327	24.7	12.5	3.8
Mar	28° / 26°	271	27.3	12.1	3.8
Apr	28° / 26°	218	25.6	11.7	4.0
May	28° / 26°	207	24.6	11.4	4.4
Jun	27° / 26°	143	21.6	11.2	4.8
Jul	27° / 25°	138	21	11.3	5.1
Aug	27° / 25°	121	21.1	11.5	5.1
Sep	27° / 25°	159	22	11.9	4.8
Oct	27° / 25°	227	24.9	12.3	4.4
Nov	27° / 25°	271	25.7	12.6	4.0
Dec	28° / 26°	346	27.2	12.8	3.9

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%.

	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 (%)	30	30	29	28	27	28	28	27	27	27	28	27	27	28	29	29	30	30	30	31	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	28	27	25	25
Cloudier (%)	70	70	71	72	73	72	72	73	73	73	72	73	73	72	71	71	70	70	70	69	70	70	70	70	70	71	71	72	73	75	75

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	29	71
4	28	72
5	27	73
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	27	73
10	27	73
11	28	72
12	27	73
13	27	73
14	28	72
15	29	71
16	29	71
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	31	69
21	30	70
22	30	70
23	30	70
24	30	70
25	30	70
26	29	71
27	29	71
28	28	72
29	27	73
30	25	75
31	25	75

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Apia gets around 346 mm of rain over 27.2 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 87% and peaks near 89% 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 (%)	88	88	88	88	89	89	89	89	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	87	87	87	87	87	87	87	86	86	86	86	86	86	86	86	86

	Rain chance (%)
1	88
2	88
3	88
4	88
5	89
6	89
7	89
8	89
9	89
10	89
11	89
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	88
16	87
17	87
18	87
19	87
20	87
21	87
22	87
23	86
24	86
25	86
26	86
27	86
28	86
29	86
30	86
31	86

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the oppressive band about 68% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

	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
Muggy (%)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oppressive (%)	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	73	73	72	72	71	70	69	69	69	68	67	67	66	66	65	65	64	64	64	64	64	63	63	62
Miserable (%)	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	25	25	26	26	27	28	29	30	30	31	32	32	33	33	34	34	35	35	36	36	36	37	37	38

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	2	74	24
2	2	74	24
3	2	74	24
4	2	74	24
5	2	74	24
6	2	74	24
7	2	74	24
8	2	73	25
9	2	73	25
10	2	72	26
11	2	72	26
12	2	71	27
13	2	70	28
14	2	69	29
15	1	69	30
16	1	69	30
17	1	68	31
18	1	67	32
19	1	67	32
20	1	66	33
21	1	66	33
22	1	65	34
23	1	65	34
24	1	64	35
25	1	64	35
26	0	64	36
27	0	64	36
28	0	64	36
29	0	63	37
30	0	63	37
31	0	62	38

Wind in December

Winds average 15 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 15 km/h on the calmest days to 15 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)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 48 min at the start of December to 12 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 0 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:54 AM to 7:06 AM, and sunset from 7:40 PM to 7:54 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)	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.8
Sunrise (AM)	6:54	6:54	6:55	6:55	6:55	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:57	6:57	6:58	6:58	6:58	6:59	6:59	7:00	7:00	7:01	7:01	7:02	7:02	7:02	7:03	7:03	7:04	7:04	7:05	7:06	7:06
Sunset (PM)	7:40	7:40	7:41	7:41	7:42	7:42	7:43	7:43	7:44	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:46	7:47	7:47	7:48	7:48	7:49	7:49	7:50	7:50	7:51	7:51	7:51	7:52	7:52	7:53	7:53	7:54	7:54	7:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.8	6:54	7:40
2	12.8	6:54	7:40
3	12.8	6:55	7:41
4	12.8	6:55	7:41
5	12.8	6:55	7:42
6	12.8	6:55	7:42
7	12.8	6:56	7:43
8	12.8	6:56	7:43
9	12.8	6:56	7:44
10	12.8	6:57	7:44
11	12.8	6:57	7:45
12	12.8	6:57	7:46
13	12.8	6:58	7:46
14	12.8	6:58	7:47
15	12.8	6:58	7:47
16	12.8	6:59	7:48
17	12.8	6:59	7:48
18	12.8	7:00	7:49
19	12.8	7:00	7:49
20	12.8	7:01	7:50
21	12.8	7:01	7:50
22	12.8	7:02	7:51
23	12.8	7:02	7:51
24	12.8	7:02	7:51
25	12.8	7:03	7:52
26	12.8	7:03	7:52
27	12.8	7:04	7:53
28	12.8	7:04	7:53
29	12.8	7:05	7:54
30	12.8	7:06	7:54
31	12.8	7:06	7:54

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.75 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.2 kWh/m² to a high of 5.92 kWh/m² in October across the year — December's 5.75 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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)	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.2
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.8	Bright
2	5.8	Bright
3	5.8	Bright
4	5.8	Bright
5	5.8	Bright
6	5.8	Bright
7	5.8	Bright
8	5.7	Bright
9	5.7	Bright
10	5.7	Bright
11	5.8	Bright
12	5.8	Bright
13	5.8	Bright
14	5.8	Bright
15	5.8	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.9	Bright
19	5.9	Bright
20	5.9	Bright
21	5.9	Bright
22	6.0	Bright
23	6.0	Bright
24	6.0	Intense
25	6.0	Intense
26	6.1	Intense
27	6.1	Intense
28	6.1	Intense
29	6.1	Intense
30	6.2	Intense
31	6.2	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Apia?

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

3.9

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

4.1

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Apia.

What to pack for Apia in December

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

In December, Apia sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 26°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 27 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Apia in December

The nearest coast averages about 29°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 13 km away) is warmest in March at about 29°C and coldest in August near 28°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	29	29
Comfort	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical	Warm	Warm	Tropical	Tropical	Tropical

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	29	Tropical
Feb	29	Tropical
Mar	29	Tropical
Apr	29	Tropical
May	29	Tropical
Jun	29	Tropical
Jul	28	Tropical
Aug	28	Warm
Sep	28	Warm
Oct	28	Tropical
Nov	29	Tropical
Dec	29	Tropical

UV index in Apia in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Apia peaks around February 14 at about 17 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 19 at about 9 (very high).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	16	18	15	13	10	8	9	11	14	14	14	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	16	Extreme
Feb	18	Extreme
Mar	15	Extreme
Apr	13	Extreme
May	10	Very high
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	14	Extreme
Oct	14	Extreme
Nov	14	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Apia?

Apia sits at 13.8°S, 171.8°W, 9 m above sea level, in Samoa. The nearest listed city is Pago Pago, 125 km away.

Topography around Apia

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Apia has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 451 m around an average of 27 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,148 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,824 m.

The land around Apia is covered by water (41%) and trees (33%) within 3 km, water (49%) and trees (45%) within 16 km, and water (83%) within 80 km.

3 km

451 m

water 41%

16 km

1,148 m

water 49%

80 km

1,824 m

water 83%

treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswatermangroves

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

December weather nearby: Pago Pago 125 km · Mata-Utu 480 km · Alofi 613 km · Nuku‘alofa 890 km · Labasa 995 km · Levuka 1,063 km · Nasinu 1,141 km · Funafuti 1,149 km

Samoa travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type I; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 63% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,873; 2025
Safe drinking water: 63%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 6.3; per 100k, 2018
Road deaths: 13; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; 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 Apia (-13.8333°, -171.7667°, elevation 9 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	27	25
2	27	25
3	27	25
4	27	25
5	27	25
6	27	25
7	27	25
8	27	25
9	27	26
10	27	26
11	27	26
12	28	26
13	28	26
14	28	26
15	28	26
16	28	26
17	28	26
18	28	26
19	28	26
20	28	26
21	28	26
22	28	26
23	28	26
24	28	26
25	28	26
26	28	26
27	28	26
28	28	26
29	28	26
30	28	26
31	28	26

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	29	71
4	28	72
5	27	73
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	27	73
10	27	73
11	28	72
12	27	73
13	27	73
14	28	72
15	29	71
16	29	71
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	31	69
21	30	70
22	30	70
23	30	70
24	30	70
25	30	70
26	29	71
27	29	71
28	28	72
29	27	73
30	25	75
31	25	75

	Rain chance (%)
1	88
2	88
3	88
4	88
5	89
6	89
7	89
8	89
9	89
10	89
11	89
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	88
16	87
17	87
18	87
19	87
20	87
21	87
22	87
23	86
24	86
25	86
26	86
27	86
28	86
29	86
30	86
31	86

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	2	74	24
2	2	74	24
3	2	74	24
4	2	74	24
5	2	74	24
6	2	74	24
7	2	74	24
8	2	73	25
9	2	73	25
10	2	72	26
11	2	72	26
12	2	71	27
13	2	70	28
14	2	69	29
15	1	69	30
16	1	69	30
17	1	68	31
18	1	67	32
19	1	67	32
20	1	66	33
21	1	66	33
22	1	65	34
23	1	65	34
24	1	64	35
25	1	64	35
26	0	64	36
27	0	64	36
28	0	64	36
29	0	63	37
30	0	63	37
31	0	62	38

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	29	71
4	28	72
5	27	73
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	27	73
10	27	73
11	28	72
12	27	73
13	27	73
14	28	72
15	29	71
16	29	71
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	31	69
21	30	70
22	30	70
23	30	70
24	30	70
25	30	70
26	29	71
27	29	71
28	28	72
29	27	73
30	25	75
31	25	75

	Rain chance (%)
1	88
2	88
3	88
4	88
5	89
6	89
7	89
8	89
9	89
10	89
11	89
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	88
16	87
17	87
18	87
19	87
20	87
21	87
22	87
23	86
24	86
25	86
26	86
27	86
28	86
29	86
30	86
31	86

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	2	74	24
2	2	74	24
3	2	74	24
4	2	74	24
5	2	74	24
6	2	74	24
7	2	74	24
8	2	73	25
9	2	73	25
10	2	72	26
11	2	72	26
12	2	71	27
13	2	70	28
14	2	69	29
15	1	69	30
16	1	69	30
17	1	68	31
18	1	67	32
19	1	67	32
20	1	66	33
21	1	66	33
22	1	65	34
23	1	65	34
24	1	64	35
25	1	64	35
26	0	64	36
27	0	64	36
28	0	64	36
29	0	63	37
30	0	63	37
31	0	62	38

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	30	70
2	30	70
3	29	71
4	28	72
5	27	73
6	28	72
7	28	72
8	27	73
9	27	73
10	27	73
11	28	72
12	27	73
13	27	73
14	28	72
15	29	71
16	29	71
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	31	69
21	30	70
22	30	70
23	30	70
24	30	70
25	30	70
26	29	71
27	29	71
28	28	72
29	27	73
30	25	75
31	25	75

	Rain chance (%)
1	88
2	88
3	88
4	88
5	89
6	89
7	89
8	89
9	89
10	89
11	89
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	88
16	87
17	87
18	87
19	87
20	87
21	87
22	87
23	86
24	86
25	86
26	86
27	86
28	86
29	86
30	86
31	86

	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	2	74	24
2	2	74	24
3	2	74	24
4	2	74	24
5	2	74	24
6	2	74	24
7	2	74	24
8	2	73	25
9	2	73	25
10	2	72	26
11	2	72	26
12	2	71	27
13	2	70	28
14	2	69	29
15	1	69	30
16	1	69	30
17	1	68	31
18	1	67	32
19	1	67	32
20	1	66	33
21	1	66	33
22	1	65	34
23	1	65	34
24	1	64	35
25	1	64	35
26	0	64	36
27	0	64	36
28	0	64	36
29	0	63	37
30	0	63	37
31	0	62	38