Lausanne weather in December

In December, Lausanne sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 125 mm of precipitation across 13.5 wet days and about 8.4 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 6°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 42 min at the start of December to 8 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Lausanne's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lausanne's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
125 mm
13.5 wet days
Daylight
8 h 24 min
8:18 AM – 4:42 PM
Cloud cover
69%
12th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
1.09 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.2
out of 10
Air quality
Good
PM2.5 8.2 µg/m³ · 2020

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 6°C through the month.

A typical December day in Lausanne reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 1°C warmer than January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
172
272
362
462
562
662
762
862
962
1061
1161
1261
1361
1461
1561
1651
1751
1851
1951
2051
2151
2251
2351
2451
2551
2651
2751
2851
2951
3051
3151

How December really feels in Lausanne

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 26 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
26
wind chill below the day's low

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

Lausanne weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 10812.76.88.80.0
Feb / 9611.36.9100.3
Mar / 9412.34.411.61.8
Apr13° / 9012.32.213.33.2
May16° / 120140.414.84.7
Jun20° / 13°10612.8015.55.9
Jul22° / 15°11812.2015.26.6
Aug22° / 15°11612.40146.5
Sep18° / 12°10811.7012.45.7
Oct14° / 10112.40.310.73.9
Nov / 11613.13.29.21.6
Dec / 12513.56.68.40.2

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 66%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13565
23664
33565
43565
53565
63565
73565
83565
93565
103565
113565
123565
133466
143367
153466
163466
173367
183367
193367
203367
213466
223466
233367
243466
253466
263466
273565
283565
293565
303664
313664

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Lausanne gets around 125 mm of rain and snow over 13.5 wet days in December, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 44% and peaks near 46% on the wettest days, and about 7 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14118
24219
34219
44219
54219
64219
74219
84320
94320
104320
114320
124321
134421
144421
154421
164421
174422
184422
194422
204422
214522
224523
234523
244523
254623
264623
274522
284522
294522
304521
314421

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

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 42 min at the start of December to 8 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 18 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:04 AM to 8:24 AM, and sunset from 4:43 PM to 4:49 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.78:044:43
28.68:054:42
38.68:064:42
48.68:074:42
58.68:084:42
68.58:094:41
78.58:104:41
88.58:114:41
98.58:124:41
108.58:134:41
118.58:144:41
128.48:154:41
138.48:154:41
148.48:164:41
158.48:174:41
168.48:184:42
178.48:184:42
188.48:194:42
198.48:204:42
208.48:204:43
218.48:214:43
228.48:214:44
238.48:224:44
248.48:224:45
258.48:224:45
268.48:234:46
278.48:234:46
288.48:234:47
298.48:244:48
308.48:244:49
318.48:244:49

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.09 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.09 kWh/m² to a high of 5.77 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 1.09 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.2Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.2Dim
51.2Dim
61.1Dim
71.1Dim
81.1Dim
91.1Dim
101.1Dim
111.1Dim
121.1Dim
131.1Dim
141.1Dim
151.1Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.1Dim
221.1Dim
231.1Dim
241.1Dim
251.1Dim
261.1Dim
271.1Dim
281.1Dim
291.1Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Lausanne?

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

0.2
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Lausanne.

What to pack for Lausanne in December

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

In December, Lausanne sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Lausanne in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lausanne peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Lausanne?

Lausanne sits at 46.5°N, 6.6°E, 453 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Pully, 2.0 km away.

Thonon-les-BainsMontreuxYverdon-les-BainsNyon

Topography around Lausanne

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lausanne has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 335 m around an average of 466 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 950 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,527 m.

The land around Lausanne is covered by artificial surfaces (35%), water (33%) and trees (29%) within 3 km, water (35%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
335 m
16 km
950 m
80 km
4,527 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater
December weather nearby: Pully 2.0 km · Renens 4.0 km · Morges 10 km · Vevey 17 km · Thonon-les-Bains 20 km · Montreux 23 km · Yverdon-les-Bains 29 km · Nyon 34 km

Switzerland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / J
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 112% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$114,769
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 564
Religion
Roman Catholic 34%none 29%Protestant 23%other Christian 6%

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 Lausanne (46.516°, 6.6328°, elevation 453 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).