Lugano weather in December

In December, Lugano sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 0°C, with 81 mm of precipitation across 7.7 wet days and about 8.5 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 7°C in the first days to 5°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 44% 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 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Lugano's 5th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lugano's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
81 mm
7.7 wet days
Daylight
8 h 30 min
8:06 AM – 4:34 PM
Cloud cover
51%
5th clearest
Wind
5 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
1.26 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.3
out of 10

Lugano is city in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 11.2 µg/m³ · 2020
Density
832/km²
people per km²

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 7°C in the first days to 5°C by the end.

A typical December day in Lugano reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 0°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
172
271
371
461
561
661
761
861
961
1060
1160
1260
1360
1460
1560
1660
1750
1850
1950
2050
2150
2250
2350
2450
2550
2650
275-1
285-1
295-1
305-1
315-1

How December really feels in Lugano

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 18 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
18
wind chill below the day's low

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

Lugano weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -1°667.25.48.90.0
Feb / -0°627.45.1100.7
Mar11° / 8793.311.62.7
Apr14° / 14212.71.413.33.9
May18° / 10°16214.70.114.75.3
Jun22° / 14°17013.8015.56.1
Jul24° / 16°14112.8015.26.7
Aug24° / 16°17413.50146.6
Sep19° / 13°17511.2012.36.0
Oct14° / 18011.40.410.74.1
Nov / 18011.12.79.21.8
Dec / 817.74.38.50.3

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 44% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 44%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15446
25446
35446
45545
55545
65545
75545
85644
95743
105743
115743
125743
135743
145743
155743
165743
175743
185644
195644
205644
215644
225644
235743
245743
255644
265743
275743
285743
295842
305842
315842

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Lugano gets around 81 mm of rain and snow over 7.7 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 25% and peaks near 30% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13014
22914
32814
42814
52714
62613
72613
82513
92513
102512
112412
122412
132412
142412
152412
162412
172412
182413
192413
202413
212414
222414
232414
242415
252415
262416
272416
282417
292417
302418
312418

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 5 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 42 min at the start of December to 8 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 12 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 7:52 AM to 8:13 AM, and sunset from 4:35 PM to 4:42 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.77:524:35
28.77:544:35
38.77:554:35
48.67:564:34
58.67:574:34
68.67:584:34
78.67:594:34
88.68:004:34
98.58:014:34
108.58:024:34
118.58:034:34
128.58:034:34
138.58:044:34
148.58:054:34
158.58:064:34
168.58:064:34
178.58:074:35
188.58:084:35
198.48:084:35
208.48:094:36
218.48:094:36
228.48:104:36
238.48:104:37
248.48:114:37
258.48:114:38
268.58:114:39
278.58:124:39
288.58:124:40
298.58:124:41
308.58:124:41
318.58:134:42

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.26 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.26 kWh/m² to a high of 5.94 kWh/m² in July across the year — December's 1.26 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.3Dim
21.3Dim
31.3Dim
41.3Dim
51.3Dim
61.3Dim
71.3Dim
81.3Dim
91.3Dim
101.3Dim
111.3Dim
121.3Dim
131.3Dim
141.3Dim
151.3Dim
161.3Dim
171.3Dim
181.3Dim
191.3Dim
201.3Dim
211.2Dim
221.2Dim
231.2Dim
241.3Dim
251.3Dim
261.3Dim
271.3Dim
281.3Dim
291.3Dim
301.3Dim
311.3Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Lugano?

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

0.3
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 Lugano.

What to pack for Lugano in December

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

In December, Lugano sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 0°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Lugano 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 Lugano peaks around July 16 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 16UV 8Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Lugano?

Lugano sits at 46.0°N, 9.0°E, 284 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Bellinzona, 21 km away.

BellinzonaLocarnoVareseComoMalnateErbaPallanza-Intra-SunaCantù

Topography around Lugano

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lugano has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 918 m around an average of 400 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,007 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,905 m.

The land around Lugano is covered by trees (44%), artificial surfaces (25%) and water (22%) within 3 km, trees (76%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
918 m
16 km
2,007 m
80 km
3,905 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Bellinzona 21 km · Locarno 22 km · Varese 24 km · Como 24 km · Malnate 25 km · Erba 30 km · Pallanza-Intra-Suna 31 km · Cantù 33 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 Lugano (46.0101°, 8.96°, elevation 284 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).