Kampala weather in December

In December, Kampala sees average daytime highs of 25°C and overnight lows near 20°C, with 133 mm of rain across 23.9 wet days and about 12 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 25°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in December, and the air most often feels muggy.

Daylight stretches from about 12 hours at the start of December to 12 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Kampala's 6th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kampala's year-round climate.

Daytime high
25°
4th warmest
Overnight low
20°
7th coldest
Rainfall
133 mm
23.9 wet days
Daylight
12 hours
6:46 AM – 6:45 PM
Cloud cover
71%
6th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
11th windiest
Solar energy
5.16 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.7
out of 10

Kampala is capital and the largest city of Uganda.

Air quality
Severe
PM2.5 60.1 µg/m³ · 2019

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 25°C through the month.

A typical December day in Kampala reaches about 25°C in the afternoon and slips back to 20°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 23°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with January.

15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12420
22420
32420
42420
52420
62420
72420
82420
92520
102520
112520
122520
132520
142520
152520
162520
172520
182520
192520
202520
212520
222520
232520
242520
252520
262520
272520
282520
292520
302520
312520

Kampala weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 4th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan25° / 20°10819.6125.2
Feb26° / 21°10318.4125.1
Mar25° / 21°16525.2124.4
Apr24° / 20°22027.7123.8
May24° / 20°18827.8124.1
Jun24° / 20°11522.5124.9
Jul24° / 19°8317.9125.6
Aug24° / 19°10922.7125.0
Sep25° / 19°12125124.4
Oct25° / 20°15427.7124.0
Nov24° / 20°17926.9124.0
Dec25° / 20°13323.9124.7

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 68%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12476
22476
32476
42476
52575
62674
72674
82872
92971
102971
113169
123169
133268
143367
153466
163565
173565
183664
193664
203664
213664
223664
233664
243763
253763
263763
273763
283763
293862
303862
313862

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Kampala gets around 133 mm of rain over 23.9 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 77% and peaks near 86% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%100%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
186
286
386
486
586
685
785
884
983
1082
1181
1280
1378
1477
1576
1675
1774
1873
1973
2072
2172
2271
2371
2471
2570
2670
2769
2869
2968
3068
3167

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the muggy band about 77% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 77% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
101387
201387
301387
401387
501486
601585
701585
801684
901783
1011881
1111980
1212079
1312178
1412376
1512475
1612574
1712673
1812673
1912772
2012772
2112871
2212871
2312871
2412871
2522771
2622771
2722771
2822771
2922672
3032671
3132572

Wind in December

Winds average 6 km/h in December.

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
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 0 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:40 AM to 6:53 AM, and sunset from 6:39 PM to 6:52 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.06:406:39
212.06:406:39
312.06:416:40
412.06:416:40
512.06:426:40
612.06:426:41
712.06:426:41
812.06:436:42
912.06:436:42
1012.06:446:43
1112.06:446:43
1212.06:456:43
1312.06:456:44
1412.06:456:44
1512.06:466:45
1612.06:466:45
1712.06:476:46
1812.06:476:46
1912.06:486:47
2012.06:486:47
2112.06:496:48
2212.06:496:48
2312.06:506:49
2412.06:506:49
2512.06:516:50
2612.06:516:50
2712.06:526:50
2812.06:526:51
2912.06:526:51
3012.06:536:52
3112.06:536:52

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.16 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.65 kWh/m² to a high of 5.86 kWh/m² in February across the year — December's 5.16 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.0Bright
25.0Bright
35.0Bright
45.0Bright
55.0Bright
65.0Bright
75.0Bright
85.0Bright
95.0Bright
105.1Bright
115.1Bright
125.1Bright
135.1Bright
145.1Bright
155.2Bright
165.2Bright
175.2Bright
185.2Bright
195.2Bright
205.3Bright
215.3Bright
225.3Bright
235.3Bright
245.3Bright
255.3Bright
265.3Bright
275.3Bright
285.4Bright
295.4Bright
305.4Bright
315.4Bright
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Kampala?

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

4.7
Sightseeing
6th-best month of the year
4.2
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Kampala for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kampala in December

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

In December, Kampala sees daytime highs around 25°C and nights near 20°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 24 days see rain.

rain gearlight clothessun protection

UV index in Kampala in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kampala peaks around March 17 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 10 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeExtremeMar 17UV 15Jun 17UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar15Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun10Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct13Extreme
Nov12Extreme
Dec11Extreme

Air quality in Kampala in December

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where December falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Kampala is worst in January — around 80 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 1.8× the cleanest month (May, 44 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Kampala's WHO annual average of 60.1 µg/m³.

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecUnhealthyPoorUnhealthyJan 1679 µg/m³May 1144 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan80Unhealthy
Feb67Unhealthy
Mar53Poor
Apr45Poor
May44Poor
Jun57Unhealthy
Jul60Unhealthy
Aug63Unhealthy
Sep62Unhealthy
Oct60Unhealthy
Nov61Unhealthy
Dec68Unhealthy
Location & terrain

Where is Kampala?

Kampala sits at 0.3°N, 32.6°E, 1,223 m above sea level, in Uganda. The nearest listed city is Bunamwaya, 8.0 km away.

Topography around Kampala

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kampala has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 165 m around an average of 1,192 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 211 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 440 m.

The land around Kampala is covered by artificial surfaces (73%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (40%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and trees (34%), water (31%) and shrubs (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
165 m
16 km
211 m
80 km
440 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
December weather nearby: Bunamwaya 8.0 km · Nansana 8.0 km · Kireka 8.0 km · Kyengera 9.0 km · Kira 11 km · Kajansi 12 km · Kasangati 14 km · Wakiso 17 km

Uganda travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type G
240 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 35% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,206
2025
Happiness
4.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
18%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
29.4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Low
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 518
Religion
Protestant 45%Roman Catholic 39%Muslim 14%other 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 Kampala (0.3163°, 32.5822°, elevation 1,223 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).