Leeds weather in December

In December, Leeds sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 67 mm of precipitation across 12.7 wet days and about 7.3 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 36 min at the start of December to 7 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Leeds's 4th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Leeds's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
67 mm
12.7 wet days
Daylight
7 h 12 min
8:27 AM – 3:38 PM
Cloud cover
72%
4th clearest
Wind
17 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0.5 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.8
out of 10

Leeds is city in West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom.

Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 12.3 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
972/km²
people per km²
Founded
1086

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 7°C through the month.

A typical December day in Leeds reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
183
283
383
483
583
673
773
873
973
1073
1173
1273
1373
1473
1573
1673
1772
1872
1972
2072
2172
2272
2372
2472
2562
2662
2762
2862
2962
3062
3162

How December really feels in Leeds

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Leeds weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6012.71.87.80.6
Feb / 5411.22.19.40.9
Mar / 5311.31.511.51.8
Apr12° / 5811.90.513.72.9
May15° / 5611.6015.64.2
Jun18° / 10°7112.2016.75.2
Jul20° / 12°6712.5016.35.8
Aug19° / 12°7212014.65.7
Sep17° / 10°6010.2012.55.1
Oct13° / 6412.1010.23.4
Nov / 6412.80.48.31.8
Dec / 6712.71.47.30.8

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% 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 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13169
23268
33268
43268
53367
63367
73367
83268
93268
103268
113268
123169
133169
143070
153070
163070
172971
182971
192971
202872
212872
222872
232971
242971
252971
262971
272971
282971
292971
302872
312872

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Leeds gets around 67 mm of rain and snow over 12.7 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 41% and peaks near 43% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1423
2423
3413
4413
5413
6413
7403
8403
9403
10393
11393
12393
13393
14393
15393
16393
17394
18394
19404
20404
21405
22415
23415
24426
25426
26426
27436
28436
29436
30436
31436

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 17 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 18 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
117light breeze
217light breeze
317light breeze
417light breeze
517light breeze
617light breeze
717light breeze
817light breeze
917light breeze
1017light breeze
1117light breeze
1217light breeze
1317light breeze
1417light breeze
1517light breeze
1617light breeze
1717light breeze
1817light breeze
1917light breeze
2017light breeze
2117light breeze
2217light breeze
2317light breeze
2417light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2818light breeze
2918light breeze
3018light breeze
3118light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 36 min at the start of December to 7 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:09 AM to 8:32 AM, and sunset from 3:43 PM to 3:46 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.68:093:43
27.58:113:42
37.58:123:41
47.58:143:41
57.48:153:40
67.48:163:40
77.48:173:39
87.38:193:39
97.38:203:39
107.38:213:38
117.38:223:38
127.28:233:38
137.28:243:38
147.28:253:38
157.28:263:38
167.28:273:38
177.28:273:38
187.28:283:38
197.28:293:39
207.28:293:39
217.28:303:39
227.28:303:40
237.28:313:40
247.28:313:41
257.28:323:42
267.28:323:42
277.28:323:43
287.28:323:44
297.28:323:45
307.28:323:45
317.28:323:46

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.5 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.5 kWh/m² to a high of 4.79 kWh/m² in May across the year — December's 0.5 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.6Dim
40.6Dim
50.6Dim
60.6Dim
70.5Dim
80.5Dim
90.5Dim
100.5Dim
110.5Dim
120.5Dim
130.5Dim
140.5Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.5Dim
180.5Dim
190.5Dim
200.5Dim
210.5Dim
220.5Dim
230.5Dim
240.5Dim
250.5Dim
260.5Dim
270.5Dim
280.5Dim
290.5Dim
300.5Dim
310.5Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Leeds?

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

0.8
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Leeds.

What to pack for Leeds in December

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

In December, Leeds sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Leeds 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 Leeds peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Leeds 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 Leeds is worst in April — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (November, 9 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Leeds's WHO annual average of 12.3 µg/m³.

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodApr 1216 µg/m³Nov 169 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan12Moderate
Feb13Moderate
Mar16Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun12Moderate
Jul12Good
Aug11Good
Sep12Good
Oct10Good
Nov9Good
Dec10Good
Location & terrain

Where is Leeds?

Leeds sits at 53.8°N, 1.5°W, 50 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Chapel Allerton, 4.0 km away.

Topography around Leeds

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Leeds has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 94 m around an average of 53 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 272 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 734 m.

The land around Leeds is covered by artificial surfaces (69%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, grassland (31%), trees (27%) and artificial surfaces (27%) within 16 km, and grassland (50%) and cropland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
94 m
16 km
272 m
80 km
734 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Chapel Allerton 4.0 km · Morley 7.0 km · Pudsey 7.0 km · Horsforth 8.0 km · Lofthouse 8.0 km · Batley 12 km · Yeadon 12 km · Kippax 12 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%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 Leeds (53.7965°, -1.5478°, elevation 50 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).