Lusaka West weather in December

In December, Lusaka West sees average daytime highs of 28°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 191 mm of rain across 23 wet days and about 12.9 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 9% of the time in December, and the air most often feels muggy.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 48 min at the start of December to 12 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Lusaka West's 11th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lusaka West's year-round climate.

Daytime high
28°
4th warmest
Overnight low
19°
10th coldest
Rainfall
191 mm
23 wet days
Daylight
12 h 54 min
5:37 AM – 6:31 PM
Cloud cover
80%
11th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
5.55 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.2
out of 10

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 Lusaka West reaches about 28°C in the afternoon and slips back to 19°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 25°C and 31°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 1°C warmer than January.

15°20°25°30°35°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12920
22920
32919
42919
52919
62919
72919
82819
92819
102819
112819
122819
132819
142819
152819
162819
172819
182819
192819
202819
212819
222819
232819
242819
252819
262719
272719
282719
292719
302719
312719

How December really feels in Lusaka West

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

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Lusaka West 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 19°22424.512.84.1
Feb27° / 19°16619.912.54.5
Mar27° / 18°10015.912.15.5
Apr27° / 16°224.111.77.5
May26° / 13°20.511.38.7
Jun24° / 11°00.111.19.3
Jul24° / 11°00.111.29.2
Aug27° / 14°0011.58.7
Sep30° / 17°10.311.96.5
Oct32° / 20°112.412.34.8
Nov31° / 20°8312.912.74.2
Dec28° / 19°1912312.94.2

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 80%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13268
23169
33070
43070
53070
62872
72872
82575
92476
102377
112278
122179
131981
141981
151882
161882
171882
181684
191684
201684
211684
221684
231684
241684
251684
261684
271585
281585
291585
301684
311783

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Lusaka West gets around 191 mm of rain over 23 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 73% and peaks near 80% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
158
258
359
460
561
663
765
866
968
1070
1172
1273
1375
1476
1577
1678
1779
1879
1980
2080
2180
2280
2380
2480
2580
2680
2780
2880
2980
3080
3179

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 67% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 67% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
18153642
27143543
37143445
46143347
56133249
65133151
75123152
84113055
94102957
10392860
11382762
12382663
13272566
14262468
15252370
16252271
17142174
18142075
19141976
20141877
21131878
22131779
23131779
24131680
25131680
26131680
27021682
28021682
29021682
30021682
31021781

Wind in December

Winds average 9 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
198calm
208calm
218calm
228calm
238calm
248calm
258calm
268calm
278calm
288calm
298calm
308calm
318calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 48 min at the start of December to 12 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:32 AM to 5:44 AM, and sunset from 6:23 PM to 6:38 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
112.85:326:23
212.85:326:23
312.95:326:24
412.95:336:24
512.95:336:25
612.95:336:25
712.95:336:26
812.95:346:27
912.95:346:27
1012.95:346:28
1112.95:356:28
1212.95:356:29
1312.95:356:29
1412.95:366:30
1512.95:366:30
1612.95:376:31
1712.95:376:31
1812.95:376:32
1912.95:386:32
2012.95:386:33
2112.95:396:33
2212.95:396:34
2312.95:406:34
2412.95:406:35
2512.95:416:35
2612.95:416:36
2712.95:426:36
2812.95:426:36
2912.95:436:37
3012.95:436:37
3112.95:446:38

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 5.55 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.87 kWh/m² to a high of 7.22 kWh/m² in October across the year — December's 5.55 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.0Bright
26.0Bright
35.9Bright
45.9Bright
55.8Bright
65.8Bright
75.8Bright
85.7Bright
95.7Bright
105.6Bright
115.6Bright
125.6Bright
135.5Bright
145.5Bright
155.5Bright
165.5Bright
175.5Bright
185.4Bright
195.4Bright
205.4Bright
215.4Bright
225.4Bright
235.4Bright
245.4Bright
255.4Bright
265.4Bright
275.4Bright
285.4Bright
295.4Bright
305.4Bright
315.4Bright
Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Lusaka West

In seasonPeak

In December, Lusaka West sits inside its monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Lusaka West's monsoon runs December–February, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is December a good time to visit Lusaka West?

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

4.2
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
4.7
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Lusaka West for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lusaka West in December

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

In December, Lusaka West sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 23 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Lusaka West 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 Lusaka West peaks around January 19 at about 16 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 9 (very high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highExtremeJan 19UV 16Jun 23UV 9
UV index (midday)Level
Jan16Extreme
Feb15Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May10Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep11Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov14Extreme
Dec13Extreme

Air quality in Lusaka West 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 Lusaka West is worst in August — around 42 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.8× the cleanest month (December, 15 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateAug 1541 µg/m³Dec 2315 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb18Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May22Moderate
Jun31Moderate
Jul37Poor
Aug42Poor
Sep34Moderate
Oct27Moderate
Nov20Moderate
Dec15Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Lusaka West?

Lusaka West sits at 15.3°S, 28.1°E, 1,175 m above sea level, in Zambia. The nearest listed city is Namalombwe, 12 km away.

Topography around Lusaka West

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lusaka West has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 109 m around an average of 1,137 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 235 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,025 m.

The land around Lusaka West is covered by shrubs (28%), trees (23%) and cropland (23%) within 3 km, grassland (29%), cropland (27%) and shrubs (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (37%) and shrubs (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
109 m
16 km
235 m
80 km
1,025 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswetland
December weather nearby: Namalombwe 12 km · Chunga 17 km · Lusaka 21 km · Madido 29 km · Nampundwe 29 km · Chisankane 32 km · Chilanga Township 33 km · Ntandabale 34 km

Zambia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / D / G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 30% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$1,318
2025
Happiness
4.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
5.2
per 100k, 2015
Road deaths
20.5
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 573
Religion
Protestant 75%Roman Catholic 20%other 3%none 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 Lusaka West (-15.3186°, 28.1103°, elevation 1,175 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).