Climate averages 1991–2020
Sofia weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 11th warmest and the 6th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Sofia: daytime highs average 4.9°C and nights cool to about -2.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 45 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 06 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Pernik (26 km away). In December its highs average 4.5°C, about as warm as Sofia, with 49 mm of rain.
Among the 10 cities listed in Bulgaria, Sofia ranks 9th of 10 for the warmest December highs and 2nd of 10 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 10 cities is 6.0°C; Sofia is 1.2°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.2°C to 3.6°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 45 mm to 39 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Sofia climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.6°C-4.3°C | -4.3°C | 39 | 7.6 | 9.49 h |
| February | 5.8°C-3.0°C | -3.0°C | 39 | 7.5 | 10.511 h |
| March | 10.1°C0.7°C | 0.7°C | 54 | 10.5 | 11.912 h |
| April | 15.2°C5.2°C | 5.2°C | 58 | 11.4 | 13.413 h |
| May | 19.9°C10.3°C | 10.3°C | 70 | 13.5 | 14.615 h |
| June | 23.6°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 62 | 11.6 | 15.315 h |
| July | 25.9°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 51 | 9.6 | 15.015 h |
| August | 26.4°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 35 | 7.2 | 13.914 h |
| September | 21.9°C12.3°C | 12.3°C | 35 | 6.5 | 12.513 h |
| October | 16.5°C7.3°C | 7.3°C | 46 | 6.9 | 11.111 h |
| November | 10.5°C2.1°C | 2.1°C | 36 | 6.7 | 9.810 h |
| December, selected | 4.9°C-2.4°C | -2.4°C | 45 | 8.6 | 9.19 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Pernik in DecemberBulgaria · 26 kmHigh 4.5°C · Low -3.2°C · 49 mm rain
- Leskovac in DecemberSerbia · 117 kmHigh 5.6°C · Low -2.1°C · 57 mm rain
- Plovdiv in DecemberBulgaria · 132 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low -1.1°C · 48 mm rain
- Pleven in DecemberBulgaria · 132 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low -1.6°C · 42 mm rain
- Niš in DecemberSerbia · 135 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low -1.5°C · 50 mm rain
- Kumanovo in DecemberNorth Macedonia · 146 kmHigh 6.5°C · Low -0.3°C · 54 mm rain
- Skopje in DecemberNorth Macedonia · 174 kmHigh 7.2°C · Low -0.1°C · 59 mm rain
- Pristina in DecemberKosovo · 176 kmHigh 5.1°C · Low -1.2°C · 54 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Sofia) is explained once on the Sofia year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.