Climate averages 1991–2020
Nairobi weather
in December.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 7th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Nairobi: daytime highs average 24.0°C and nights cool to about 14.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 47 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 12 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Karuri (Kiambu County), Kenya (14 km away). In December its highs average 22.0°C, 1.9°C cooler than Nairobi, with 47 mm of rain.
Among the 37 cities listed in Kenya, Nairobi ranks 21st of 37 for the warmest December highs and joint 10th of 37 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 37 cities is 26.0°C; Nairobi is 2.1°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.7°C to 25.6°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 47 mm to 35 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
Nairobi climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.6°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 35 | 6.3 | 12.212 h |
| February | 26.8°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 30 | 4.6 | 12.212 h |
| March | 26.5°C15.6°C | 15.6°C | 57 | 10.3 | 12.112 h |
| April | 24.4°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 114 | 19.4 | 12.112 h |
| May | 23.2°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 92 | 16.0 | 12.112 h |
| June | 22.2°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 42 | 7.9 | 12.012 h |
| July | 21.7°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 13 | 3.2 | 12.112 h |
| August | 22.3°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 21 | 3.9 | 12.112 h |
| September | 24.2°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 16 | 3.3 | 12.112 h |
| October | 25.0°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 40 | 9.3 | 12.112 h |
| November | 23.2°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 83 | 17.6 | 12.212 h |
| December, selected | 24.0°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 47 | 10.2 | 12.212 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
- Karuri (Kiambu County), Kenya in DecemberKenya · 14 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 12.9°C · 47 mm rain
- Ongata Rongai in DecemberKenya · 14 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 14.5°C · 45 mm rain
- Kikuyu in DecemberKenya · 18 kmHigh 22.1°C · Low 12.7°C · 47 mm rain
- Ngong in DecemberKenya · 18 kmHigh 23.6°C · Low 13.7°C · 47 mm rain
- Mlolongo in DecemberKenya · 19 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 14.7°C · 69 mm rain
- Ruiru in DecemberKenya · 22 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 14.0°C · 57 mm rain
- Kitengela in DecemberKenya · 27 kmHigh 23.7°C · Low 15.2°C · 69 mm rain
- Limuru in DecemberKenya · 27 kmHigh 21.0°C · Low 11.0°C · 61 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 Nairobi) is explained once on the Nairobi year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Kikuyu, Karuri (Kiambu County), Kenya and Ngong lie in the same rainfall cell, so their rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.