Climate averages 1991–2020
Wellington weather
in December.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 4th warmest and the 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in Wellington: daytime highs average 16.5°C and nights cool to about 13.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 65 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 15 h 05 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lower Hutt (14 km away). In December its highs average 17.9°C, 1.4°C warmer than Wellington, with 68 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, Wellington ranks 10th of 11 for the warmest December highs and 3rd of 11 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 11 cities is 19.1°C; Wellington is 2.6°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.4°C to 17.8°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 65 mm to 55 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
Wellington climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17.8°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 55 | 7.6 | 14.815 h |
| February | 18.3°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 56 | 6.1 | 13.714 h |
| March | 17.2°C14.0°C | 14.0°C | 59 | 7.6 | 12.412 h |
| April | 15.4°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 73 | 9.1 | 11.011 h |
| May | 13.8°C11.1°C | 11.1°C | 76 | 10.3 | 9.910 h |
| June | 12.0°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 95 | 12.1 | 9.29 h |
| July | 11.2°C8.6°C | 8.6°C | 87 | 12.2 | 9.510 h |
| August | 11.3°C8.6°C | 8.6°C | 82 | 12.7 | 10.510 h |
| September | 12.3°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 74 | 10.7 | 11.812 h |
| October | 13.5°C10.4°C | 10.4°C | 83 | 11.4 | 13.213 h |
| November | 14.7°C11.5°C | 11.5°C | 69 | 9.1 | 14.414 h |
| December, selected | 16.5°C13.4°C | 13.4°C | 65 | 9.7 | 15.115 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
- Lower Hutt in DecemberNew Zealand · 14 kmHigh 17.9°C · Low 13.3°C · 68 mm rain
- Palmerston North in DecemberNew Zealand · 125 kmHigh 19.1°C · Low 11.8°C · 98 mm rain
- Hastings, New Zealand in DecemberNew Zealand · 254 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 13.3°C · 63 mm rain
- New Plymouth in DecemberNew Zealand · 254 kmHigh 18.4°C · Low 12.9°C · 160 mm rain
- Christchurch in DecemberNew Zealand · 305 kmHigh 19.6°C · Low 11.0°C · 53 mm rain
- Hamilton, New Zealand in DecemberNew Zealand · 392 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 12.7°C · 99 mm rain
- Tauranga in DecemberNew Zealand · 418 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 14.1°C · 112 mm rain
- Manukau City in DecemberNew Zealand · 478 kmHigh 20.3°C · Low 14.6°C · 87 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 Wellington) is explained once on the Wellington year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.