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Climate · Istanbul

Istanbul in December

Cool and damp, as the days hold steady.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Istanbul is cool: highs near 54°F, lows near 44°F. Rain falls on about three days a week, and daylight holds at about 9 hours 16 minutes.December in Istanbul is cool: highs near 12°C, lows near 7°C. Rain falls on about three days a week, and daylight holds at about 9 hours 16 minutes.

High
54°F12°Caverage
Low
44°F7°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 45% of days
Daylight
9h 16mon average

Is December a good time to visit Istanbul?

December sits outside Istanbul's best months, which run in two parts: May to June, or September to October. Expect cool days and rain on about three days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How December sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 54°F in December, against 51°F to 86°F through the year.Highs near 12°C in December, against 11°C to 30°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

45% of days in December, against 14% to 46% through the year.

Cloud cover

62% cover in December, against 10% to 62% through the year.

Daylight

9h 16m in December, against 9h 16m to 15h 04m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with December shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. November62°17°low 51°low 11°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  2. December54°12°low 44°low 7°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. January51°11°low 40°low 4°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Istanbul sits, in December

Europe/Istanbul
this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
8:22 AMsets 5:37 PM
Above the sea
40 mlow-lying
Latitude
41.0°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Ankara350 km east

The land around Istanbul, shaded by its typical high in December, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in Turkey in December

high · low · wet days
See December on the planning mapThe whole year in Istanbul

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Istanbul. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.