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Climate · Edinburgh

Edinburgh in December

Chilly and wet, as the days shorten.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Edinburgh is chilly: highs near 46°F, lows near 35°F. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days shorten by 11 minutes from the first week to the last.December in Edinburgh is chilly: highs near 8°C, lows near 2°C. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days shorten by 11 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
46°F8°Caverage
Low
35°F2°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 49% of days
Daylight
7h 03mon average

Is December a good time to visit Edinburgh?

December sits outside Edinburgh's best months, which run from July to August. Expect chilly 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 46°F in December, against 45°F to 67°F through the year.Highs near 8°C in December, against 7°C to 19°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

49% of days in December, against 40% to 54% through the year.

Cloud cover

69% cover in December, against 57% to 69% through the year.

Daylight

7h 03m in December, against 7h 03m to 17h 30m 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. November51°11°low 40°low 4°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.
  2. December46°8°low 35°low 2°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. January45°7°low 35°low 2°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.

Where Edinburgh sits, in December

Europe/London
this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
8:37 AMsets 3:38 PM
Above the sea
70 mlow-lying
Latitude
56.0°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Troon103 km south-west

The land around Edinburgh, 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 United Kingdom in December

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

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), read 6 km south of Edinburgh. Its own grid square is mostly sea and holds only a daily average, so the page reads the nearest square with a true high and low near the town's height. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (70 m) against the climate model's (152 m).Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (70 m) against the climate model's (152 m). 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.