Places to avoid in December

In December, 172 well-known destinations sit inside a hazard season: monsoon in 45 (Kakadu, Da Nang, Kuala Lumpur and 42 more), cyclone season in 22 (Kakadu, Chennai, Papeete and 19 more), extreme cold in 13 (Ulaanbaatar, Edmonton, Winnipeg and 10 more) and flood season in 22 (Uluru, Hamburg, York and 19 more). By the numbers, of 1,387 destinations, 83 feel like 35 °C or more in the afternoon, 335 have 18 or more rainy days, 58 have poor air and 72 sit well below freezing. 34 well-known places are at peak crowds and 5 are partly closed for the season.

Not a forecast: these are the seasons in which the risk exists, and the climate normals for the month. Most weeks pass quietly; the numbers say how often they do not.

Hazard seasons on in December

Curated, sourced windows — hurricane, typhoon and cyclone seasons, the monsoon, smoke, floods, smog. Well-known places first, the month's lowest scores at the top.

Monsoon on

59 places

The wet season proper — heavy, daily, and the reason prices fall.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 AustraliaMonsoon, 1 Nov – 31 May (usually) · instead July36
  2. Da Nang 🇻🇳 VietnamMonsoon, 1 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead March48
  3. Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 MalaysiaMonsoon, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead February50
  4. Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 IndonesiaMonsoon, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) — Long afternoon storms roll off Merapi and the Prambanan open-air stage moves indoors for the season. · instead July50
  5. Singapore 🇸🇬 SingaporeMonsoon, 1 Nov – 31 Jan (usually) · instead February51
  6. Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 NamibiaMonsoon, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) — The rain scatters the game across the whole park and the gravel roads west of Okaukuejo turn greasy. · instead June54

…and 53 more, 39 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Cyclone season on

56 places

The southern-hemisphere storm season.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 AustraliaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — Systems crossing the Top End coast bring days of torrential rain and wind rather than a direct blow. · instead July36
  2. Chennai 🇮🇳 IndiaCyclone season, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) — A system or two a season comes close enough to shut the airport for a day and put the fishing fleet ashore. · instead February65
  3. Papeete 🇵🇫 French PolynesiaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — The wet season doubles as the cyclone window. · instead August67
  4. Bora Bora 🇵🇫 French PolynesiaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 30 Apr — The South Pacific storm season. · instead August68
  5. Nosy Be 🇲🇬 MadagascarCyclone season, 15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July68
  6. Trincomalee 🇱🇰 Sri LankaCyclone season, 1 Nov – 31 Dec (usually) · instead March68

…and 50 more, 16 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Extreme cold on

38 places

The weeks the city stops going outside — dzud, ice storms, minus thirty.

  1. Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 MongoliaExtreme cold, 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually) · instead June29
  2. Edmonton 🇨🇦 CanadaExtreme cold, 1 Dec – 28 Feb — Arctic air settles over the city for stretches of a week and extreme cold warnings become routine. · instead August31
  3. Winnipeg 🇨🇦 CanadaExtreme cold, 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually) · instead June31
  4. Toronto 🇨🇦 CanadaExtreme cold, 15 Dec – 28 Feb (usually) · instead September44
  5. Portland 🇺🇸 United StatesExtreme cold, 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually) — East wind out of the Gorge meets valley cold and glazes the city in freezing rain most winters. · instead June45
  6. Detroit 🇺🇸 United StatesExtreme cold, 10 Dec – 1 Mar (usually) — Two months of grey, freezing days with the wind coming off the lakes and a snow event most weeks. · instead September46

…and 32 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Flood season on

36 places

The river comes into the streets most years.

  1. Uluru 🇦🇺 AustraliaFlood season, 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July46
  2. Hamburg 🇩🇪 GermanyFlood season, 15 Sep – 31 Mar — The city counts its storm tide season from mid-September to the end of March. · instead August47
  3. York 🇬🇧 United KingdomFlood season, 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead August51
  4. Cologne 🇩🇪 GermanyFlood season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead June52
  5. Oxford 🇬🇧 United KingdomFlood season, 1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually) — The Thames spreads across Port Meadow most winters and the towpath north of Walton Well goes under. · instead July52
  6. Keswick 🇬🇧 United KingdomFlood season, 1 Nov – 15 Feb (usually) · instead May53

…and 30 more, 16 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Winter smog on

35 places

Coal smoke and a valley inversion; the air, not the cold, is the problem.

  1. Warsaw 🇵🇱 PolandWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June43
  2. Kraków 🇵🇱 PolandWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead June45
  3. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaWinter smog, 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead April50
  4. Belgrade 🇷🇸 SerbiaWinter smog, 1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead May57
  5. Milan 🇮🇹 ItalyWinter smog, 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead September57
  6. Turin 🇮🇹 ItalyWinter smog, 1 Oct – 31 Mar — The city sits in a bowl with the Alps on three sides, and winter inversions trap particulates for days. · instead September60

…and 29 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Dust season on

19 places

Spring dust and sandstorms; sensitive lungs stay in.

  1. Abidjan 🇨🇮 Côte d'IvoireDust season, 10 Dec – 15 Feb (usually) — Abidjan sits at the far southern edge of the harmattan. · instead August66
  2. Accra 🇬🇭 GhanaDust season, 5 Dec – 10 Feb (usually) · instead August68
  3. Lomé 🇹🇬 TogoDust season, 5 Dec – 15 Feb (usually) · instead August68
  4. Cotonou 🇧🇯 BeninDust season, 5 Dec – 10 Feb (usually) · instead January69
  5. Cape Coast 🇬🇭 GhanaDust season, 1 Dec – 15 Feb (usually) · instead August70
  6. Monrovia 🇱🇷 LiberiaDust season, 10 Dec – 10 Feb (usually) · instead January70

…and 13 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Storm season on

19 places

Tornadoes, derechos, hail — the afternoons to watch the sky.

  1. Svolvær 🇳🇴 NorwayStorm season, 15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually) · instead July12
  2. Ålesund 🇳🇴 NorwayStorm season, 15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually) · instead July28
  3. Dingle 🇮🇪 IrelandStorm season, 15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually) — Named lows come in off the ocean from mid-autumn and the peninsula takes them first. · instead June37
  4. Tórshavn Faroe IslandsStorm season, 1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July43
  5. La Rochelle 🇫🇷 FranceStorm season, 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead August45
  6. Seattle 🇺🇸 United StatesStorm season, 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually) · instead July49

…and 13 more, 6 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Smoke season on

18 places

Burning fields or forests; the air, not the weather, is the problem.

  1. San Carlos de Bariloche 🇦🇷 ArgentinaSmoke season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July17
  2. Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 MongoliaSmoke season, 1 Nov – 31 Mar · instead June29
  3. Almaty 🇰🇿 KazakhstanSmoke season, 15 Nov – 1 Mar (usually) — Coal heating and a valley inversion pin the smoke over the city for weeks at a time once the cold sets in. · instead September42
  4. Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United StatesSmoke season, 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually) · instead May53
  5. Santa Barbara 🇺🇸 United StatesSmoke season, 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead August67
  6. San Diego 🇺🇸 United StatesSmoke season, 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead August71

…and 12 more, 11 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Avalanche season on

14 places

Backcountry and passes on forecast; the weeks the road closes after a dump.

  1. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesAvalanche season, 15 Oct – 15 Jun (usually) — From mid-autumn into early summer steep snow slopes above popular trails such as Emerald Lake can slide. · instead August47
  2. Fort William 🇬🇧 United KingdomAvalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) — The Lochaber forecast runs from mid-December to mid-April and covers Ben Nevis and the Aonachs. · instead May49
  3. Mestia 🇬🇪 GeorgiaAvalanche season, 15 Nov – 15 May (usually) · instead September53
  4. Aviemore 🇬🇧 United KingdomAvalanche season, 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead January65
  5. Kazbegi 🇬🇪 GeorgiaAvalanche season, 1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead September65
  6. Innsbruck 🇦🇹 AustriaAvalanche season, 1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually) · instead April67

…and 8 more, 7 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Extreme heat on

9 places

The weeks the city lives indoors.

  1. Kakadu 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead July36
  2. Uluru 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually) · instead July46
  3. Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 NamibiaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 10 Dec (usually) — October and November are the hard end of the dry season, when the heat builds until the rains break it. · instead June54
  4. Sossusvlei 🇳🇦 NamibiaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 31 Dec (usually) · instead July59
  5. Adelaide 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 15 Nov – 15 Mar (usually) · instead November91
  6. Darwin 🇦🇺 AustraliaExtreme heat, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead July49

…and 3 more, all lesser-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Typhoon season on

5 places

A system a summer stops the trains for a day; it rarely ruins a week.

  1. Cebu City 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTyphoon season, 1 Jun – 20 Dec (usually) — The central Visayas are in the track and the December storms have done the most damage here in recent memory. · instead February51
  2. Nha Trang 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 1 Oct – 15 Dec (usually) · instead March66
  3. Bohol 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTyphoon season, 1 Jun – 20 Dec (usually) — The Visayas take a few landfalls a year and the late-season ones have been the worst here. · instead April67
  4. Quy Nhon 🇻🇳 VietnamTyphoon season, 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually) · instead March53
  5. Siargao 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTyphoon season, 1 Sep – 31 Dec — Siargao sits where systems make landfall and it was flattened in December 2021. · instead September58

Algae & red tide on

5 places

Blooms that close beaches and clear the water of fish for a few weeks; not the Caribbean weed.

  1. Pensacola 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Aug – 15 Dec (usually) · instead May61
  2. Clearwater 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Aug – 28 Feb (usually) · instead April73
  3. Sarasota 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 1 Mar (usually) · instead March78
  4. Naples, Florida 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) — Blooms of Karenia brevis drift onto this coast most often between autumn and late winter. · instead April82
  5. Tampa 🇺🇸 United StatesAlgae & red tide, 1 Sep – 28 Feb (usually) · instead February87

Landslide season on

3 places

The hill roads slip and shut for days; getting there, not being there, is the problem.

  1. Big Sur 🇺🇸 United StatesLandslide season, 1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually) · instead August59
  2. Cameron Highlands 🇲🇾 MalaysiaLandslide season, 1 Oct – 20 Dec (usually) · instead February66
  3. Ouro Preto 🇧🇷 BrazilLandslide season, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead September69

Rip currents & big surf on

3 places

Red flags for weeks at a time; the calm-looking water is the one that pulls people out.

  1. Vík 🇮🇸 IcelandRip currents & big surf, 15 Sep – 30 Apr (usually) — The black beach kills people. · instead July15
  2. Palomino 🇨🇴 ColombiaRip currents & big surf, 1 Jan – 31 Dec · instead January64
  3. Raglan 🇳🇿 New ZealandRip currents & big surf, 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually) · instead February75

Out of range by the numbers

Every destination whose December normals cross a line the comfort score will not forgive: 18 or more rainy days, afternoons that feel like 35 °C, air in the poor band, or well below freezing. Worst first.

Too wet by the numbers

335 places

Eighteen or more rainy days, or a soaked month by volume — the real rainy season, not afternoon showers.

  1. Aguas Calientes 🇵🇪 Peru31 rainy days, 316 mm · instead July66
  2. Ollantaytambo 🇵🇪 Peru30 rainy days, 262 mm · instead July75
  3. Lake Toba 🇮🇩 Indonesia30 rainy days, 334 mm · instead July58
  4. Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador30 rainy days, 332 mm · instead August60
  5. Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia29 rainy days, 305 mm · instead February68
  6. Bohol 🇵🇭 Philippines29 rainy days, 301 mm · instead April67
  7. Nosy Be 🇲🇬 Madagascar29 rainy days, 272 mm · instead July68
  8. Jacó 🇨🇷 Costa Rica29 rainy days, 279 mm · instead February72

…and 327 more, 149 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Too hot by the numbers

83 places

Afternoons that feel like 35 °C or more, or heat the humidity turns sticky. A dry, sunny month cannot average this away.

  1. Acapulco 🇲🇽 Mexico38°C afternoons · instead April89
  2. Cartagena 🇨🇴 Colombia38°C afternoons · instead January88
  3. Kochi 🇮🇳 India38°C afternoons · instead January70
  4. Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 Vietnam37°C afternoons · instead February69
  5. Khao Lak 🇹🇭 Thailand37°C afternoons · instead February83
  6. Langkawi 🇲🇾 Malaysia37°C afternoons · instead February77
  7. Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya37°C afternoons · instead February86
  8. Phuket 🇹🇭 Thailand37°C afternoons · instead February81

…and 75 more, 22 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Too cold by the numbers

72 places

Afternoons that feel like −5 °C or below. Fine for a ski trip; not for walking a city.

  1. Churchill 🇨🇦 Canada-23°C afternoons · instead July26
  2. Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 Mongolia-18°C afternoons · instead June29
  3. Leh 🇮🇳 India-13°C afternoons · instead August44
  4. Ilulissat 🇬🇱 Greenland-12°C afternoons · instead July27
  5. Lake Louise 🇨🇦 Canada-11°C afternoons · instead November79
  6. Levi 🇫🇮 Finland-11°C afternoons · instead March76
  7. Winnipeg 🇨🇦 Canada-11°C afternoons · instead June31
  8. Killington 🇺🇸 United States-10°C afternoons · instead March83

…and 64 more, 25 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Bad air by the numbers

58 places

A monthly mean air-quality index in the poor or unhealthy bands.

  1. Riyadh 🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAQI 691, unhealthy air · instead February83
  2. Beijing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 183, unhealthy air · instead April50
  3. Chengdu 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 174, unhealthy air · instead April69
  4. Agra 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 173, unhealthy air · instead February86
  5. Delhi 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 171, unhealthy air · instead February88
  6. Chongqing 🇨🇳 ChinaAQI 166, unhealthy air · instead March69
  7. Kolkata 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 166, unhealthy air · instead January88
  8. Varanasi 🇮🇳 IndiaAQI 165, unhealthy air · instead December92

…and 50 more, 19 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Peak crowds

34 places

The editor's peak month for the place: full, expensive, and booked well ahead.

  1. Melbourne 🇦🇺 AustraliaPeak crowds — Christmas and Boxing Day · instead March92
  2. Mexico City 🇲🇽 MexicoPeak crowds — Virgin of Guadalupe pilgrimage · instead November92
  3. Cape Town 🇿🇦 South AfricaPeak crowds — South African summer holidays · instead November91
  4. Lima 🇵🇪 PeruPeak crowds — Christmas and New Year · instead November91
  5. Nairobi 🇰🇪 KenyaPeak crowds — Jamhuri Day · instead August91
  6. Oaxaca 🇲🇽 MexicoPeak crowds — Noche de Rabanos · instead November91
  7. Auckland 🇳🇿 New ZealandPeak crowds — Cruise season · instead March90
  8. Cairo 🇪🇬 EgyptPeak crowds — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it · instead March90

…and 26 more, 26 of them well-known. Every destination page carries its own December verdict.

Closed for the season

5 places

Hotels, lifts, ferries or the sights themselves shut for the month.

  1. Dubrovnik 🇭🇷 Croatiasome of the town shuts for the month · instead July50
  2. Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugalsome of the town shuts for the month · instead May75
  3. Osaka 🇯🇵 Japansome of the town shuts for the month · instead November73
  4. Santorini 🇬🇷 Greecesome of the town shuts for the month · instead September65
  5. Tokyo 🇯🇵 Japansome of the town shuts for the month · instead May69