Macau (Macao) weather in December

December in Macau: nice, dry, with poor air quality — fine if you can take poor air.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Macau🇲🇴 Macao · Southern China & Hong Kong · City89
  1. 83Jan
  2. 85Feb
  3. 80Mar
  4. 71Apr
  5. 57May
  6. 43Jun
  7. 49Jul
  8. 38Aug
  9. 46Sep
  10. 63Oct
  11. 78Nov
  12. 89Dec

#1 of 12 months in Macau · #129 of 1413 destinations to visit in December · comfort 89/100 (tier A)

Days
21°C
Nights
14°C
Wet days
3
Sun
8 h
Humidity
69%
Daylight
11 h
Macau, Macao
Photo: Jeffrey Lau · Pexels

Traveller notes on Macau in December

A Hong Kong-forum thread planning a joint Hong Kong/Macau December trip lands on a Macau-specific rhythm: mornings are for the steep peninsula heritage climbs - Guia Hill, Monte Fort - while the cool afternoons suit the flat Cotai and Taipa side, timed so the light shows are running by evening. The advice is to skip Senado Square in the day and come back after 8pm once the festive lights are up and the tour buses have gone. December runs cooler than visitors expect, with harbour wind cutting through by evening. The record: 20.6C days feeling like 19C, 14.3C nights, 15mm total across 2.5 days and eight hours of sun. The gap between forum chat and the data: AQI sits at 111 here, hazier than the pleasant temperatures suggest.
TaipaEveningWalker · December · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Other months in Macau

Regulars quantify the typhoon risk rather than leaving it vague: the chance of one hitting during a specific one-week stay is under 10 percent, even though this month sits inside the peak August-September window for the strongest, signal-8 storms that shut down ferries, schools and casinos. Our row backs the wet, humid reality behind that risk, a striking 286.5mm of rain across 20.3 days, alongside intense heat, 31.5C reading as a hot 37C at 84 percent humidity, over 25.5C nights. Regulars are candid the year-to-year swing is real - some years bring three signal-8 closures in a season, others none at all - with one regular's most recent September described as warm and clear skies on most days despite sitting in typhoon season. The sea holds a very warm 29.8C. The record: 9.3 hours of sun, a 16.7 kph wind and AQI 78.
LessThanTenPercentChanceInAnyGivenWeek · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Mid-October to December is the comfortable stretch here and November is its best month: around 20C by the board's reckoning, our row a little warmer at 25.4C by day over 19.4C nights, with short sleeves at midday and a long sleeve after dark. Rain has dropped to 45.3mm across 6.3 days. The complication is the race. Grand Prix week closes streets across the peninsula, reroutes the buses and the hotel shuttles, and lifts room rates - while Cotai and Taipa carry on as normal, which is the practical answer if you are not here for it. The record: humidity 75 percent, 8.1 hours of sun, a 24.2C sea and AQI 89.
GrandPrixTakesThePeninsula · November · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
March here sits between the cold snaps and the rains: not hot yet, mostly past the chill, and the wet season still to come. Our row gives 22.4C reading as 24C over 17C nights with 69.4mm across 10.3 days. What regulars warn about is fog. Spring is the grey season, humidity starts climbing from late March - ours already reads 83 percent with a 17.1C dew point - and the view from the tower can simply be gone. They call March the year's least sunny month; our column puts it third at 7.8 hours, behind January and February, so the pattern is right and the ranking is not. A 19.9 kph wind makes a long walk cold. The record: a 21.5C sea and AQI 93.
GreyAndFoggyNotYetWet · March · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Macau forum threads consistently rate late winter into February as one of the better windows here - generally mild, above 10C most days though it can dip below 5C at times, and notably dry thanks to the Siberian High keeping moisture away this time of year. Posters described this as the season locals themselves prefer for spending long hours outdoors, a real contrast to the heat, humidity and frequent rain of Macau's summer months. The practical caveat repeated across threads: a sweater and a proper jacket are genuinely necessary, and wind can make it feel colder still on an exposed walk, so it's not shorts-and-t-shirt weather despite the relatively mild average.
PearlRiverDeltaRegular · February · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

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Macau climate normals — December

Daytime high21°C / 69°F😎 nice
Nighttime low14°C / 58°F
Feels like (high)19°C / 66°F
Sea temperature19°C / 66°F🧊 bracing
Rainfall15 mm / 0.6 in☀️ dry
Rainy days3 days
Humidity69%💧 humid
Dew point12°C / 54°F
Sunshine8 h/day
Daylight10.8 h
Wind22 km/h / 13 mph
Air quality (US AQI)111😷 poor

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in Macau in December

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

BusyMacao International Marathon, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for Macau's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Best weatherMacau's weather peaks December–February.

December includes Macao International Marathon.

JFMAMJJASOND

Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather

What's on in Macau in December

Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.

  • Festival

    Macao International Marathon

    6 DecSporting eventCrowdedClosures

    The course runs the peninsula, both bridges and Taipa on a Sunday morning in early December, which closes the crossings to Cotai for several hours. Source ↗

  • Festival

    Light Up Macao

    1 Dec – 11 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New Year

    Projections and installations across the old squares and the Taipa houses from early December into January, tied to the handover anniversary on the twentieth. Free, and the least crowded thing the city puts on. Source ↗

What's on around the world in December →

Nearby, and something's on

Within 300 km of Macau — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.

Where is Macau?

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Macau in December — FAQ

Is December a good time to visit Macau?
December in Macau: nice, dry, with poor air quality — fine if you can take poor air. It ranks #1 of 12 months for Macau on SeasonMap's comfort score (89/100).
What is the weather like in Macau in December?
In December, Macau averages a daily high of 20.6°C and a low of 14.3°C, with about 14.6 mm of rain over roughly 2.5 rainy days.
What is the air quality in Macau in December?
Macau has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 111 in December.

Within 300 km: Hong Kong's Dry hiking season on 1 Oct – 31 Dec, and Guangzhou's Guangzhou Marathon on 20 Dec.