Mombasa weather in December
December in Mombasa: sweltering, a little rain, with clean air — fine if you can take 37°C afternoons.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#9 of 12 months in Mombasa · #272 of 1413 destinations to visit in December · comfort 86/100 (tier A)
- Days
- 31°C
- Nights
- 25°C
- Wet days
- 17
- Sun
- 11.2 h
- Humidity
- 78%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Traveller notes on Mombasa in December
Other months in Mombasa
Regulars are consistent this month runs noticeably drier than May, with the official cold season not starting until July - though regulars note it can already feel chillier by the back half of this month, a real preview of what's coming. Our row backs that warm, genuinely humid read, 29C reading as a hot 31C, over 22.7C nights, with 56.1mm of rain across 15.9 days and humidity at 79 percent. Regulars are specific that rain here can be genuinely localized, falling in one part of the coast while a nearby beach stays completely dry at the same time. When a shower does hit, regulars describe it as warm rain that dries quickly once the sun reappears. The sea sits at a warm, swimmable 27.4C. The record: 10.4 hours of sun, a 21.9 kph wind and AQI 36.
September here is described as fine weather with the occasional short shower, and notably not as hot as the rest of the year. Our rain figures say exactly that, in a way either number alone would hide: 44.8mm spread across 15.2 days is about three millimetres on each day it rains - frequent, brief, and not a reason to change a plan. Air is 28.7C but reads as 32C at 77.4 percent humidity, and the nights hold 22.6C. The sea is 26.6C. The caveat regulars add is about conditions rather than weather: it is windy now, 18.4 kph, so the water turns choppy and visibility drops - a better month for the beach than for diving. The record: 10.8 hours of sun and AQI 35.
Mombasa-forum threads on October weather call it genuinely good overall, comfortable temperatures in the 20s Celsius and posters describing conditions as easy t-shirt weather most days. Early October sits at the tail of the region's short-rains window, so a mixed pattern of cloud, brief showers and real sunshine is typical rather than a defining downpour - rain tends to pass through quickly, followed by a longer stretch of clear sky. Regulars call this one of the more reliable months on the coast, decent weather without either the peak heat or the heavier rains bracketing it. The record actually runs wetter than the forum's "rain at its lowest" framing suggests, a reminder that short-rains totals can add up even when individual showers feel brief and forgettable. The record: 29.5C days feeling like a sticky 34C, 23.8C nights, a notably high 95mm across 15.7 days, a 27.3C sea, 78 percent humidity and 10.7 hours of sun.
Asked to be honest about August, Mombasa regulars call it gorgeous - sunbathing weather with hardly any rain, often just the one day of warm rain across a stay. Our row looks like it flatly disagrees at 15.9 precipitation days, until you read the other number: 38.9mm across all of them, about two millimetres a wet day. The dataset is counting showers the forum does not bother to mention. What they do flag is that July and August are Kenya's winter - on this tropical coast that means warm humid days at 28.2C but evenings some visitors found genuinely cool, so a shawl or a light sweater earns its place - and that the sea gets choppy and cloudy now, so it is a better safari month than a snorkelling one. The record: 21.9C nights, humidity 78 percent, a 25.9C sea and AQI 36.
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Mombasa climate normals — December
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Mombasa 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.
Peak crowdsKaskazi, the calm season, Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Mombasa'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).
Fair weatherMombasa's weather doesn't swing hard through the year — comfort stays fairly steady in every month.
What's on in Mombasa in December
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Season
Kaskazi, the calm season
1 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyMonsoonCrowdedThe northeast monsoon: hot, humid and close to windless, with the flattest water and the clearest visibility on the reef. It is also the coast's high season, and priced like it.
- Nature
Whale sharks off the coast
1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyDive seasonWhale sharks move along the Kenyan coast through the northeast monsoon, and the boats that go looking for them run out of Diani and Watamu rather than Mombasa itself. Sightings are a matter of luck, not schedule.
- Holiday
Festive season peak
18 Dec – 5 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook earlyNairobi comes down to the coast in force. Hotel rates roughly double, the Likoni ferry queue runs to an hour, and every beach bar has a band on. Source ↗
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Mombasa — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Mombasa?
Mombasa in December — FAQ
- Is December a good time to visit Mombasa?
- December in Mombasa: sweltering, a little rain, with clean air — fine if you can take 37°C afternoons. It ranks #9 of 12 months for Mombasa on SeasonMap's comfort score (86/100).
- What is the weather like in Mombasa in December?
- In December, Mombasa averages a daily high of 31.4°C and a low of 25°C, with about 76.3 mm of rain over roughly 17.4 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Mombasa in December?
- Mombasa has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 48 in December.
Within 300 km: Lamu's Lamu Cultural Festival around 27 Nov – 4 Dec, and Zanzibar's Kaskazi, the calm season around 1 Dec – 28 Feb.