Istanbul weather in December
Temperature, sea and sunshine in December: long-term averages from 30 years of weather data, not a forecast.
Holiday weather in December
Poor
Best time to visit: May – September
What is the weather like in Istanbul in December?
In December, Istanbul is cool: daytime highs average 11 °C, and nights cool down to about 7 °C. The sea averages 12.0 °C – swimming is only for the hardy. The sun is scarce, with only about 4 hours a day. Rain is frequent, with about 13 rainy days and 97 mm in total. All in all, December is not an ideal month for a holiday in Istanbul.
December compared
How the weather changes from November to January. Tap a month to open it.
| NovemberNov | DecemberDec | JanuaryJan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 59 | 25 | 17 |
| Day | 15° | 11° | 9° |
| Night | 11° | 7° | 5° |
| Sea | 16° | 12° | 9° |
| Sun | 5 h | 4 h | 4 h |
| Rain days | 9 | 13 | 13 |
More details for December
- Daylight
- 9 h 15 min08:22 – 17:37
- UV index
- 1 · lowclear sky, noon (estimate)
- Muggy days
- 0 daysdew point 18 °C or more
- Wind
- 23 km/haverage daily peak
- Cloud cover
- 67 %on average
- Hot days
- 0 days30 °C or more
- Snow days
- 1 day1 cm or more of fresh snow
- Time zone
- UTC+3Europe/Istanbul
How the score comes together
- Temperatureweight 50 %26 %
- Sunshineweight 20 %12 %
- Few rainy daysweight 30 %34 %
Each factor is rated from 0 to 100 % and weighted for the travel style “City break”.
What to pack in December
- A jumper for the evenings
- Rain jacket or umbrella
Istanbul in December: quick answers
Is Istanbul hot in December?
No. In December, Istanbul is cool: daytime highs average 11 °C and nights drop to about 7 °C.
Can you swim in Istanbul in December?
Only if you don't mind cold water: in December the sea averages just 12.0 °C. Comfortable swimming is possible from June to September.
Does it rain much in Istanbul in December?
Rain is frequent, with about 13 rainy days and 97 mm in total.
Istanbul month by month
The whole year in IstanbulAll destinations: Turkey
Climate averages 1996–2025, not a forecast. Data: Copernicus ERA5 / ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), NOAA OISST, GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)