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The coolest places in the world in December: ranked by average high temperature

Yakutsk tops the list at -34 °C in December. Ranked from 1991–2020 climate normals across 50 destinations in the world.

Top three in December: Yakutsk (-34 °C) , Daxing’anling (-17 °C) , Komsomolsk-on-Amur (-17 °C) . Between first and 50th place the avg high differs by 25 °C.

# Destination Country Avg high Avg high Avg low Rainfall Wet days Sunshine Sea temp
1 Yakutsk Russia -34 °C -34 °C -39 °C 2 mm 1 71 h –
2 Daxing’anling China -17 °C -17 °C -26 °C 6 mm 2 182 h –
3 Komsomolsk-on-Amur Russia -17 °C -17 °C -25 °C 21 mm 4 185 h –
4 Hulunbuir China -16 °C -16 °C -26 °C 5 mm 1 210 h –
5 Blagoveshchensk Russia -16 °C -16 °C -25 °C 7 mm 3 191 h –
6 Khabarovsk Russia -15 °C -15 °C -23 °C 14 mm 3 201 h –
7 Chita Russia -15 °C -15 °C -25 °C 4 mm 1 190 h –
8 Bratsk Russia -15 °C -15 °C -20 °C 16 mm 5 90 h –
9 Nizhnevartovsk Russia -14 °C -14 °C -21 °C 29 mm 9 30 h –
10 Surgut Russia -14 °C -14 °C -21 °C 27 mm 8 30 h –
11 Bei’an China -14 °C -14 °C -24 °C 8 mm 2 206 h –
12 Ulan-Ude Russia -14 °C -14 °C -23 °C 8 mm 3 176 h –
13 Angarsk Russia -13 °C -13 °C -22 °C 9 mm 3 163 h –
14 Yichun China -13 °C -13 °C -23 °C 10 mm 3 201 h –
15 Hegang China -13 °C -13 °C -23 °C 10 mm 3 207 h –
16 Suihua China -12 °C -12 °C -22 °C 8 mm 2 214 h –
17 Tomsk Russia -12 °C -12 °C -19 °C 40 mm 11 57 h –
18 Shuangyashan China -12 °C -12 °C -20 °C 12 mm 3 208 h –
19 Jiamusi China -12 °C -12 °C -22 °C 10 mm 3 210 h –
20 Irkutsk Russia -12 °C -12 °C -20 °C 10 mm 3 165 h –
21 Daqing China -11 °C -11 °C -20 °C 5 mm 2 224 h –
22 Krasnoyarsk Russia -11 °C -11 °C -18 °C 26 mm 8 88 h –
23 Qitaihe China -11 °C -11 °C -20 °C 10 mm 2 214 h –
24 Hulan Ergi China -11 °C -11 °C -20 °C 5 mm 2 220 h –
25 Ulan Bator Mongolia -11 °C -11 °C -21 °C 2 mm 1 226 h –
26 Zhaodong China -11 °C -11 °C -20 °C 7 mm 2 224 h –
27 Novosibirsk Russia -11 °C -11 °C -17 °C 40 mm 11 73 h –
28 Kemerovo Russia -11 °C -11 °C -17 °C 46 mm 12 72 h –
29 Harbin China -11 °C -11 °C -20 °C 8 mm 2 221 h –
30 Abakan Russia -11 °C -11 °C -17 °C 13 mm 4 119 h –
31 Omsk Russia -10 °C -10 °C -17 °C 22 mm 7 65 h –
32 Tyumen Russia -10 °C -10 °C -17 °C 23 mm 6 70 h –
33 Barnaul Russia -10 °C -10 °C -17 °C 38 mm 10 92 h –
34 Prokop’yevsk Russia -10 °C -10 °C -17 °C 40 mm 11 84 h –
35 Novokuznetsk Russia -9.9 °C -9.9 °C -17 °C 49 mm 12 86 h –
36 Petropavl Kazakhstan -9.7 °C -9.7 °C -16 °C 22 mm 7 73 h –
37 Longyearbyen Svalbard and Jan Mayen -9.6 °C -9.6 °C -14 °C 47 mm 10 0 h –
38 Xilinhot China -9.5 °C -9.5 °C -20 °C 4 mm 1 233 h –
39 Kurgan Russia -9.5 °C -9.5 °C -16 °C 23 mm 6 87 h –
40 Berezniki Russia -9.5 °C -9.5 °C -14 °C 45 mm 12 28 h –
41 Biysk Russia -9.5 °C -9.5 °C -17 °C 34 mm 9 111 h –
42 Nizhny Tagil Russia -9.4 °C -9.4 °C -15 °C 21 mm 6 65 h –
43 Yekaterinburg Russia -9.4 °C -9.4 °C -15 °C 21 mm 6 72 h –
44 Jixi China -9.4 °C -9.4 °C -19 °C 10 mm 2 219 h –
45 Zlatoust Russia -9.2 °C -9.2 °C -15 °C 23 mm 7 88 h –
46 Nuuk Greenland -9.2 °C -9.2 °C -15 °C 64 mm 10 28 h 0.6 °C
47 Chelyabinsk Russia -9.1 °C -9.1 °C -15 °C 21 mm 6 102 h –
48 Temirtau Kazakhstan -9.1 °C -9.1 °C -16 °C 23 mm 6 128 h –
49 Kamensk-Ural’skiy Russia -9.1 °C -9.1 °C -15 °C 23 mm 6 83 h –
50 Pavlodar Kazakhstan -9.0 °C -9.0 °C -16 °C 15 mm 5 108 h –

Monthly values for the month named in the ranking; only destinations with a published climate page are ranked. Download this ranking as CSV.

The same ranking one month earlier and later

November: top 5

  1. Singa 37 °C
  2. Wad Medani 37 °C
  3. Kayes 37 °C
  4. Al Qadarif 37 °C
  5. Kosti 36 °C

Full ranking for November

January: top 5

  1. Yakutsk -33 °C
  2. Komsomolsk-on-Amur -18 °C
  3. Hulunbuir -18 °C
  4. Bratsk -17 °C
  5. Surgut -17 °C

Full ranking for January

How this ranking is built

What is ranked
The average daily high temperature, in °C, in December, lowest first.
Period
1991–2020 climate normals: the same 30 years for every destination, so the list compares like with like.
Who is included
50 destinations in the world with a published climate page. Neighbouring places that share a climate series are shown once.
Ties
Equal values are ordered by population.
Sources
ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis via Open-Meteo; sea temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1. Measured values are reproduced unchanged; only the ordering is ours.

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: ranking order, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.