Weather in Belo Horizonte in December

Shoulder season. December is shoulder season in Belo Horizonte — cheaper, quieter, and a genuine gamble. You should expect rain on 24 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

December ranks 9 of 12 in Belo Horizonte: past the worst of the year but short of July, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 24 of the month's 31 days, 10 of them heavy. At that frequency a wet-weather backup is not a contingency, it is the itinerary — book the indoor things first and treat the clear days as the bonus. Natural fibres and a second shirt for the day. At 83% nothing dries, including you.

What the averages hide

The averages here are honest — no hidden extremes worth planning around. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 33.6 °C and the coldest night fell to 12.6 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 60 mm — roughly 23% of the month's rain in one day.

December is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest December on record still delivered 470 mm against 104 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 266 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 8 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 83%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 27.9 °C in November, 26.9 here, 27 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Belo Horizonte's year: 13.3 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 18 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights. At 888 m the air is thin enough to matter — sun that burns faster than the temperature suggests, and nights that cool off quickly.

How busy it gets

Quiet. Few other visitors, cheaper rooms, and a real chance some seasonal operators are shut.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

December in Belo Horizonte versus nearby

If Belo Horizonte is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Rio de Janeiro is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 4 days less rain. São Paulo is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 2 days less rain.

So: December is a compromise. July is 36 points better and is what Belo Horizonte is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Belo Horizonte

See all twelve months in Belo Horizonte, or where else to go in December.