Weather in Durban in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Durban. You should expect rain on 18 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

December ranks 12 of 12 — near the bottom of Durban's year. June is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 27 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one. Worth keeping in perspective: December is the weakest month of Durban's year and it is still a perfectly good one. The downside here is small.

Rain on 18 days, 3 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average December reaches 30 °C; the day barely swings — 1.8 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 30.5 °C and the coldest night fell to 19.1 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 56 mm — roughly 51% 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 167 mm against 56 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 110 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind sits around 21 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, 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: 22.8 °C in November, 24.1 here, 25.2 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Durban's year: 14 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 24.9 °C in December — warm enough to stay in as long as you like. The sea peaks at 26.9 °C in February and bottoms out at 22 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

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

December in Durban versus nearby

If Durban is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Pietermaritzburg is close enough to be a coin toss — 3.8 °C warmer, 7 days more rain. Johannesburg is close enough to be a coin toss — 2.7 °C warmer, 2 days more rain.

So: December is a compromise. June is 27 points better and is what Durban 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 Durban

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