Weather in Nouméa in December

Prime time. December is about as good as Nouméa gets. Highs average 25.8 °C, lows 24.1 °C, and rain falls on 12 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 7 of 12 in Nouméa: past the worst of the year but short of September, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 12 days, 2 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 — 1.7 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 29.7 °C and the coldest night fell to 21.2 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 49 mm — roughly 63% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 12 mm in the driest year against 161 mm in the wettest, around an average of 78 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 18.8 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 78%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 24.3 °C in November, 25.8 here, 26.6 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Nouméa's year: 13.5 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 25.3 °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 22.4 °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

Busy. Popular without being frantic; book the things you care about, improvise the rest.

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

December in Nouméa versus nearby

If Nouméa is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Port-Vila is the weaker option in December — within a degree on temperature, 7 days more rain. Nadi is the weaker option in December — 3.7 °C warmer, 9 days more rain.

So: December works, with September the better month by 8 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Nouméa

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