Weather in Recife in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 31.3 °C, lows 24.9 °C, and rain falls on 9 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 4 of 12 in Recife: past the worst of the year but short of October, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 9 days, 1 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 31.3 °C days and 24.9 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 29 days top 30 °C, making the heat continuous rather than occasional. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 33.6 °C and the coldest night fell to 23.2 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 32 mm — roughly 84% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 10 mm in the driest year against 117 mm in the wettest, around an average of 38 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 14.4 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 70%.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 30.9 °C in November, 31.3 here, 31.1 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain is the thing that moves: January brings 6 days more of it, so the earlier half of a flexible trip is the safer half.

Daylight in December

Recife sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12.6 hours in December, against a range of just 0.9 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 27.5 °C in December — warm enough that the water offers no relief from the heat. The sea peaks at 28.8 °C in April and bottoms out at 26.4 °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

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead. If the dates are flexible, August is the trade worth considering — 10 points weaker on weather, and materially quieter.

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

December in Recife versus nearby

If Recife is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Maceió is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 2 days less rain. Fortaleza is a better bet in December — within a degree on temperature, 3 days less rain.

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

Every month in Recife

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