Weather in Salvador in December

Shoulder season. December is shoulder season in Salvador — cheaper, quieter, and a genuine gamble. Highs average 31.1 °C, lows 24.2 °C, and rain falls on 10 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 6 of 12 in Salvador: past the worst of the year but short of September, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 10 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 31.1 °C days and 24.2 °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: 25 days top 30 °C, making the heat continuous rather than occasional. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 35.4 °C and the coldest night fell to 22.4 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 41 mm — roughly 72% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 12 mm in the driest year against 158 mm in the wettest, around an average of 57 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 7.7 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 73%.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 30.5 °C in November, 31.1 here, 31 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

Salvador sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12.9 hours in December, against a range of just 1.5 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 27.3 °C in December — warm enough that the water offers no relief from the heat. The sea peaks at 28.7 °C in March and bottoms out at 25.7 °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 Salvador versus nearby

If Salvador is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Maceió is a better bet in December — within a degree on temperature, 3 days less rain. Recife is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain.

So: December works, with September the better month by 7 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Salvador

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