Average Sunshine in Switzerland for December

The tables below give December averages for the number of sunny hours and the percentage of time between sunrise and sunset that the sun shines at cities, resorts and mountains across Switzerland.

The month's totals are averages of weather data collected during 1991 to 2020.

Western Switzerland

This section covers the mainly French speaking portion of Switzerland. It includes the area around Lake Geneva and the cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais and Vaud.

Some of the weather stations are at high elevations in the Valais (or Pennine) Alps of southwestern Switzerland. Great St. Bernard Pass (Col du Grand St-Bernard) is the highest point on this list at 2472 metres (8110 feet). Also above 1400 metres (or 4600 feet) are Chasseral mountain and the resort towns of Zermatt and Montana.

Total December sunshine
Hours Place %
85 Chasseral 33
96 Evolène 54
48 Geneva (Genève) 21
24 Great St Bernard Pass  41
80 La Chaux-de-Fonds  35
58 Lausanne 23
116 Montana 50
40 Neuchâel (Neuenburg) 16
56 Nyon 23
46 Payerne 20
68 Sion (Sitten) 50
83 Zermatt 56

Central & Northern Switzerland

While most places on this list are below 1000 metres (3280 feet) elevation, there are some mountainous locations. Säntis, near Schwägalp, at 2502 metres (8209 feet) elevation is the highest point in the Appenzell Alps. Even higher is the weather station at 3580 metres (11,745 feet), above Jungfraujoch pass of the Bernese Alps.

Average amount of sun in December
Hours Place %
31 Aarau 15
79 Adelboden 46
54 Basel 27
53 Bern (Bären) 22
31 Engelberg 42
109 Gütsch 47
37 Güttingen 16
57 Interlaken 36
101 Jungfraujoch 45
39 Lucerne (Luzern) 19
106 Mount Pilatus 47
112 Säntis 43
33 Schaffhausen 16
48 St. Gallen 25
45 Wädenswil 20
47 Zürich 20

Eastern Switzerland

This list includes two low-elevation cities, Locarno and Lugano, in the canton of Ticino of south-east Switzerland.

Several places here in the canton of Graubünden are mountain resort towns, including Davos, Scuol and Samedan, which sit above 1500 metres (4921 feet) elevation.

High-altitude locations include Gütsch located above Andermatt at 2286 m. On Weissfluhjoch, a peak in the Plessur Range above Davos, weather is reported from just below the summit, at 2690 metres (8825 feet) elevation. On Piz Corvatsch, near Silvaplana in the Bernina Range, the weather is measured at 3305 metres (10,843 feet).

Average December sun
Hours Place %
90 Arosa 46
82 Chur 45
142 Cimetta 57
93 Davos 48
72 Disentis (Mustér) 44
54 Glarus 39
119 Locarno 56
107 Lugano 53
117 Piz Corvatsch  49
102 Samedan 52
86 San Bernardino 51
75 Scuol 48
102 Stabio 50
121 Weissfluhjoch 47
Reference

Swiss federal authorities. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss. Normal values per measured parameter.

Switzerland Sunshine
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