What to Wear in Hanoi in December
Hanoi in December: 22°C / 72°F afternoons, 15°C / 59°F nights, the driest month of the year, and the first severe-cold days from mid-month.
- Bottle-green tweed jacket — nights average 14.9°C / 59°F, and 3.6 reach 10°C or below
- Oatmeal shawl-collar cardigan — about 4 days a month average below 15°C
- Plaid wool flannel overshirt — enough on its own on a 22°C / 72°F afternoon
- Oatmeal waffle henley — one base that sits under every layer here
- Charcoal wool-flannel trousers — wool on the legs for the cold days
- Chestnut leather Chelsea boots — 24mm of rain all month, so leather stays dry
- A down parka — the afternoon still averages 22.2°C / 72°F
- A rain shell — 24mm on 4.6 days, the driest month of the year
- Sandals or bare ankles — 3.6 nights a month reach 10°C or below
- Packing for one temperature — cold afternoons stay under 17°C, most reach 22°C
Pack for two Decembers: the mild one on most days and the cold one on a handful. NOAA NCEI's record for Hanoi's WMO station 48820 puts the afternoon at 22.2°C / 72°F and the night at 14.9°C / 59°F, with only 24mm of rain on 4.6 days, the driest month of the year. The same record counts about 4 days a month whose mean falls below 15°C, the level the Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VNMHA) uses for rét đậm, severe cold, and 3 of those 4 come after the 15th. So wear a flannel overshirt by day, and keep a tweed jacket, a chunky cardigan and a scarf for the nights and the cold days.
December is the driest month Hanoi has and the first cold one. You pack for a mild month, and for the three or four days that are nothing like it.
The capsule
01Bottle-green Donegal tweed jacketTweed is warm enough for a 10°C morning and suits a month with 24mm of rain, which is the whole case for it. A bottle-green Donegal jacket with two buttons and flap pockets goes over the shawl cardigan on the 3.6 December nights that reach 10°C or below, and over the flannel overshirt on an ordinary 15°C evening. Wool rather than a padded coat, because the afternoon returns to 22°C and you carry it.
02Oatmeal chunky shawl-collar cardiganThis is the cold-day layer. In 25 of the 30 Decembers on NOAA NCEI's record at least one day averaged below 15°C, and a chunky oatmeal shawl-collar cardigan, buttoned under the tweed, carries those days from breakfast to dinner. The shawl collar closes over your throat when the scarf comes off indoors, and oatmeal keeps it apart from the green and charcoal.
03Charcoal-and-forest plaid wool flannel overshirtMost December afternoons need one layer, and this is it. A plaid wool flannel overshirt in charcoal, forest and stone, with a snap front and snap flap pockets, covers a 22°C / 72°F walk around Hoàn Kiếm Lake on its own, then goes under the tweed when the sun sets at about 5:15pm. Plaid also hides a day of wear better than a plain shirt.
04Oatmeal waffle-knit cotton henleyStart every layer here. An oatmeal waffle-knit henley with long sleeves and a three-button placket holds warmth under the flannel without a sweater's bulk, and it is enough under the tweed on a 17°C evening. Oatmeal matches the cardigan, so the capsule keeps one light colour against the charcoal and green.
05Charcoal straight wool-flannel trousersWool on the legs, because nights average 14.9°C / 59°F and about 4 December days average below 15°C. Charcoal wool flannel with a pressed crease handles a cold morning at the Temple of Literature and a dinner in the French Quarter in the same pair, and the dark shade hides the grime of a dry street by evening.
06Dark chestnut leather Chelsea bootsClosed, warm and quick to pull off. With 24mm of rain in the whole month, smooth leather seldom gets wet, and a dark chestnut Chelsea boot with elastic gussets covers the ankle a sandal leaves bare on a 15°C night. Its low stacked heel is comfortable for a full day on foot.
07Forest-green coated zip crossbodyWorn across the front and zipped, with the jacket open over it. A forest-green coated crossbody with a front zip pocket keeps a phone and cash within reach when you pay at a stall in the Old Quarter, and the coated finish wipes clean. Green joins the tweed and the plaid, which leaves the boots as the only brown.
08Narrow mid-grey fine wool scarfPack it for the mornings that start near 10°C, 3.6 of them in an average December. A narrow mid-grey fine wool scarf wound once fills the gap between the tweed lapels and folds into the crossbody by noon. Grey rather than green, because the jacket and the bag already carry the green.
Day to night
Oatmeal waffle henley · plaid flannel overshirt · charcoal wool trousers · chestnut Chelsea boots · forest crossbody. A mild morning: Hoàn Kiếm Lake at nine as the air warms from 15°C, coffee in the Old Quarter, the Temple of Literature before lunch.
Henley under the oatmeal shawl cardigan · green tweed jacket open · same trousers and boots · grey scarf wound once. Sunset at about 5:20pm, then dinner in the French Quarter as the air falls toward 15°C.
A suggested look — green tweed jacket, oatmeal shawl-collar cardigan, oatmeal waffle henley, charcoal wool trousers, chestnut chelsea boots.
What to avoid
- A down parka — the afternoon still averages 22.2°C / 72°F
- A rain shell — 24mm on 4.6 days, the driest month of the year
- Sandals or bare ankles — 3.6 nights a month reach 10°C or below
- Packing for one temperature — cold afternoons stay under 17°C, most reach 22°C
- Daylight plans after 5:15pm — sunset runs from 5:15pm to 5:25pm
Frequently asked questions
Per NOAA NCEI's global summary of the day for WMO station 48820, which NOAA files as Noi Bai International, December's average daily maximum is 22.2°C / 72°F and the average minimum 14.9°C / 59°F across 1991 to 2020. Rain averages 24mm on 4.6 days with at least 0.01in, from the 21 Decembers with daily rain reports, the lowest of any month; the daily summaries still log rain or drizzle on about 10 days, most too light to measure. About 3.6 nights reach 10°C or below, and about 4 days average below 15°C. Mean relative humidity is near 74%. Daylight holds between 10h 51m and 10h 57m all month.
A bottle-green tweed jacket, an oatmeal chunky shawl-collar cardigan, a charcoal-and-forest plaid flannel overshirt, an oatmeal waffle henley, charcoal wool-flannel trousers, dark chestnut Chelsea boots, a forest-green zip crossbody and a mid-grey wool scarf. That covers a 22°C / 72°F afternoon in the overshirt, a 15°C / 59°F night in the jacket, and the cold days when all of it goes on at once. Leave the down parka, the rain shell and the sandals at home.
Usually in mid-December. The Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VNMHA) counts a day as rét đậm, severe cold, when its mean temperature falls below 15°C under overcast skies, and rét hại, damaging cold, below 13°C. On NOAA NCEI's record, 25 of the 30 Decembers from 1991 to 2020 had at least one day with a mean below 15°C and 12 had one below 13°C; in a typical winter the first came around 15 December. The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) announces each push of cold air with a northeast monsoon bulletin, tin gió mùa đông bắc. On those days wear everything: henley, shawl cardigan, tweed jacket, wool trousers, Chelsea boots and the scarf.
Early December for mild days, late December if you want to see the city in its cold. On NOAA NCEI's record the first half averages 22.8°C by day and 15.7°C at night, with about 1 day whose mean falls below 15°C; the second half averages 21.6°C and 14.2°C, with about 3. Rain is scarce in both halves, about 15mm before the 16th and 9mm after. Days are shortest around 21 December at 10h 51m, and sunrise slips from 6:17am on the 1st to 6:33am on the 31st, so late-month mornings start dark and cold.
December is about 4 degrees cooler at both ends and less than half as wet. From the same NOAA NCEI record, November averages 26.4°C by day and 18.8°C at night with 57mm on 4.7 days; December drops to 22.2°C and 14.9°C with 24mm on 4.6. The bigger change is the cold days: 2 of 30 Novembers had a day with a mean below 15°C, against 25 of 30 Decembers. Our November guide gets by with a corduroy overshirt and a cotton scarf. December adds a tweed jacket, a chunky cardigan and wool trousers.
Layers that come off by lunch. A December day runs from about 15°C at breakfast to 22°C by mid-afternoon, so dress in order of removal: a jacket you can carry, a knit you can open, a shirt that works alone. Wool beats padding for all but the handful of cold-surge days, because a padded coat is too warm by noon. Keep the palette dark below the waist, since a dry month still leaves street grime on pale trousers.
Sources
- NOAA NCEI — 1991–2020 climate normals, Hanoi (WMO station 48820) stationa station of Viet Nam's national network, filed by NOAA as Noi Bai International; NOAA NCEI computed these figures from its 48820099999 global-summary-of-the-day record: 30 complete Decembers for temperature, and the 21 Decembers of 1991–2011 that carry daily rain reports for precipitation (a rain day is ≥0.01 in). Recorded per month because this city's May–August pages are sourced differently.
- NOAA NCEI — Global Summary of the Day, Hanoi (WMO station 48820, filed by NOAA as Noi Bai International, 48820099999), 1991–2020 — accessed 2026-09-29
- Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VNMHA) — Tìm hiểu về không khí lạnh, rét đậm, rét hại (cold air, severe cold and damaging cold explained) — accessed 2026-09-29
- NCHMF — Tin gió mùa Đông Bắc (northeast monsoon bulletin) — accessed 2026-09-29
