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Cairns, Queensland climate
Am Tropical monsoon
Cairns has a mildly seasonal tropical climate (Tropical monsoon, Köppen Am). The hottest month is February with an average daily high near 32°C, while the coldest is July averaging around 17°C at night. Precipitation totals about 1972 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — February alone averages 444 mm while August barely receives 27 mm.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsCairns climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 27 |
| Avg low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 414 | 444 | 370 | 174 | 87 | 45 | 42 | 27 | 28 | 65 | 85 | 191 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Avg low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 414 | 444 | 370 | 174 | 87 | 45 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 26 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 27 |
| Avg low (°C) | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 42 | 27 | 28 | 65 | 85 | 191 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0.9 | — | — | — | — | 0.1 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0.9 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | 0.1 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 52 | 48 | 45 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 47 | 58 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 7 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 18 | 17 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 85 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 82 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 78 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 52 | 48 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 15 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 18 | 17 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 85 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 45 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 47 | 58 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 7 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 82 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 78 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 19 years of daily observations at Cairns Post Office, a weather station, about 2 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.