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Cairns vs Quito
Comparing Cairns change · Quito change
Cairns is the warmer of the two — about 12°F on the annual average; Quito is the wetter, with 42 in more rain a year, and Cairns the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between Cairns and Quito, in everyday terms.
Summers
Cairns has much hotter summers
Cairns: Hot
Quito: Mild
Winters
Cairns has milder winters
Cairns: Stays warm
Quito: Mild
Rain & snow
Quito is wetter
Cairns: Very wet
Quito: Very wet
Sky
Cairns is far sunnier
Cairns: Partly cloudy
Quito: Often grey
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
Cairns is the warmer of the two — about 12°F on the annual average.
Precipitation
Quito is the wetter — about 42 in more across the year.
Clear skies
Cairns has the clearer skies — the higher line.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°F) Cairns runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 89 | 89 | 88 | 86 | 83 | 80 | 79 | 81 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 89 |
| Quito | 72 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 72 |
| Difference | -18 | -17 | -16 | -13 | -9 | -6 | -4 | -4 | -8 | -12 | -16 | -17 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 89 | 89 | 88 | 86 | 83 | 80 |
| Quito | 72 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 |
| Difference | -18 | -17 | -16 | -13 | -9 | -6 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 79 | 81 | 84 | 86 | 88 | 89 |
| Quito | 76 | 77 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 72 |
| Difference | -4 | -4 | -8 | -12 | -16 | -17 |
Avg low (°F) Cairns runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 75 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 65 | 62 | 62 | 65 | 69 | 72 | 74 |
| Quito | 56 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 57 | 55 | 54 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 56 |
| Difference | -18 | -18 | -16 | -14 | -11 | -10 | -8 | -8 | -10 | -13 | -16 | -18 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 75 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 65 |
| Quito | 56 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 57 | 55 |
| Difference | -18 | -18 | -16 | -14 | -11 | -10 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 62 | 62 | 65 | 69 | 72 | 74 |
| Quito | 54 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 56 |
| Difference | -8 | -8 | -10 | -13 | -16 | -18 |
Precipitation (in) Quito runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 16.3 | 17.5 | 14.6 | 6.9 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 7.5 |
| Quito | 11.6 | 11.1 | 13.1 | 13 | 10.6 | 6.6 | 5 | 5.1 | 8.6 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.2 |
| Difference | -4.7 | -6.4 | -1.4 | +6.1 | +7.2 | +4.8 | +3.3 | +4 | +7.5 | +8.7 | +8.6 | +4.6 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 16.3 | 17.5 | 14.6 | 6.9 | 3.4 | 1.8 |
| Quito | 11.6 | 11.1 | 13.1 | 13 | 10.6 | 6.6 |
| Difference | -4.7 | -6.4 | -1.4 | +6.1 | +7.2 | +4.8 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 7.5 |
| Quito | 5 | 5.1 | 8.6 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.2 |
| Difference | +3.3 | +4 | +7.5 | +8.7 | +8.6 | +4.6 |
Cloud cover (%) Quito runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 52 | 48 | 45 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 47 | 58 |
| Quito | 81 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Difference | +10 | +13 | +20 | +27 | +29 | +27 | +27 | +30 | +40 | +43 | +34 | +23 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 71 | 71 | 68 | 57 | 52 | 48 |
| Quito | 81 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 81 | 75 |
| Difference | +10 | +13 | +20 | +27 | +29 | +27 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 45 | 41 | 35 | 38 | 47 | 58 |
| Quito | 72 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| Difference | +27 | +30 | +40 | +43 | +34 | +23 |
Relative humidity (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 85 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 82 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 78 |
| Quito | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 78 | 75 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 84 |
| Difference | +1 | -1 | -2 | -1 | -2 | -4 | -4 | -3 | +2 | +7 | +7 | +6 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 85 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 |
| Quito | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 81 |
| Difference | +1 | -1 | -2 | -1 | -2 | -4 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns | 82 | 78 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 78 |
| Quito | 78 | 75 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 84 |
| Difference | -4 | -3 | +2 | +7 | +7 | +6 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. Cairns trends → · Quito trends →
Methodology & sources
Cairns
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.
Quito
Temperature & precipitation — modelled for this location from ERA5-Land reanalysis, a ~9 km global grid, because no long-record weather station is close enough to use.
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.