Monthly Climate
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Best time to visit Cairns

August is the best time to visit Cairns for general sightseeing, with average highs of 24 °C and about 5 wet days. The comfortable season runs roughly June to September.

It depends what you are going for

One month rarely wins on everything. These are the best months on each measure taken on its own.

If you want Best month On that measure
Sightseeing and walking August comfort 91/100
A beach holiday September sea 25 °C
The least cloud September 45 % average cloud cover
The least rain September 17 mm
Warmth January 29 °C
Cooler weather July 23 °C

Ranked by comfort

# Month Comfort / 100 Avg high Wet days Beach
1 August 91 24 °C 5 87
2 July 91 23 °C 6 83
3 June 88 24 °C 7 85
4 September 87 26 °C 4 95
5 May 79 25 °C 9 84
6 October 78 27 °C 7 92
7 November 67 29 °C 10 83
8 April 66 27 °C 13 77
9 December 56 29 °C 15 70
10 March 55 28 °C 18 71
11 January 48 29 °C 21 68
12 February 48 29 °C 21 68

For a beach holiday

September scores highest, with a sea temperature of 25 °C and air temperatures around 26 °C. The sea never reaches 20 °C here.

Month Sea Air Sunshine Beach score
January 29 °C 29 °C 74 % 68
February 29 °C 29 °C 74 % 68
March 28 °C 28 °C 69 % 71
April 27 °C 27 °C 58 % 77
May 26 °C 25 °C 56 % 84
June 24 °C 24 °C 54 % 85
July 24 °C 23 °C 49 % 83
August 24 °C 24 °C 48 % 87
September 25 °C 26 °C 45 % 95
October 26 °C 27 °C 45 % 92
November 27 °C 29 °C 52 % 83
December 29 °C 29 °C 64 % 70

When to think twice

February scores lowest with about 21 wet days and highs near 29 °C. That does not make it a bad month — it depends entirely on what you are travelling for. The numbers are all here; the judgement is yours.

The full year

Month Avg high Rainfall Cloud
January 29.4 °C 245 mm 74 %
February 29.3 °C 264 mm 74 %
March 28.4 °C 219 mm 69 %
April 26.9 °C 100 mm 58 %
May 25.2 °C 47 mm 56 %
June 23.7 °C 28 mm 54 %
July 23.1 °C 29 mm 49 %
August 23.8 °C 25 mm 48 %
September 25.8 °C 17 mm 45 %
October 27.3 °C 36 mm 45 %
November 28.5 °C 61 mm 52 %
December 29.3 °C 150 mm 64 %

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: comfort score, beach score, season boundaries. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.