Australia · 16.92°S 145.77°E · 30-year monthly averages, judged against the Tropical preset (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon)
The best time to visit Cairns is October to November, with highs of 28–30 °C82–86 °F and nights of 21–22 °C70–72 °F, and rainfall of 48–104 mm1.9–4.1 in a month.
The monsoon season is December to April, with 192–456 mm7.6–18 in a month and a peak in February (456 mm18 in). January is the hottest month (highs of 31 °C88 °F) and July the coldest (24 °C75 °F).
The figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at -16.92, 145.77. This is a climate guide, not a forecast.
Pick the weather you like. Every month is then judged against it: temperature above the month names, rain below.
Good time to go for a Tropical holiday: October to November.
Open Cairns on the interactive map ↗ the same verdicts for any place on Earth, in any month
Reading the chart. Gold means good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour shows the reason it does not. The temperature bar can be too cold or too hot; the rain bar can be too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar means that half fits but the other half does not. A gold month name means both halves fit.
What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the month's average daily high (the afternoon), judged against the preset's band (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within Cairns's own year, not by raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and at least 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month that the preset does not allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season: 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate where the wettest month has at least three times the rain of the driest. Every monsoon month is also a rainy-season month; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.
| Month | Rain | High | Low | Season | Tropical verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32013 | 3187 | 2373 | monsoon | monsoon |
| February | 45618 | 3086 | 2373 | monsoon | monsoon |
| March | 39215 | 2984 | 2373 | monsoon | monsoon |
| April | 2007.9 | 2882 | 2271 | monsoon | monsoon |
| May | 883.5 | 2679 | 2068 | showers | too cold |
| June | 481.9 | 2576 | 1864 | dry | too cold |
| July | 240.9 | 2475 | 1763 | dry | too cold |
| August | 321.3 | 2577 | 1864 | dry | too cold |
| September | 401.6 | 2780 | 1966 | dry | too cold |
| October | 481.9 | 2882 | 2169 | dry | good |
| November | 1044.1 | 3085 | 2272 | showers | good |
| December | 1927.6 | 3086 | 2373 | monsoon | monsoon |
| Looking for | Rule | Months that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | highs 19–28 °C66–82 °F, dry or showers | May to September |
| Tropical | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon | October to November |
| Beach | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, dry or showers | October to November |
| Cool | highs 3–19 °C37–66 °F, any rain except monsoon | |
| Snow | highs below 3 °C37 °F, any rain |
Yes. The monsoon season is December to April, with 192–456 mm7.6–18 in a month and a peak in February (456 mm18 in). Outside the rainy season, June to October is dry.
January is the hottest month (highs of 31 °C88 °F) and July the coldest (24 °C75 °F). Annual rainfall is about 1,944 mm77 in.
The nearest destinations that fit the Tropical preset in the months when Cairns does not:
The interactive map colours the whole world by how well it fits the weather you like, in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.