Australia · 16.92°S 145.77°E · monthly climate normals, judged against the Tropical preset (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon)
The best time to visit Cairns is October to November, when mean temperatures run from 24 °C75 °F to 26 °C79 °F and rainfall runs 48–104 mm1.9–4.1 in a month.
The monsoon runs December to April, with 192–456 mm7.6–18 in a month and peaking in February at 456 mm18 in. January is the hottest month at 27 °C81 °F and July the coldest at 21 °C70 °F.
Figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at -16.92, 145.77 — a climate guide, not a forecast.
Pick the weather you like and every month is 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 verdict for every place on Earth, any month
Reading the chart. Gold is good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour names the reason it doesn't — the temperature bar can be too cold or too hot, the rain bar too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar is a half that fits while the other half fails; a gold month name means both fit.
What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the monthly mean, judged against the preset's band (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within Cairns's own year rather than raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month the preset doesn't 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 whose wettest month is at least three times its driest — so every monsoon month is rainy season too; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.
| Month | Rain | Mean | Season | Tropical verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32013 | 2780 | monsoon | monsoon |
| February | 45618 | 2780 | monsoon | monsoon |
| March | 39215 | 2679 | monsoon | monsoon |
| April | 2007.9 | 2576 | monsoon | monsoon |
| May | 883.5 | 2373 | showers | too cold |
| June | 481.9 | 2170 | dry | too cold |
| July | 240.9 | 2169 | dry | too cold |
| August | 321.3 | 2170 | dry | too cold |
| September | 401.6 | 2373 | dry | too cold |
| October | 481.9 | 2475 | dry | good |
| November | 1044.1 | 2678 | showers | good |
| December | 1927.6 | 2780 | monsoon | monsoon |
| Looking for | Rule | Months that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers | May to September |
| Tropical | mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon | October to November |
| Beach | mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, dry or showers | October to November |
| Cool | mean 0–14 °C32–57 °F, anything but the monsoon | |
| Snow | mean below 0 °C32 °F, any rain |
Yes. The monsoon runs December to April, with 192–456 mm7.6–18 in a month and peaking in February at 456 mm18 in. Outside it, June to October is dry.
January is the hottest month at 27 °C81 °F and July the coldest at 21 °C70 °F. Annual rainfall totals about 1,944 mm77 in.
The nearest destinations that do fit the Tropical preset in the months Cairns doesn't:
The interactive map colours the whole world by how it fits your picks in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.