The best time to visit Cairns is between May and October, the most comfortable stretch of the year on these averages.
Cairns is a warm-year climate with a drier stretch and a wetter one, not four seasons in the European sense. The hot months are the outdoor months until the rain takes over. Cairns is a city in Australia. This page is about Cairns, not a country average.
Most visitors come in the drier stretch and treat the wet months as a different trip: slower days, heavier skies, still warm. The monthly table on this page still owns the averages. This layer is how Cairns actually feels.
Part of Australia weather.
The drier stretch in Cairns is when outdoor days are the default. May, June, July and August sit on that side of the year. Heat is still the point. Rain is not gone, it is no longer in charge.
Cairns in Australia in these weeks is a warm-weather trip: early starts, shade at midday, evenings outside. It is not a European spring with a light jumper.
Read Cairns in this stretch as its own climate, not as a generic holiday season copied from another destination.
The wetter stretch in Cairns is still warm. January, February, March and April sit on that side of the year. Days can be heavy. Showers arrive, dump, and often leave the air stickier than before.
This is a slower trip, not a cancelled one. Build indoor hours into the afternoon. Do not treat Cairns as closed. Treat it as a place where the sky does more of the talking than it does in the dry months.
Read Cairns in this stretch as its own climate, not as a generic holiday season copied from another destination.
TemperatureRainfall
Every figure below is a 1991–2020 climate normal for Cairns, in °C and °F. Open a month for what to expect and what to pack.
| Month | Average | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|
| January | 25°C / 77°F | 227 mm |
| February | 25°C / 77°F | 278 mm |
| March | 24°C / 75°F | 172 mm |
| April | 22°C / 72°F | 32 mm |
| May | 21°C / 69°F | 21 mm |
| June | 19°C / 66°F | 12 mm |
| July | 18°C / 65°F | 14 mm |
| August | 19°C / 66°F | 12 mm |
| September | 21°C / 70°F | 9 mm |
| October | 23°C / 74°F | 25 mm |
| November | 24°C / 76°F | 59 mm |
| December | 25°C / 78°F | 128 mm |
Dates are a starting point for May.
What to read before you book.
Now pick a month.
Climate averages for Cairns, 1991–2020.
The best time to visit Cairns is between May and October, the most comfortable stretch of the year on these averages.
December is the hottest month, with an average around 25°C.
February is the wettest month, with about 278 mm of rain.
Cairns has a distinct rainy season from January to March, peaking in February at about 278 mm. The dry season runs from April to December.
July is the coolest month, averaging 18°C (65°F) against 25°C (78°F) in December.
This page does not show today's weather. It is a 1991–2020 climate normal from Meteostat — a long-run average of what each month is usually like, which is what you want when booking ahead. For today or the coming week, check a live forecast.
No. These are 1991–2020 climate normals from Meteostat, not a live forecast. Actual weather in any given week can differ.
