Cairns is a weather station located 2 m above sea level, 3 km from Edge Hill. Its records go back to 1910: 115 years of temperature are available up to 2025, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 25.3 °C, noticeably higher than over 1961–1990 (24.8 °C): a difference of 0.5 °C. The warmest year of the series is 1998 (26.3 °C) and the coldest 1941 (23.8 °C). The last complete year, 2025, ranks 2 out of 115, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2025, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.18 °C per decade. The station ranks 131 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1910
The first ten years of the series (1910–1919) average 24.5 °C; the last ten (2016–2025) average 25.8 °C, a difference of +1.2 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 8 fall after 1999. The warmest is 1998 (26.3 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 25.8 °C (2025) and bottoms out at 24.3 °C (1946).
Annual rainfall since 1910
On average 2003 mm of rain falls per year over the 80 documented years. The wettest year, 2000, received 3149 mm; the driest, 2002, only 721 mm, which is 4.4 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (1935 mm per year) is 130 mm (6.3 %) below the 1961–1990 one (2065 mm). Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (482 mm) and August the driest (27 mm). Between 2003 and 2025, 10 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.
Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020
The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.7 °C | 28.0 °C | +0.3 °C | 397 mm | 381 mm | −16 mm |
| February | 27.4 °C | 27.9 °C | +0.5 °C | 422 mm | 482 mm | +60 mm |
| March | 26.7 °C | 27.2 °C | +0.5 °C | 449 mm | 350 mm | −99 mm |
| April | 25.3 °C | 25.9 °C | +0.6 °C | 225 mm | 180 mm | −45 mm |
| May | 23.7 °C | 24.1 °C | +0.4 °C | 107 mm | 83 mm | −24 mm |
| June | 21.7 °C | 22.6 °C | +0.9 °C | 50 mm | 43 mm | −7 mm |
| July | 21.4 °C | 21.9 °C | +0.5 °C | 26 mm | 35 mm | +9 mm |
| August | 22.3 °C | 22.3 °C | 0.0 °C | 22 mm | 27 mm | +5 mm |
| September | 23.5 °C | 23.9 °C | +0.4 °C | 33 mm | 29 mm | −4 mm |
| October | 24.8 °C | 25.4 °C | +0.6 °C | 44 mm | 59 mm | +15 mm |
| November | 26.4 °C | 26.9 °C | +0.5 °C | 100 mm | 93 mm | −7 mm |
| December | 27.3 °C | 27.8 °C | +0.5 °C | 190 mm | 173 mm | −17 mm |
The largest temperature change is in June (+0.9 °C) and the smallest in August (0.0 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.5 °C, and 11 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in February (+60 mm) and the smallest in March (−99 mm).
Records at Cairns
- Warmest year: 26.3 °C, in 1998
- Coldest year: 23.8 °C, in 1941
- Driest year: 721 mm, in 2002
- Wettest year: 3149 mm, in 2000
- Warmest month: 29.7 °C, in January 1924
- Coldest month: 18.8 °C, in July 1965
- Wettest month: 1417 mm, in January 1981
- Hottest day: 42.6 °C, on 26 November 2018
- Coldest day: 5.6 °C, on 23 June 1946
- Heaviest rain in one day: 402.8 mm, on 12 March 1967
2.5 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 37.0 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2025
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.18 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, about +1.2 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.01 °C per decade: the station ranks 131 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 24 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 14 months out of 15 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.7 °C. The highest departure was in July 2025 (+1.9 °C); the lowest, in March 2025 (−0.1 °C). The last twelve months add up to 2411 mm of rain, which is 125 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (1935 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 26.4 °C | +1.0 °C | 31 mm | 59 mm |
| November 2024 | 27.5 °C | +0.6 °C | 60 mm | 93 mm |
| December 2024 | 27.9 °C | +0.1 °C | – | 173 mm |
| January 2025 | 28.6 °C | +0.6 °C | 404 mm | 381 mm |
| February 2025 | 28.1 °C | +0.2 °C | 632 mm | 482 mm |
| March 2025 | 27.1 °C | −0.1 °C | 552 mm | 350 mm |
| April 2025 | 26.9 °C | +1.0 °C | 72 mm | 180 mm |
| May 2025 | 25.2 °C | +1.1 °C | 120 mm | 83 mm |
| June 2025 | 23.5 °C | +0.9 °C | 14 mm | 43 mm |
| July 2025 | 23.8 °C | +1.9 °C | 8 mm | 35 mm |
| August 2025 | 22.5 °C | +0.2 °C | 14 mm | 27 mm |
| September 2025 | 24.7 °C | +0.8 °C | 148 mm | 29 mm |
| October 2025 | 26.5 °C | +1.1 °C | 50 mm | 59 mm |
| November 2025 | 28.0 °C | +1.1 °C | 57 mm | 93 mm |
| December 2025 | 27.9 °C | +0.1 °C | 309 mm | 173 mm |
| January 2026 | – | – | 565 mm | 381 mm |
| February 2026 | – | – | 320 mm | 482 mm |
| March 2026 | – | – | 602 mm | 350 mm |
| April 2026 | – | – | 191 mm | 180 mm |
| May 2026 | – | – | 61 mm | 83 mm |
| June 2026 | – | – | 60 mm | 43 mm |
| July 2026 | – | – | 38 mm | 35 mm |
| August 2026 | – | – | 61 mm | 27 mm |
| September 2026 | – | – | 97 mm | 29 mm |
Data source and licence
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology (ACORN-SAT) and NOAA NCEI (GHCN-Daily) (dataset “ACORN-SAT v2 daily (homogenised) + GHCN-Daily”), licence CC BY 4.0; Public domain (NOAA NCEI). Last updated: 29 October 2026.
The data for Cairns are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 227 stations in Australia: the overview page lets you compare them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual mean temperature at Cairns?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Cairns is 25.3 °C. It was 24.8 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.5 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Cairns?
Since records began in 1910, the warmest year at Cairns is 1998, at 26.3 °C on average. The coldest is 1941 (23.8 °C).
Is the climate at Cairns getting warmer?
Yes: at Cairns, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.18 °C per decade between 1961 and 2025, +1.2 °C in total. 8 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations