Double Island Point Lighthouse is a weather station located 96 m above sea level, 10 km from Rainbow Beach. Its records go back to 1892: 50 years of temperature are available up to 2024, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 22.3 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (21.2 °C): a difference of 1.0 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2017 (22.8 °C) and the coldest 1960 (20.4 °C). The last complete year, 2024, ranks 4 out of 50, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2024, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.25 °C per decade. The station ranks 53 out of 227 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1892
The first ten years of the series (1957–1968) average 21.0 °C; the last ten (2014–2024) average 22.4 °C, a difference of +1.5 °C. All of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999; the warmest is 2017 (22.8 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 22.4 °C (2024) and bottoms out at 20.9 °C (1968).
Annual rainfall since 1892
On average 1365 mm of rain falls per year over the 122 documented years. The wettest year, 1973, received 2489 mm; the driest, 1902, only 537 mm, which is 4.6 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (997 mm per year) is 608 mm (37.9 %) below the 1961–1990 one (1605 mm). Over 1991–2020, February is on average the wettest month (127 mm) and September the driest (36 mm). Between 2002 and 2024, 2 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 | 24.8 °C | 26.2 °C | +1.4 °C | 199 mm | 116 mm | −83 mm |
| February | 24.8 °C | 25.9 °C | +1.1 °C | 190 mm | 127 mm | −63 mm |
| March | 24.1 °C | 25.0 °C | +0.9 °C | 181 mm | 104 mm | −77 mm |
| April | 22.3 °C | 22.9 °C | +0.6 °C | 153 mm | 69 mm | −84 mm |
| May | 19.9 °C | 20.3 °C | +0.4 °C | 159 mm | 122 mm | −37 mm |
| June | 17.4 °C | 18.2 °C | +0.8 °C | 137 mm | 94 mm | −43 mm |
| July | 16.6 °C | 17.6 °C | +1.0 °C | 111 mm | 49 mm | −62 mm |
| August | 17.4 °C | 18.6 °C | +1.2 °C | 73 mm | 48 mm | −25 mm |
| September | 19.3 °C | 20.8 °C | +1.5 °C | 45 mm | 36 mm | −9 mm |
| October | 21.4 °C | 22.4 °C | +1.0 °C | 91 mm | 65 mm | −26 mm |
| November | 22.8 °C | 24.0 °C | +1.2 °C | 123 mm | 70 mm | −53 mm |
| December | 24.1 °C | 25.3 °C | +1.2 °C | 143 mm | 97 mm | −46 mm |
The largest temperature change is in September (+1.5 °C) and the smallest in May (+0.4 °C); over the year the mean difference is +1.0 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in September (−9 mm) and the smallest in April (−84 mm).
Records at Double Island Point Lighthouse
- Warmest year: 22.8 °C, in 2017
- Coldest year: 20.4 °C, in 1960
- Driest year: 537 mm, in 1902
- Wettest year: 2489 mm, in 1973
- Warmest month: 27.4 °C, in January 2017
- Coldest month: 15.1 °C, in July 1963
- Wettest month: 822 mm, in February 1893
- Hottest day: 37.3 °C, on 5 December 2002
- Coldest day: 3.1 °C, on 24 June 1961
- Heaviest rain in one day: 262.4 mm, on 5 February 1931
2.4 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 34.2 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2024
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.25 °C per decade between 1961 and 2024, about +1.6 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 227 stations (+0.19 °C per decade), by 0.06 °C per decade: the station ranks 53 out of 227.
The last 24 months against the 1991–2020 normal
Over the last 22 months (October 2024 to September 2026), 12 months out of 22 were warmer than the 1991–2020 normal for the same month; the mean departure is +0.1 °C. The highest departure was in October 2025 (+1.5 °C); the lowest, in August 2025 (−0.6 °C). The last twelve months add up to 1029 mm of rain, which is 103 % of the 1991–2020 annual normal (997 mm).
| Month | Temperature | Departure from normal | Rain | Normal rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | 22.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 106 mm | 65 mm |
| November 2024 | 24.6 °C | +0.6 °C | 121 mm | 70 mm |
| December 2024 | 25.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 182 mm | 97 mm |
| January 2025 | 26.1 °C | −0.1 °C | 183 mm | 116 mm |
| February 2025 | 25.8 °C | −0.1 °C | 71 mm | 127 mm |
| March 2025 | 25.2 °C | +0.2 °C | 271 mm | 104 mm |
| April 2025 | 23.1 °C | +0.2 °C | 85 mm | 69 mm |
| May 2025 | 20.8 °C | +0.5 °C | 88 mm | 122 mm |
| June 2025 | 17.8 °C | −0.4 °C | 81 mm | 94 mm |
| July 2025 | 18.0 °C | +0.4 °C | 77 mm | 49 mm |
| August 2025 | 18.0 °C | −0.6 °C | 100 mm | 48 mm |
| September 2025 | 20.9 °C | +0.1 °C | 54 mm | 36 mm |
| October 2025 | 23.9 °C | +1.5 °C | 49 mm | 65 mm |
| January 2026 | 26.0 °C | −0.2 °C | 32 mm | 116 mm |
| February 2026 | 25.7 °C | −0.2 °C | 142 mm | 127 mm |
| March 2026 | 24.5 °C | −0.5 °C | 267 mm | 104 mm |
| April 2026 | 22.4 °C | −0.5 °C | 42 mm | 69 mm |
| May 2026 | 20.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 110 mm | 122 mm |
| June 2026 | 18.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 36 mm | 94 mm |
| July 2026 | 17.8 °C | +0.2 °C | 106 mm | 49 mm |
| August 2026 | 18.4 °C | −0.2 °C | 69 mm | 48 mm |
| September 2026 | 20.2 °C | −0.6 °C | 22 mm | 36 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 Double Island Point Lighthouse 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 Double Island Point Lighthouse?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Double Island Point Lighthouse is 22.3 °C. It was 21.2 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +1.0 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Double Island Point Lighthouse?
Since records began in 1892, the warmest year at Double Island Point Lighthouse is 2017, at 22.8 °C on average. The coldest is 1960 (20.4 °C).
Is the climate at Double Island Point Lighthouse getting warmer?
Yes: at Double Island Point Lighthouse, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.25 °C per decade between 1961 and 2024, +1.6 °C in total. 10 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
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