Climate averages 1991–2020
Cairns weather
in August.
A warm, fairly dry month: the 10th warmest and the 2nd driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
August is a warm month in Cairns: daytime highs average 24.3°C and nights cool to about 18.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 23 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes August a fairly dry month (the 2nd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 33 min on an average August day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Townsville (283 km away). In August its highs average 25.0°C, 0.7°C warmer than Cairns, with 15 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Cairns ranks 3rd of 32 for the warmest August highs and 4th of 32 for the driest August (rainfall, lowest first). The mean August high of those 32 cities is 17.6°C; Cairns is 6.7°C warmer than that mean.
From August to September, average highs rise by 2.0°C to 26.3°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 23 mm to 14 mm.
The annual picture
August in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Cairns climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.7°C24.8°C | 24.8°C | 245 | 21.2 | 13.013 h |
| February | 29.6°C24.9°C | 24.9°C | 256 | 20.9 | 12.713 h |
| March | 28.7°C24.2°C | 24.2°C | 206 | 17.9 | 12.212 h |
| April | 27.3°C22.9°C | 22.9°C | 94 | 12.7 | 11.712 h |
| May | 25.6°C21.2°C | 21.2°C | 41 | 9.5 | 11.311 h |
| June | 24.2°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 27 | 7.0 | 11.111 h |
| July | 23.5°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 27 | 5.9 | 11.211 h |
| August, selected | 24.3°C18.7°C | 18.7°C | 23 | 5.5 | 11.512 h |
| September | 26.3°C20.2°C | 20.2°C | 14 | 4.1 | 12.012 h |
| October | 27.7°C21.8°C | 21.8°C | 31 | 6.5 | 12.512 h |
| November | 29.0°C23.3°C | 23.3°C | 57 | 10.4 | 12.913 h |
| December | 29.7°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 142 | 16.1 | 13.113 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
August in nearby cities
- Townsville in AugustAustralia · 283 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 16.2°C · 15 mm rain
- Mackay in AugustAustralia · 591 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 16.4°C · 25 mm rain
- Sunshine Coast in AugustAustralia · 1319 kmHigh 20.7°C · Low 13.0°C · 43 mm rain
- Caloundra in AugustAustralia · 1334 kmHigh 20.6°C · Low 13.0°C · 43 mm rain
- Toowoomba in AugustAustralia · 1343 kmHigh 18.3°C · Low 6.3°C · 28 mm rain
- Brisbane in AugustAustralia · 1390 kmHigh 21.5°C · Low 10.7°C · 36 mm rain
- Logan City in AugustAustralia · 1410 kmHigh 21.0°C · Low 11.1°C · 32 mm rain
- Gold Coast in AugustAustralia · 1461 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 13.4°C · 47 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Cairns) is explained once on the Cairns year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.