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Climate · Cairns

Cairns in December

Hot and wet, as the days hold steady.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Cairns is hot: highs near 86°F, lows near 77°F. Rain falls on about four days a week, more often as the month goes on, and daylight holds at about 13 hours 7 minutes.December in Cairns is hot: highs near 30°C, lows near 25°C. Rain falls on about four days a week, more often as the month goes on, and daylight holds at about 13 hours 7 minutes.

High
86°F30°Caverage
Low
77°F25°Caverage
Wet days
4a week · 59% of days
Daylight
13h 07mon average

Is December a good time to visit Cairns?

December sits outside Cairns's best months, which run from June to September. Expect hot days and rain on about four days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How December sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 86°F in December, against 76°F to 87°F through the year.Highs near 30°C in December, against 24°C to 31°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

59% of days in December, against 29% to 77% through the year.

Cloud cover

72% cover in December, against 50% to 78% through the year.

Daylight

13h 07m in December, against 11h 08m to 13h 07m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with December shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. November84°29°low 75°low 24°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. December86°30°low 77°low 25°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.
  3. January86°30°low 77°low 25°5 wet days a weekRain on about five days a week.

Where Cairns sits, in December

Australia/Brisbane
this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
5:38 AMsets 6:46 PM
Above the sea
0 mlow-lying
Latitude
16.9°Ssouthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Finlayvale68 km north-west

The land around Cairns, shaded by its typical high in December, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in Australia in December

high · low · wet days
See December on the planning mapThe whole year in Cairns

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), read 14 km east of Cairns. Its own grid square is mostly sea and holds only a daily average, so the page reads the nearest square with a true high and low near the town's height. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.