Cairns Sunshine Hours by Month

Sunshine is key to understanding how a place experiences its seasons. This page shows the total number of hours of direct sunlight per month and the average hours per day in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. These values are calculated using 30 years of data (1990–2020) to ensure accuracy.

Monthly hours of sunshine

Cairns experiences sunny spells throughout the year. The sunniest month, October, sees up to 272 hours of sunshine, while February, the least sunny month, still provides a respectable 171 hours. The total annual sunshine amounts to 2692 hours.

Daily hours of sunshine

Enjoy up to 9.1 hours of daily sun in October, and experience slightly darker atmosphere in February, with about 5.7 hours of daily sunlight.

Cairns enjoys an average of 2692 hours of sunshine annually. Let’s compare this with some popular tourist destinations:

Athens, Greece, enjoys 2769 hours of sunshine each year, making it one of the sunniest destinations in the Mediterranean region.

In contrast, London, UK, receives only about 1659 hours of sunshine per year, known for its frequently overcast and rainy skies.

Boston, USA, enjoys 2629 hours of sunshine annually, with distinct seasons and many bright, sunny days.

Adelaide, Australia, enjoys 2770 hours of sunshine annually, with long, sunny summers.

February, Cairns’s wettest month, receives 292 mm (11 in) of rainfall and has a maximum daytime temperature of 29°C (84°F). During the driest month September you can expect a temperature of 25°C (77°F).

For more detailed insights into the city’s temperatures, check out our Temperature page. To explore more about precipitation patterns, visit our Cairns Precipitation page.